The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is pleased to announce the exhibition, The Art of Printmaking, at The M&T Center, One Fountain Plaza in downtown Buffalo which is on view from December 14, 2004 – July 6, 2005. The exhibition is open to the public, free guided tours are offered every Tuesday at noon. Call (716) 878-6020 for to confirm.

Prints originally were conceived as an alternative form of art for the masses. Historically modest in size and affordable, especially when produced as multiples, prints were similar to pages in a book. Their intimate scale, which necessitated that they be held closely to observe details, spawned the phrase, "Come see my etchings."

Prints are produced in many ways, the most traditional being intaglio, lithography and wood cuts. Intaglio printmaking, which includes etching, engraving and drypoint, involves incising the surface of a metal plate that then gets filled with ink and transferred onto paper. Lithography makes use of a greasy crayon on stone which attracts ink during an impression. Wood cuts and wood engravings result from ink rolled on surfaces left behind after a block of wood is carved with a design. Artists today often experiment with new methods and materials, sometimes combining processes. Digital prints redefine the notion of printmaking by utilization of contemporary technology in concert with direct artistic mark-making.

Works in the collection of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center by Western New York artists and mid-20th century artists of Burchfield's era illustrate the myriad ways that printmakers have expressed themselves in this medium. Examples range from Buffalo's back alleys documented by William J. Schwanekamp and wood engravings of regional subjects by Burchfield's collaborator J. J. Lankes to Endi Poskovic