ETC Industries - C. Editions
Mana Contemporary Chicago
2233 S Throop St, Chicago, IL 60608
Thomas Cvikota is a contemporary art consultant, publisher and owner of ETC Industries - C. Editions. He was a student and friend of the artist and is the exclusive representative for the Knudsen prints.
Tom and Estate Agent Michael Knudsen, son of the artist, recently reviewed new proof editions at MANA Contemporary in Chicago. They were printed at Landfall Press, Inc. in Santa Fe, NM. Editions were signed and documented by Michael and Steven Campbell, Director and Senior Printer of Landfall. Considered some of John Knudsen’s best work the estate editions provide a new perspective as they have been reprinted using some of the finest intaglio presses in the country.
Thomas Cvikota at Mana Contemporary in Chicago reviews Estate Editions.
John Knudsen - An Appreciation by Thomas Cvikota
In honor of the late professor John Knudsen, I would like to offer a perspective on his printed works; a selection of lithographs, woodcuts, etchings and engravings are included in this exhibition. My remarks and observations are informed by my 40-year history as a student of print and as a student of John’s some 40 years ago.
John’s extraordinary talent as a maker of prints rivals his gifts as a painter. I contend that the prints on view are a priori to the paintings. Not to suggest that his paintings are alternatives to his prints, but rather that the prints and their technical virtuosity inform his brushwork, composition and the spatial language within the paintings. If you compare the density of information found in both the paintings and the prints, you will begin to notice a visual syntax they share, almost literal examples of this.
It’s no surprise to find that John was an avid collector and aficionado of fine rugs and woven textiles. So much so that he could make an example (rug) that experts found convincing, if not perfect.
We may now know the inspiration john’s eye found in his passion for rug.However, the figurative subject matter of his art is at the core of his Intention: to depict the human condition as a flawed, riotous pattern. He focused on the urban environment, with its dense topography and primary palette, and rendered it as a metaphor, a pattern. At first glance it may seem that he rendered it brick by brick, line by line as a facsimile. Yet, if you look closer in the larger cityscape paintings, and even less in the engravings of the same subject. Our eyes read these pictures as an overall pattern, and then rest by focusing on isolated passages to find the threads of a story(line). In the prints, sometimes the smallest statement is the most grand. It is in the minutiae; that is where the big picture is revealed.
Prints are fundamentally about minutiae. John’s prints contain many tour-de-force passages of subtle chiaro-scuro, engraved line and aquatint. This technical facility was a by-product of his education as a student of the late Argentinean master of intaglio printmaking, Mauricio Lasansky, Lasansky taught John at the University of Iowa, in the first studio program in the United States to offer a Masters of Fine Arts in printmaking and the understanding that it is a noble and valued endeavor. As John’s student, I was taught in the same way - to learn from the tradition of print, and then take it somewhere new and express a personal vision.
Pay particular attention to the chronology of the prints. You can see the evolution of his particular style. Along the way we find references to the engraved lines of Durer, the drypoints of Picasso, the ragged, carved wood excavations in a Gauguin, the delicate etched lines and aquatints of Chagall, and the wandering lithographic line and forms of Dubuffet. In the end all I see is the phenomenal talent of John Knudsen. That is the ultimate goal of any artist seeking truth and personal clarity with his art.
In summation, my short education with John left me with a perspective on print and what a real artist can do with the print processes. John always insisted on making art in a context of tradition. With this exhibition you will experience a small sampling of his humanity and talent. Harper College, the institution where John established a tradition of excellence and taught so many, has now brought his genius back home in thes much deserved tribute. Those who knew him are grateful for the opportunity to sing his praises and remember him so fondly.
From the John A. Knudsen: Retrospective Show Catalog
Mana Contemporary Open House
In coordination with ETC Industries select prints and paintings were on display during the Mana Contemporary Open House in 2022. The large painting entitled “Wabash Scene” and the three etchings combined entitled “A Chicago Day” demonstrate the artists exploration of color in painting but also line and texture through his etchings. The juxtaposition of working between print and painting was often a daily routine for Knudsen.
For more information about availability please contact inquire@etc-industries.com.