7 Decades | 42 Artists

In 1981, when I was a 26-year-old, living in LA, and working 1000 hours a week opening up the first Bed, Bath (and Beyond) store west of New Jersey, I happened upon a small classified ad in the LA Times offering prints by a number of artists, including Miro. I knew little of the artworld besides what I had seen in museums, but I knew as soon as I could afford it I wanted a colorful Miro. So, I called the number and went to visit the private art dealer selling Miro prints. It was Jack Rutberg. He spent 2 hours showing me every kind of print imaginable, from 18th/19th-century Goya prints to 20th-century Picassos and everything in between. Lithographs, etchings, mezzotints, woodcuts, etc. A lesson worthy of a bachelor's degree. He must have recognized something in me that made him spend the time. The world that Jack opened up for me would change the course of art history - okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it did change the course of my life. I left Jack's - my mind ablaze with printmaking - and, after 6 years devouring everything I could on the subject, I found myself a private art dealer as well. Now, four decades later, I have put together the exhibition Seven Decades of Printmaking: 42 Artists as a sort of homage to the rich, rewarding world of printmaking. Starting May 10th, in the gallery at 501 W. 23rd St., online and via social media, we will try to open up this world to all who are interested, as Jack Rutberg so passionately opened it up for me.