The Flatbed Center for Contemporary Printmaking has announced that the New York Public Library and Texas Tech Museum have each acquired prints by Austin-based artist Adrian Armstrong.
In 2020, Mr. Armstrong collaborated with Flatbed to create two varied edition series, which means that each print in the edition features similar imagery with unique coloring. His “Portrait” edition is comprised of 16 large prints (42 x 29 inches each), while his Ragerboi edition consists of 22 small prints (15 x 11 inches each). Since the completion of that project, the artist has continued his relationship with the press — in December 2021, he was named Flatbed’s inaugural Jerry Manson Artist In Residence, a three month program during which he received a membership to Flatbed’s Community Press and a stipend to assist with material costs.
Adrian Armstong, “‘Portrait’ EV Edition 15/16,” 2020, soft-ground etching with relief roll and cut chine collé elements, 42 x 29 inches. Image: Flatbed Center for Contemporary Printmaking
New York Public Library’s (NYPL) Photographs and Prints Division has acquired the print “Portrait” EV 15/16. According to the organization’s website, the division focuses on documenting, “the history and culture of people of African descent worldwide as well as the work of photographers of African descent.” The collection includes over 300,000 works ranging from the mid-18th century to today, and includes such notable artists as Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, and Coreen Simpson.
In addition to the NYPL acquisition, Flatbed has also announced that six other works from the artist’s varied edition have been acquired by private and public collections, including the Museum of Texas Tech University.
Dr. Peter Briggs, the Helen DeVitt Jones Curator of Art at the Museum of Texas Tech University, told Glasstire that the institution acquired editions of both “Portrait” and Ragerboi in 2021 for its Artist Printmaker/Photographer Research Collection (AP/RC). The AP/RC accounts for nearly 90% of the 25,000 artworks in the museum’s collection.
Dr. Briggs stated, “This unrivaled public university museum collection focuses on in-depth acquisitions of post-World War II printmakers and photographers who have had a demonstrative impact on the visual arts in the mountain and desert states of the western United States. As part of this collection, the AP/RC curatorial staff regularly seeks original work that embraces the exceptional range, variation and creative dexterity of contemporary artists who have a connection to this region. Obviously, Adrian Armstrong is one of these artists.”
1 comment
Thanks for calling attention to the very talented Adrian Armstrong and the exciting new etchings he has created at Flatbed Press. We are thrilled to know that Adrian’s work will be a part of highly visible public collections that as Dr. Briggs states: “embrace the exceptional range, variation and creative dexterity of contemporary artists.”