Ambos Lados International Print Exchange: Taos Talk -- Part 1

PART 1

TAOS TALK

CATALOG

Ambos Lados catalog

THE ORGANIZERS

This print exchange was organized from both sides of the borde: by Manuel Guerra of Horned Toad Prints in El Paso, and by Beatriz Rivas and Adrian Aguirre of Taller Grafia Libre of Zaachila, outside the city of Oaxaca. A big thanks to Nidia Rosales, who wrote the Oaxaca essay in the catalog, and also has supported us as a curator and in the Oaxaca print residency.

Organizers from both sides of the border,

plus Nidia Rosales (upper left)

HORNED TOAD PRINTS

EL PASO

Horned Toad Prints of El Paso is run by Manuel Guerra, with Raul Monarrez and Francisco Delgado.

Horned Toad Prints --

Raul Monarrez, Manuel Guerra, Francisco Delgado

Manuel Guerra

Francisco Delgado

Raul Monarrez

The Horned Toad Prints studio is located within a short walking distance to Mexico.

Horned Toad Prints studio

TALLER GRAFICA LIBRE

ZAACHILA, OAXACA

Taller Grafica Libre is now located in Zaahila, just outside the city of Oaxaca. It is run by Adrian Aguirre and Beatriz Rivas.

Adrian Aguirre and Beatriz Rivas

in their studio

Adrian Aguirre

Beatriz Rivas

Taller Grafica Libre in Zaachila

Toru Sugita of San Francisco (originally from Japan) had a print residency at Taller Grafica Libre at the end of 2016, beginning of 2017.

Toru Sugita at Taller Grafica Libre

in 2016

Toru Sugita

As part of the residency, Toru Sugita had an exhibition at Espacio Centro, run by Nidia Rosales. Maestro Shinzaburo Takeda came to the opening. He is the famous teacher of many of the current young Oaxacan printamakers.

Toru Sugita with Maestro Shinzaburo Takeda

at Toru's opening in Espacio Centro, Oaxaca

2016

The local printmakers often gather at Taller Grafica Libre.

Taller Grafica Libre in Zaachila

TALLER SIN MIEDO

TUCSON

Karl Whitaker started making prints in 2012, at the Sculpture Resource Center in Tucson, with Gonzalo Espinosa (originally from Mexico) and Joshua Woodhall. They formed "Taller Sin Miedo," which translates to "Studio Without Fear."

Tucson 2012

"Taller Sin Miedo" starts at the Sculpture Resource Center

Gonzalo Espinosa (left) and Joshua Woodhall (right),

not pictured Karl Whitaker

Karl Whitaker

Gonzalo Espinosa

Joshua Woodhall

PREVIOUS PRINT EXCHANGES

Manuel Guerra encouraged Karl Whitaker to submit to the "Dialogos E Intepretaciones International Print Exchange," and from that moment on the efforts of Tucson and El Paso began to converge.

The "Dialogos E Interpretaciones International Print Exchange" was run by Jules Floss, from the University of North Carolina Pembroke, and Jorge R Osorio of the Universidad de Caldas, in Manizales, Colombia.

They continued this print exchange for 5 years, which must have been a huge effort. Jules Floss now teaches printmaking in Yuma, Arizona.

DIALOGOS E INTEPRETACIONES

INTERNATIONAL PRINT EXCHANGE

2012 - 2016

"Dialogos E Interpretaciones" print exchange,

between the Universidad de Caldas, in Manizales, Colombia,

and the University of North Carolina Pembroke, organized

in the US by Jules Floss

Jules Floss

CHALK THE BLOCK 2013

YAYBIG SOUTHWEST

Karl Whitaker and Tanya Rich brought prints from Tucson, to show in the downtown El Paso arts festival, Chalk the Block, in 2013. They also showed some prints from El Paso, and added a few prints from the "Dialogos E Intepretaciones International Print Exchange." This pop-up exhibition started the back-and-forth print exhibitions in the Southwest.

2013

Karl Whitaker and Tanya Rich

brought prints from Tucson to show in El Paso

at the Chalk the Block art event downtown

Then they showed that collection in Phoenix, and Albuquerque, buying more prints along the way -- and bringing the bigger collection to show in Tucson in the summer of 2014.

2014

Showing the maturing print collection

at the YayBig Gallery in Tucson

FIRST PRINT EXCHANGES COMBINE

FIRST HORNED TOAD PRINT EXCHANGE

2014

The first Horned Toad Print Exchange was in 2014, initiated after the Chalk the Block 2013 pop-up exhibition. Tucson imitated that initiative, and YayBig sponsored their own print exchange shortly thereafter. Both print exchanges were then framed and shown together at the following Chalk the Block art festival in downtown El Paso in 2014.