OXS Gallery features art and words of noted Nevada writers
Words become pictures, framed art in their own right, as poetry and prose by beloved local writers are exhibited at the Nevada Arts Council’s OXS Gallery in Carson City. In “Words + Images: Broadsides from the Black Rock Press,” 34 one-sided printed pages show the work of noted authors, produced with handset type and relief plates. The exhibit runs Sept. 8 to Oct. 31.
Robert Laxalt, Steven Nightengale, Gailmarie Pahmeier and Paul Zarzyski are among the Nevadans whose inspiration is displayed in the images known as letterpress broadsides. The works are created frequently to honor a visiting writer at a campus event. The Press has produced broadsides to honor university residencies by U.S. Poets Laureate Robert Pinsky and Billy Collins. In recent years, broadsides have been produced for the Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writers Award.
Most broadsides in the exhibit were designed and printed by Bob Blesse, who recently retired after 28 years as director of the Press which was founded by Kenneth J. Carpenter more than 40 years ago. The Press has been dedicated to arts and crafts associated with finely printed books and has a national reputation for its outstanding work. A living museum of traditional printing technology, the Press houses cabinets filled with metal type and a gilded 1837 super-royal Columbian iron handpress.
Broadside writers in the OXS Gallery exhibit also include Marjorie Agosin, Willis Barnstone, Daniel Boorstin, Andre Codrescu, Billy Collins, Hayden Curruth, Carol V. Davis, John Dofflemyer, Joseph Duemer, Gretel Ehrlich, Martha Elizabeth, A. Bartlett Giamatti, Shaun T. Griffin, James W. Hulse, Linda Hussa, Donna Johnson, Wally McRae, Joel Nelson, Naomi Shahib Nye, Robert Pinsky, Kirk Robertson, Gary Short, Kevin Stevens, Bill Stobb, Michael White and Terry Tempest Williams.
Curated by Bob Blesse with gallery notes essay by Harry Reese, the exhibit is organized by the Nevada Arts Council and part of the Nevada Touring Initiative–Traveling Exhibition Program. It was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Nevada Humanities, and the Nevada State Legislature and an anonymous donor. OXS Gallery is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 716 N. Carson St. Admission is free.
The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, is the agency charged with ensuring that state and national funds support cultural activity and encourage participation in the arts throughout Nevada. In addition to providing hundreds of grants to arts and community-based organizations, schools, artists and local municipalities throughout the state, the Arts Council coordinates a variety of statewide programs and activities such as the annual Poetry Out Loud recitation competition for high-school aged students, traveling exhibits, artist residencies, workshops and cultural assessments. For more information, please visit the department’s website at nac.nevadaculture.org/.
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