On Friday, November 10th I took my Advanced Printmaking class to Charleston, West Virginia to see the Images of Social Justice from the Segura Arts Studio exhibition at the Clay Center.
We were extremely lucky to be able to spend our morning with Jessica O’Hearn
Artistic Director at the Juliet Art Museum which is housed inside the Clay Center. Jessica actually worked as a printer at the Segura Arts Studio, so she had first hand knowledge about many of the prints on display.
All of the work was absolutely beautiful. Above was a print I have never seen before, a Keith Haring lithograph! The Segura Arts Studio is dedicated to showcasing the work of underprepresented artists whose work is socially engaged.
From the Juliet Museum website: “Images of Social Justice; From the Segura Arts Studio illustrates the history of Segura Art Studio’s published works and describes its mission of working with underrepresented artists. Joseph Segura founded the Segura Publishing Company in 1981, in Tempe, Arizona. The studio played a role in contemporary printmaking with an initial focus on collaboration with artist-printmakers and on the print process. This was followed with an emphasis on marginalized artists whose work had a political message.”
Jessia telling us about this Enrique Chagoya project…a big thank you to Jessica for taking time out of her day to meet with us…
Absolutely beautiful intaglio print by Claudia Bernardi…
One of many Sue Coe prints on display…
An outstanding Luis Jimenez lithograph…
When we were done in the museum, my students just had to get stuck-I mean “climb” the climbing sculpture in the middle of the entrance way…
Senior printmaker Kyle Irvin was the only one who made it to the top…
The rest of the day was filled with food and shopping! First a quick stop at Black Sheep Burritos and Brews for lunch…
Next stop was Taylor Books…it was hard to not spend all the money here…
I did buy myself a collection of romance comics made by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon…these are not well known parts of their career, and comics that I have been aware of for a long time but have never had the chance to read. I also picked up this fantastic mug by Jason Kiley, a ceramic artist who lives and works in Huntington, WV.
Our final stop was at Kinship Goods and Basecamp Printing…
Kinship was filled with all kinds of great West Virginia themed items…
…and a sad ghost…
Basecamp Printing is co-owned by Emily & Betsy Sokolosky, Emily received a BFA Degree from the WVU School of Art and Design…
You can see Emily in the back running the letterpress…Basecamp is also filled with so many great cards and posters…it is so encouraging to see WVU alumni out in the world doing what they love, which was also a great way to end our day.
Joseph Lupo 
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