Andrew Polk
A Silent Conquest

February 23 - March 16, 2024

Stone Lithography

Artist Statement:
The rural Midwest with its forests is my sourcebook for inspiration. I try to present metaphorical scenes from which pathos and joy speak to the universal implications about living and dying in this world. Moreover, I revel in the impossibly endless detail of the forest when one looks at its parts. Literally, there are worlds within worlds,

Nature in its silent conquest reclaims what people construct. Harnessing nature is a human obsession, but despite all the science, industry and technology expended, nature prevails in the end. This is a reclamation that is cyclical, for where there is life there is death, and with life and death, endings are beginnings. Ours is a world where what came before determines the present. To me, this is poetry.

The works in this exhibit are black and white lithographs, printed from hand-drawn images on Bavarian limestone slabs (litho stones). The process was developed by Alois Senefelder around the turn from the 18th century. It is that of printing images from a stone created by drawing with a grease-based crayon. Since 2017, I have devoted my focus almost exclusively to this medium. Albeit a difficult medium to master, it is ideal for artists who love to draw. My hope is that the work will inspire others to explore, enjoy, and collect this vastly powerful and rich approach to artmaking.

Biography:
Andrew Polk has been making and exhibiting art since 1968. His work has been shown in over 600 exhibits, including one-person, small group, invitational and competitive exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad. His work is included in numerous public and private collections, most notably the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the Tucson Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, the University of Arizona Museum of Art, the Artist Printmaker/Photographer Research Collection (Texas Tech University), the Tucson International Airport, the Tucson Medical Center, and the Tucson Public Library.

Polk is a Professor Emeritus of the University of Arizona, where he taught lithography (as well as drawing, watercolor, painting, mixed media) at graduate and undergraduate levels for 32 years. After leaving the University, he and his artist wife, Kathryn Polk, relocated their studio, Lvis Press, to rural Indiana where they live and make art with their two dogs, Jack and Jill.

Primarily a two-dimensional artist, his work has ranged from abstract to representational, from comedic to serious, from decorative to didactic, and from secretive to disclosive. Polk's working philosophy is to "stay inspired". When a direction runs its course – when the ideas become too repetitive, the unknown evaporates, and discovery falters, it's time to move on. Nevertheless, in spite of the many styles, there are core values that interweave throughout the entire body of work.

Website: andrewpolk.com
Instagram: @ydnaklop