McClain Gallery presents three recent lithograph works by Portland, OR based artist Ellen Lesperance published and made in collaboration with Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, NM. The works translate garments worn by women, often political activists, into matrix grids reminiscent of knitting patterns. Lesperance hones in on sartorial symbols of anti-war protests, the women’s liberation movement, and lesbian feminism, combining them with the patterns to create deeply layered multimedia prints.
PrintHouston is a print biennial run by Houston-based non-profit PrintMatters. This year, PrintHouston invited Tamarind Institute, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as their featured guest. Tamarind Institute is a non-profit center for collaborative printmaking, dedicated to research, education, and creative projects in fine art lithography. Two of the prints from the Ellen Lesperance portfolio we are presenting are currently on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. You can find more information about PrintHouston at their website by clicking here; and about Tamarind Institute by clicking here.