Printmaking is a dynamic art form that—although often used to create multiple copies of an image—produces originals and offers artists the opportunity to experiment with each new impression. This exhibition investigates the printmaking experiments and endeavors of artists who knew each other and often shared influences and inspiration. “By displaying prints in pairs, we have the opportunity to contextualize art in a new way, to tell stories about the fascinating lives artists, and to compare styles. Because artistic collaboration exists across cultures and time periods, the exhibit features an eclectic selection,” said Maggie North, Acting Curator of Art.

Dynamic Duos: Printmakers as Partners brings together pairs of prints by artists who were friends, couples, or business partners. From the woodblock prints of husband and wife duo William Zorach and Marguerite Thompson Zorach to the mass-produced lithographs of business partners Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives, the prints in this exhibit speak to the collaborative, creative lives of their makers.

William Zorach and Marguerite Thompson met in Paris, France, where both had traveled to study art. It was Thomson, an associate of Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein, who would introduce Zorach to avant-garde styles and circles. In 1912, the two settled in the United States and married. While the couple mainly resided in New York, they spent time in Provincetown, Massachusetts, during the nineteen teens and twenties. During these two decades, the couple shared ideas about artwork and often collaborated on prints. The prints on view in this exhibition were influenced by a cubist aesthetic and make use of bold contrasts and shapes.

Visitors who see Dynamic Duos will also have the opportunity to view the work of another couple: Two Lives, One Passion (open through September 9), an exhibition about the life and work of American Impressionist artists William and Lee Kaula, who were husband and wife.