"Multiple originals" might sound like a contradiction in terms, but it's the only way to describe the kind of fine art prints and sculptures created at Graphicstudio, 3702 Spectrum Blvd., Suite 100, Tampa. Created in very limited quantities, they sometimes employ traditional techniques such as lithography and etching, but often expand the definition of printmaking with innovative technical processes. Graphicstudio has evolved beyond prints, creating sculptures and three-dimensional assemblages. All are the result of a collaboration between invited artists and studio artisans (who often are artists in their own right but sublimate their own artistic impulses to the participating artist's vision).
Over its 36-year history, some of the world's most famous contemporary artists have quietly come to the University of South Florida campus in Tampa, home of Graphicstudio, and the workshop now has an impressive portfolio that reads like a who's who: James Rosenquist, Robert Mapplethorpe, Chuck Close, Lesley Dill, William Wegman, Ed Ruscha, Kiki Smith, Vik Muniz, Burt Barr, Graciela Iturbe and Robert Rauschenberg, are just a few of the signatures on the limited editions.
Some of the art, including Rauschenberg's c-print photograph, Study for Chinese Summerhall (Pink Window), 1983, shown above, will be for sale at Graphicstudio's annual fundraiser Friday.
As most art watchers already know, Graphicstudio, which is a not-for-profit facility under the auspices of USF's College of Visual and Performing Arts, operates on a subscription basis. A limited number of collectors pay $6,500 to sign up annually, giving them the opportunity to purchase, for a modest sum, the output by up to eight artists who visit each year. Graphicstudio keeps several of each edition for its archives and future sales. For this fundraiser, selected works will be discounted 10 percent to 60 percent.
"Bargain" is a relative term when describing art that can sell for thousands of dollars. A Rosenquist, for example, will be discounted from $25,000 to $21,000. But some of the items are more modestly priced, beginning at $300. And even if most of it is beyond your price range, you can tour the studio just for the pleasure of seeing so much good art lining the walls.
This is not an auction. You may call in that day for prices of specific works and purchase by telephone or on site.
Subscribers and members may come for a preview from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A reception, open to the public, is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and a drawing to win Kenny Scharf's print, Towers of Flowers, will be at 9 p.m. For information, call 813 974-350 3 cq or www.graphicstudio.usf.edu
