Copperplate printmaking, also known as intaglio, is a printmaking technique entailing the creation of grooved incisions and indented depressions within the surface of a copper plate, filling them with ink, and then transferring the resulting design to a paper medium. To create the indentations within the plate surface, a needle or knife is used, or the plate is dipped in acid. Depending on the specific tools and methods employed, this process can be subdivided into more detailed techniques variously known by such names as engraving, drypoint, etching and aquatint.

A major advantage of copperplate printing is the wide variation in artistic expression in the line drawings and color planes produced by these different techniques. “Copperplates” is actually a generic term: its expressive possibilities are in fact remarkably varied, as seen in the contrast between the sharp lines characteristic of engraving and the soft lines of drypoint, or between the finely detailed depictions enabled by etching and the emotionally charged color planes possible with aquatint. Multiple techniques can also be combined to create two contrasting effects within a single work. It is these characteristics so special to copperplate printing that have attracted so many artists to this medium from its advent straight through to contemporary times, all around the world, whether they work in representational or abstract art. As a result, many masterpieces have been produced throughout this medium’s history.

This exhibition will feature copperplate prints from CCGA’s Tyler Graphics Archive Collection by such leading contemporary artists as Stanley Boxer and Helen Frankenthaler. The works on display convey the remarkable breadth of expressive possibility derived from each artist’s chosen styles and techniques. We hope that the exhibition will give visitors an opportunity to marvel at the rich expressive appeal of copperplate prints.