Hold on, don’t everybody bum-rush the chine-collé now!
And don’t think this is a good opportunity for you and your entourage of louche lollygaggers to engage in a much-missed game of Sardines.
But let’s make a joyful noise unto the bored, as the Flatbed Center for Contemporary Printmaking’s Katherine Brimberry reveals that the new building – barely able to welcome visitors to its recently-moved-in domain of printerly process and beauty before these damned ‘ronas put the pathogenic kibosh on all our physically social fun – is once again open.
Challenge: These free tours will be by appointment only, and each appointment is limited to three or fewer visitors who arrive together. And you have to wear masks. (But then, doesn’t any considerate or sensible or just, maybe, stylish person wear a mask these days anyway?)
So, no, you can’t take your entire paintball crew there at once, for instance. But, still: You and a couple of art-loving friends could spend some quality time being shown around the gallery and the presses, getting an IRL eyeful of some worldclass printwork, hearing firsthand stories about what it takes to create such paperborne brilliance, and remembering how refreshing it feels to enjoy creative reality without a screen between you and it.
Bonus: That exemplary “Flatbed REDUX” show – with works by Julie Speed, Miguel A. Aragon, and Darden Smith, among others – is currently on view.
This article appears in May 8 • 2020.