January 6 – February 17, 2024
VIJA CELMINS: Night Skies
Krakow Witkin
In Person Viewing:
10 Newbury St Boston, MA 02116
Online Viewing:
https://www.krakowwitkingallery.com/exhibition/vija-celmins-night-skies
Krakow Witkin Gallery proudly presents a survey of Vija Celmins’ night sky editions made between 1992 and 2016.
In Celmins’ works, an open-mindedness in regards to the origins of her source imagery (authored and anonymous photographs, clippings, scraps, etc.), along with a keen balance between visible process and detailed rendering, points towards an ethos, as well as aesthetic, of equality. Furthermore, Celmins’ insistence on imagery without a singular focal point emphasizes her interest in an “all-over” approach where no one aspect (source, process, image, medium, and subject) is more powerful than any other. In the exhibited night skies, Celmins has skillfully created no greater emphasis on either foreground or background. The white of the stars is the paper showing from behind the ink that “forms” the sky. Addition and subtraction work hand in hand.
This exhibition provides an in-depth opportunity to explore the vast spaces between and within the source imagery utilized, techniques engaged, media used, decisions made, and the final artworks.
“Although reluctant to call herself a “printmaker,” Celmins has created a concentrated body of prints that convey a keen interest in the exploration of process and mark. But her prints have little to do with the fastidious pursuits of the specialist printmaker; rather they exploit the distinct attributes of the medium to address her ongoing aesthetic and intellectual concerns.” —Samantha Rippner
“It lies somewhere between distance and intimacy.” —Vija Celmins
