Bradbury Art Museum (BAM) at Arkansas State University is hosting the 28th year of Delta National Small Prints Exhibition (DNSPE), alongside a solo exhibition by printmaker and 2024 DNSPE juror Yuji Hiratsuka.

The exhibitions continue through Feb. 28 at BAM, located in Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Dr.

In conjunction with Delta National, A-State students will have an opportunity to attend two printmaking workshops with artists Cody Scrivner, instructor in printmaking in the Department of Art + Design, and Anthony TungNing Huang of Knoxville, Tenn., at 11 a.m. on Feb. 6, in the Fine Arts Center. Later that afternoon, three artist talks will be open to the public at Bradbury Art Museum at 2 p.m.; these talks will be delivered by Oxford-based Somayeh Faal, Huang and Knoxville-based Grace Russell.

“Smoked” Yuji Hiratsuka

“Retro Urban Portraits” is an exhibition of color intaglio prints by Hiratsuka, who was born in Japan and is currently based in Oregon. Hiratsuka was a purchase award winner in 1996, the very first year of DNSPE, and has been included in the exhibition almost every year since.

This year, he served as the exhibition’s juror and selected the 65 prints included in DNSPE.

“Retro Urban Portraits” will feature prints made by Hiratsuka over the past three decades, including four prints from the Arkansas State University permanent collection. The exhibition celebrates the artist, his history and his support for Bradbury Art Museum through his participation in DNSPE.

"Time of Smoke that Thunders", 2022, Daryl Howard

“Delta National Small Prints Exhibition” is an annual juried print exhibition that features prominent contemporary printmakers from across the country and around the world. It has become one of the country’s foremost competitions for prints.

The exhibition was first designed in 1996 by master engraver Evan Lindquist to be a resource for printmaking students and instructors to view and assess contemporary standards of printmaking as they develop over time. Dr. Ann Prentice Wagner, museum director, is sad to note Lindquist’s recent passing.

“This is a painful loss for Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University, the state of Arkansas and Evan’s many friends, collectors, former students and former colleagues. Evan’s legacy will live on in DNSPE, which would not have existed without the hard work and generosity of this great artist,” said Wagner.

“Prints and DNSPE have thus been vital parts of the heritage of BAM, as Bradbury Art Museum is known, since even before it was founded,” she continued. “The most outstanding works shown in each DNSPE are acquired by the museum each year for its permanent collection, thanks to the generosity of our patrons. The exhibition is a major engine for building the museum collection, keeping BAM on the cutting edge of contemporary printmaking.”

This year, DNSPE is an important reminder of the significance of printmaking to the history of Bradbury Art Museum and the Arkansas State University permanent collection. Not only did Hiratsuka serve as juror after more than two decades of participation in the exhibition, but the 2024 DNSPE is also dedicated to Shelley Gipson, professor of printmaking, who passed away in April after 20 years of service to the university.

“Last spring, we were all deeply saddened by the loss of Shelley Gipson. We hope that with this year’s DNSPE and with future events like it, we will be able to honor not only the significance of printmaking to us as an institution but Shelley’s memory as well,” said Madeline McMahan, museum curator and educator. “We are reminded of how fortunate we are at Arkansas State University to have access to such a beautiful collection of contemporary printmaking, to the rich history of DNSPE and to the printmaking studio on campus which allows us to host printmaking events alongside the exhibition.”

Each exhibition is represented in a yearly catalog, documenting history and including statements from each juror explaining their decision-making process. Early and recent years of the exhibition are also archived on the Bradbury Art Museum website.

Museum hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free. For more information about Bradbury Art Museum or to learn how to support future exhibitions, call the museum at (870) 972-3687.