The Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara is pleased to announce a new joint exhibition by Don and Siu Zimmerman, entitled Then and Now.
An opening reception with the artists will be held Sep. 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. The show will continue through Oct. 9.
Each artist has developed a unique style, ranging from abstract to figurative, and draws upon a variety of printmaking techniques such as monotypes, collagraphs, polymer etchings, digital modification and chine-collé. This exhibition features both current and past work.
Siu will exhibit three different series of prints; one combines etchings and collagraphs with chine-collé in evocative compositions; in another she combines Chinese calligraphy with her own abstract markings and a third consists of abstract monotypes created by viscosity printing.
The actual process of making visual art is what most speaks to Siu. This process is often a gradual journey from an idea or theme discovered in her sketchbook that achieves full expression through various printmaking techniques.
This process happens again when the thought, “What if I did this another way?” evolves to, “Yes, warm and cool colors are better than black and white for this project.”
Things are moving along well when a trial-print image stares back and it says, “I would look better with a top-roll in yellow!” Siu skillfully employs a variety of printmaking techniques to produce a rich and varied body of work.
Don photographs everyday scenes that he finds intriguing and that offer elements that he can modify through digital editing and polymer etching into images that tell a story or evoke a mood lurking in the compositions he initially captured in the camera.
He digitally manipulates his original photographs to produce new, related compositions of contrasting textures, lines and values. Then he makes etching plates of these compositions and prints them over his digital images, enhancing their qualities and impact.
This unique combination of photography, digital modification and polymer etching results in striking images that also provoke curiosity — how did the artist make them?
Siu is well known to many as the inspiring teacher of the Art and Craft of Printmaking classes at Santa Barbara City College’s Center for Lifelong Learning after teaching watercolor and printmaking at Westmont College for 15 years.
Don became a printmaker after teaching in the Sociology Department at UCSB for forty years.
Together, Siu and Don have taught and nurtured many of the enthusiastic printmakers currently living and working in Santa Barbara and the region.
The AFSB Gallery is located in the historic Acheson House on the corner of Garden and East Victoria Streets in Santa Barbara.
Regular gallery hours are Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and by appointment. The primary gallery entrance on Garden Street is accessible by ramp.
We look forward to seeing you!
— Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara is a non-profit with the goal of enhancing the Santa Barbara community’s awareness and appreciation of architecture and the built environment.