Author: Chloe Sundberg
Even as a young student, Evan Charney stood out as one who had outstanding ability in art. He continued to develop that talent throughout his school years, which culminated in his graduation from the prestigious High School of Music and Art in New York City. He also has done extensive study in advanced printmaking techniques at outstanding craft schools in New England and has been a recipient of numerous awards.
Unlike drawing or painting where the artist expresses themselves directly on a surface (paper, canvas, glass, etc. using paint, pencil pastels, ink, etc.), printing is a multi-step process. It is both art and craft, an aspect which influenced artist Evan Charney to choose printing as his “modus operandi.” His subjects are eclectic — descriptive of the exhibit title, “Images from Life” — and range from landscapes, activities, single or multiple figures, animals, quiet scenes, and places. In the show you will see a set of delightful little cat and dog subjects which are printed using the wood engraving technique. The artist carves the image on the end grain (grain pointing out) of the wood block. This type of print is especially demanding of fine motor control and results in superb detail. Evan’s prints show minute detail and a masterful treatment of fur. He also has many impressive color woodcuts in this exhibit. I tried to count the number of blocks he had to cut and print to produce some of his prints. It seemed that some required 6, or 10, or 12, and one appeared to need as many as 15 blocks. Amazing! It seemed that the situation could be a registration nightmare.
Registration involves the precise alignment of various sequential colors, printed in a certain area. For example, if the blue dots that should have been printed in the middle of the eyes were printed down on the cheeks, that is a registration error. Everything appeared to be in place and accurate, and details were always under control. It is amazing how well Evan uses printing as a vehicle to show atmosphere, movement, water spray, transparency, the delicacy of clouds, and reflections – all this and more by carving wood blocks, rolling ink on the remaining high parts and rolling paper over the ink to print the desired image. You can print blocks again, and even use different colors of ink. Exciting stuff. It’s like magic! Come see the magic in the Briarwood Gallery.