There is an alchemical quality to an artists studio. Some are just like the images you’d see in a magazine editorial, filled with busy assistants, designer furniture and housed in a building created by an award-winning architect. Most, however, are just like the office or warehouse spaces you’d find in any city — assembled together with flat file cabinets, makeshift sofas on discarded palettes and IKEA standing desks. Regardless of the style and setting, the artist studio is the incubator in which the most otherworldly concepts, paintings and sculptures first take form.
For those looking to get a peek into the daily routines of some of the most prolific artists, 11 such figures are opening their studio doors to the public for a fee of $1,000 USD, which will fully benefit the IFPDA Foundation‘s mission to support educational projects aimed at cultivating connoisseurship in the field of fine prints for a new generation of collectors and curators.
Timothy Fadek / Corbis via Getty Images
Each participating artist hails from New York and will include Katherine Bradford, Leonardo Drew, Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Jeff Koons, Vera Lutter, Joel Mesler, Marilyn Minter, Tschabalala Self, Joel Shapiro and Mickalene Thomas. “The IFPDA is the cornerstone organization for galleries and publishers of limited-edition prints and multiples, and it’s prestigious to be vetted as a member,” said New York curator Sharon Coplan in a statement. “The IFPDA Print Fair is the go-to resource to see what’s hot off the press from publishers like Two Palms Press, Gemini G.E.L., and Pace Prints as well as renowned dealers like Hill Stone for old master prints.”
While prints can fetch considerable amounts, the medium has stood as one of the more accessible ways for consumers to collect work from their favorite artists. Print processes have dramatically improved thanks to studios such as Avant Arte and Make-Ready in London, whose quality aims to mirror a painting. “The common thread with this incredible list of artists is that they have all created prints with IFPDA members, so it was an organic process,” Coplan added. “We were overwhelmed by the artists’ generosity to open up their studios for supporters of the IFPDA Foundation — these are going to be fun and memorable behind-the-scenes experiences.”
Organizers expect to raise roughly $60,000 USD, which will benefit exhibitions, internships and research for students from historically Black colleges and universities. Please visit the IFPDA for more information on how to register.
