ST. LOUIS, MO.- The incredible explosion of printmaking activity that began in the United States in the 1960s continues to this day. It stands out for the radical spirit of exploration and experimentation that helped to expand the possibilities of contemporary art. The Saint Louis Art Museum celebrates this reimagining of a centuries-old art form in the exhibition “Graphic Revolution: American Prints 1960 to Now,” which opened Nov. 11 and will run through Feb. 3, 2019.

“Graphic Revolution” presents this continuing story of contemporary printmaking through more than 110 prints and artists’ editions by a diverse group of artists whose visual imagery helped define the spirit of their time. These include major works in the museum’s collection by Louise Bourgeois, Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol.

The exhibition looks beyond the artists to explore the creative synergies that emerged between the printers, publishers, dealers and collectors who were critical to the development of American art in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The exhibition also notes the historical fabric of this period as it is represented in St. Louis. “Graphic Revolution” includes important works by Enrique Chagoya, Bruce Conner, Bruce Nauman, Ed Ruscha, Kiki Smith, Frank Stella and Kara Walker on loan from private St. Louis collections.

“‘Graphic Revolution’ vividly highlights the Saint Louis Art Museum’s significant holdings of postwar American prints,” said Brent R. Benjamin, the Barbara B. Taylor Director of the Saint Louis Art Museum. “The richness and variety of this collection is attributable not only to the prescience of past museum curators and directors, but to the many donors who have enthusiastically and generously supported purchases by the museum and contributed works of art from their own collections.”

“Graphic Revolution: American Prints 1960 to Now” is curated by Elizabeth Wyckoff, curator of prints, drawings and photographs, and Gretchen L. Wagner, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs.

A fully illustrated, 300-page catalogue featuring essays by Wyckoff and Wagner accompanies the exhibition. Catalogue entries by the curators, along with other authors, address the individual works in the exhibition. The catalogue focuses not only on the works of art, but also on the role of the printers, publishers and dealers who cultivated and promoted the form.