I. Artist/Printmaker in Alaska (1976–1980)

Yolanda del Riego (YR) lived in Anchorage from 1973 to 1980.

Between 1976 and 1979, YR studied printmaking techniques at the Visual Arts Center of Alaska with the many visiting international artists. (Read more: Biographical Notes: Artist/Printmaker in Alaska.)

In 1978, following the advice of Dr. Jules Heller, YR bought an etching press from the American French Tool Company and set up her first printmaking studio in the garage of her home in Anchorage. There she began one of her most intense and prolific stages.

The exhibition includes twenty-five works created between 1978 and 1980, which are discussed below. It also includes some of her very early studio works (see Early Studio Works 1976–1977).

View slideshow of works from this period.

Planetary Coexistance Suite (1980)

The five monoprints in the Planetary Coexistence Suite are among the few lithographic works by Yolanda del Riego. They were created in 1978, following a lithography workshop taught by John Sommers (Technical Director of the Tamarind Institute) at the Visual Arts Center of Alaska.

I through IV have been included in the exhibition (V is in the collection of the National Library of Spain [INVENT/70273])

Early Print Editions

YR's etchings from this period include a variety of techniques, such as viscosity printing (Hayter's method) and chine-collé.

Between July and August of 1980, Yolanda del Riego created a series of more than thirty-five monoprints, of which fourteen have been included in this exhibition. The series is named after the paper it was printed on: handmade paper from the Farnsworth & Co. Papermakers in San Francisco; each sheet, with its embedded fibers and threads, is unique. Many of the monoprints in this series extend beyond the limits of the almost-square paper through chine-collé paper extensions.

Other works from this period

<< Exhibition home page: YR Through Printmaking. (1976–2015)

II. Return to Spain: The Years without an Etching Press (1981–1986) >>