Blue, being the color of the sky and the sea, is a color we feel an especially close affinity with. In ancient times it had strong negative overtones, for in many regions blue was a symbol of death or ugliness. Eventually, however, it came to also symbolize concepts such as mystery and nobleness. Even today, blue has mixed connotations. On one hand, as an adjective it may describe feelings of deep depression. On the other, blue is a popular color widely used to convey sensations of freshness and vibrancy.

In the world of art, in Christian paintings the Virgin Mary is typically depicted wearing blue, her symbolic color. In modern and later art also, blue is frequently used in impressive ways: for example, in the works created during Picasso's "Blue Period" or as Yves Klein's "International Klein Blue."

This exhibition, gleaned from CCGA's Tyler Graphics Archive Collection, will offer visitors a broad palette of "prints in blue" --works in blues of expressive diversity arising from their different themes and different production techniques. Among them will be the geometric abstractions of Josef Albers, in "intellectual" blue; the color fields of Helen Frankenthaler, in highly "poetic" blue; and the swimming pool paintings of David Hockney, in richly "expressive" blue. We hope the exhibition will provide visitors an opportunity to appreciate, more than ever, the wondrously attractive appeal of the color --and colors-- of blue.