Mitchell Gallery's exhibition of Karl Schrag

The Mitchell Gallery at St. John's College

Lucinda Dukes Edinberg

Art Educator

Welcome to the new blog for The Mitchell Art Gallery at St. John's College! Our newest exhibition, Karl Schrag: Memories and Premonitions, is an interesting collection of over 40 modernist drawings, paintings and prints. Curated by Syracuse University Art Galleries director, Domenic Iacono,  this exhibition was first on view at the Lowe Gallery at Syracuse University last fall. The Mitchell Gallery is honored to be the first "road" venue.

Karl Schrag, Coast in Autumn, 1960. Gouache on illustration board. SUAC 1962-057. Courtesy

of Syracuse University Art Collection.

Sadly, Karl Schrag (1912-1995) may be an unfamiliar name to many, and I confess that my knowledge of him was sparse until Syracuse's exhibition of his works from their collection. That said, Schrag's career was impressive and distinctive in a number of ways. Schrag had a number of sides to his career as a father of two children and a teacher, probably his most well-known role was that of serving as the director of Atelier 17, the world-renown experimental printmaking workshop originally founded in Paris by Stanley William Hayter in 1927. While much is to be said about Hayter (and amusingly, Schrag's writings refers to Hayter as "Bill," certainly a name I've never heard for the revered printmaker!) Schrag's work, like Hayter, supported printmaking as an independent art form.

Stanley William Hayter, Courtesy of Limited 

Edition Graphics www.wolman-prints.com

Due to the war in Europe, Hayter moved Atelier 17  to New York City, initially at the New School for Social Research, and then relocated again in 1945 to Greenwich Village.  Schrag was one of the artists associated with the Atelier and later became the director. This workshop, whether in Paris or New York City,  was a place of collaboration by artists from all over the world, including Calder, Chagall, Miro, Picasso, Pollock, Rothko and others. Their timing for resurrecting lithography, etching, woodblock and other techniques came at a period where printmaking had been relegated to mass production technology for books, newspapers, and advertising media in the 19th century and early 20th century. Through the efforts of several artists, including Hayter and Schrag printmaking was once again recognized as an artistic and creative medium and the atelier served as a "think tank" for collaboration. Schrag wrote:

The Atelier was in a sense a meeting place where problems for beyond printmaking were discussed. It was not at all like a crafts school or anything like that. The whole complex of what graphics could be and also the elements that make up graphics, like line, and values, and to a degree, color--the whole problem became visible and you could make your own choice as to what you would accept and what you can accept.

Much can be written about Atelier 17, as it has its own story, but this workshop provided a space for experimentation, exploration, and creativity and Schrag is part of its history.

Learn More:

• Visit The Mitchell Gallery at St. John's College to see the exhibition, Karl Schrag: Memories and Premonitions, on view through October 16, 2013.
• Bring your brown bag lunch and get some quick insights on the exhibition with "Art Express," a noon-time lecture on Wednesday, September 11, from 12:15-12:45. Water, soda and juices provided.
• Attend the lecture by exhibition curator Domenic Iacono, Wednesday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Resources:

• For the history of Atelier 17, http://www.ateliercontrepoint.com/a173.html
• Exhibition catalogue, "Karl Schrag: Memories and Premonitions" by Domenic Iacono with contributions by John Gordon, Una Johnson, Carl Little and Karl Schrag.