Working Backwards

Boriana Kantcheva, *Moths*, two-plate etching, aquatint, monotype

On view July 18 - September 11, 2026

Sat 7/18, 4-6 pm: Opening reception
Sat 8/1, 4-6 pm: Pressing Engagement - a conversation with the artists
Sat 8/29, 4-6 pm: Show and Tell: Blocks, Plates, Screens and Stones - a demonstration of printmaking techniques with Andrew Stearns of New Impressions Print Studio

13FOREST Gallery is pleased to present Working Backwards, a group exhibition of 15 outstanding local printmakers, celebrating the breadth of techniques and creativity expressed in contemporary printmaking. It is a remarkably versatile medium, capable of a range of visual expression from fine line work to painterly ink application, and it demands a technical prowess that sets it apart among artistic modes.

When creating the matrix for a print, printmakers must render the image in reverse so it will print in the correct orientation. Artist Robert Rauschenberg related this method of seeing in reverse to his dyslexia, remarking on how it was advantageous to his printmaking: “I already see things backwards! You see, in printmaking everything comes out backwards so printing is an absolute natural for me. It is difficult for a lot of artists to do prints because they draw one way and can’t imagine it the other way.” Working backwards, printmakers envision a final image that must be broken into layers, by color and in reverse - an exacting process with little room for error.

While mediums like painting allow for revision throughout the process, for printmakers there is no returning to a previous step in the print once the ink has been laid. Despite, or perhaps because of, these restrictions, artists have been using printmaking processes for centuries to produce beautiful, provocative, informative and humorous work that is a marvel of technical skill. Working Backwards features a range of printmaking techniques, from etching and reduction linoleum to letterpress and monotype, demonstrating the vast possibilities of the medium.

Featured Artists

Coco Berkman, Susan Denniston, Leo Feininger, R. Galvan, Susan Jaworski-Stranc, Boriana Kantcheva, Magda León, Robert Maloney, Sarah Morrison, Ted Ollier, Ellen Shattuck Pierce, Andrew Stearns, Mike Sweeney, Mary Teichman and Saskia Van Vactor