An opening reception was held Jan. 23 to mark the opening of the Delta National Small Print Exhibition (DNSPE), now in its 29th year, hosted by Bradbury Art Museum (BAM) at Arkansas State University.

Two solo exhibitions will also be presented during the DNSPE, including “SunSoilSkin&Bone” from artist Jillian Marie Browning, and “Informing the Present,” an installation by M. Robyn Wall.

DNSPE was founded in 1996 by emeritus professor of art Evan Lindquist, who taught at A-State from 1963 until 2003. This year the event is dedicated to Lindquist, a master engraver, who died in December of 2023.  

“His intention in founding DNSPE was to provide the students of A-State with a resource to learn about printmaking as it changed over time,” said Madeline McMahan, assistant director and curator at BAM.

Each year, printmakers from all over the country apply to be part of the exhibition, and their works are chosen by a juror, creating a fascinating cross-section of the print world as it exists in a given year.

“These artists show us how printing traditions endure, and they show us how printmaking has expanded,” said McMahan. “Mezzotint, as used by Jacob Crook, is a historical method which can be traced back to the 1600s; mushroom spore printing, seen in the work of Jim Toia, is more experimental and is adapted from mycology.”

The prints in the 2025 DNSPE were selected by juror Pedro Barbeito, associate professor at Lafayette College and director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute.

“I love printmaking, its history and how artists have been using it over the centuries as a medium of expression, dissemination and collaboration,” said Barbeito in his juror’s statement. “My approach to printmaking, not dissimilar to how printmaking techniques were developed throughout history, is to integrate commercial and industrial printmaking techniques into traditional fine art print practices. The prints I selected for the Delta National Prints Exhibition are made through an array of approaches and technologies.”

Barbeito was tasked with selecting approximately 1/10 of the total submissions, which were greater in number this year than any year in DNSPE’s history.

Of his selections, he concluded, “Ultimately, the works I selected are the ones that I found the most enigmatic, as well as beautiful, made with care and technical expertise.”

Purchase and merit awards will be announced upon the exhibition opening.
On view alongside DNSPE will be two related exhibitions of print media. “SunSoilSkin&Bone” by Jillian Marie Browning features cyanotypes on fabric, an alternative photographic printing process. “Informing the Present” will showcase the installation work, printmaking and papermaking by M. Robyn Wall, an A-State assistant professor of printmaking.

The museum hours are from noon until 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.