As you might remember I graduated in May, 2025 with an Interdisciplinary Art Degree. At graduation two of my dear friends gifted me a weekend with them to see the show, The Game Changers: Diebenkorn, Frankenthaler, & Raushenberg at the Cameron Art Museum (CAM), in Wilmington, North Carolina
I feel so lucky to have friends who appreciate my love of art and my practice. It was such a lovely time to share my passion with them and be in my element with people who love me. Being asked about art is a great way to connect to me and other artists. Speaking about artists we love and admire is usually a gateway to many other conversations.
Full vulnerability here:It also came with a fair bit of anxiety. For me allowing others to see me in my element is also scary; because I worry I don’t communicate my ideas well or know what I think I know. However, I am also enthusiastic and love the opportunity to learn more.
Art museums are a great place to learn more, ask questions, and share ideas with others. I also find it a great place to sit with myself to contemplate a particular artwork or artist, and sometimes where I might be heading in my next chapter. Outdoors is also a great place for this contemplation.
Let’s get into this show which was terrific and were all prints I had not seen before. A real treat!
The walls were mixed in no particular order of the three artists. Diebenkorn, Frankenthaler, and Rauschenbergs prints.
Each of their styles fit together and play off each other. The interplay between their styles, color choices, and new techniques of this time in American printmaking is fantastic.
The exhibition had about fifty pieces, mostly these three artists with a few others sprinkled in like Joseph Albers. Rauschenberg studied under Albers at Black Mountain College in N.C.
As a printmaker I was excited to see an exhibition of three well known Abstract artists who also created new boundaries and pushed old ones in printmaking together in one place AND in North Carolina. I have travelled for shows with prominent and important artists in the past, so it was nice to see it in my own state.
The curatorial team did a great job of creating an exhibit that flowed and told the story of each artists “play” with abstraction and techniques in printmaking. In each of the artists showing here there were examples of their works that pushed the envelope of what was done before. Which is what makes them all so notable.
I also loved that Helen Frankenthaler was included because we all know why I write this blog the Glass Canvas. I want to encourage and applaud museums and galleries as well as anyone else that highlights the women who create. IN this case Frankenthaler was a visionary and in my eyes and others a artistic genius. I can guess she would not have said that about herself…WhY? Because it’s tough to talk about yourself as an artist and even harder to say that you created something “NEW.”
Each of these three artists considered themselves painters & printmakers. All born within 4 years of each other; 1922, 1925, and 1928! All part of abstract art movements of 20th century.
All paintings start out of a mood, out of a relationship with things or people, out of a complete visual impression. —Richard Diebenkorn
—Richard Diebenkorn, diebenkorn.org
If you read in a past blog I mentioned that I thought Lithography was hard. Diebenkorn makes it looks easy and beautiful. The below image is my favorite of his I saw at the museum. It is gorgeous, textured, and looks like a flawless drawing which it isn’t. It’s a litho – which means there were many processes and chemicals!
I was not as familiar with him as I was the other two artists in this show. He was part of the bay area figurative movement I found this article which describes the movement in more detail. This article and his website helped me to appreciate this lithography and his printmaking practice even more after knowing this West Coast idea of the figure, and the artists creating them.
I suggest giving them both a read if you want to know more about his creative process, who he admired, and where his inspiration came from. I will go ahead and tell you he created 150 prints using a variety of techniques in his lifetime and they amazing!
“I’d rather risk an ugly surprise than rely on things I know I can do.”
Helen Frankenthaler
Most of the articles I have read about Frankenthaler describe her work and her way of creating as experimental! She was known for her experimentation within her work. One of the methods she used and pioneered was soak-stain painting.
Jackson’s Art Blog explains the process She was well known as a painter but was also a printmaker, among several other mediums. Her works were categorized as abstract expressionism and, along with some other well-known artists like Rothko, she created works called color field paintings. The Tate Modern explains this type of work and who were some of the prominent artists creating these works during the 1950’s to 1970’s.
“I think a picture is more like
Robert Rauschenberg
the real world when it is
made out of the real world.”
Rauschenberg created a body of works over six decades. I hope that I am that lucky to get to experiment and create for an entire lifetime.
In his early career (1948) he was one of the students who attended Black Mountain College in Asheville, North Carolina. And studied printmaking, photography, drawing, and sculpture alongside Ruth Asawa, Susan Weil, and Ray Johnson.
The range of mediums he used is incredible. It is a long list – painting, collage, printmaking, sculpture, and so much more.
The Rauschenberg Foundation website has so much information about his process, his why, as well as more about each of his; which there are a lot.
I enjoyed sharing this exhibition with my dear friends and know with you all. I thought it was better to share where to read more about each artists rather than tell you all the things…happy exploring! I get so excited learning about artist and seeing them on walls in galleries. Please see my list below of North Carolina museums and galleries. Go Explore!
Notable Museums and Galleries in North Carolina—
Major Art Museums in NC
| Museum | Location | Specialty / Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) — Raleigh | Raleigh | Collection spans 5,000+ years from antiquity to contemporary. Includes large outdoor museum park. Free admission to permanent collection. NC DNCR+3NC DNCR+3Wikipedia+3 |
| SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art) | Winston-Salem | Contemporary art, with focus on southern & regional artists. NC DNCR+1 |
| Bechtler Museum of Modern Art | Charlotte | Mid-20th-century modern art. Wikipedia+1 |
| The Mint Museum | Charlotte | Broad collection, including American, European, African art. learn.ncartmuseum.org |
| Hickory Museum of Art | Hickory | American art from 19th-21st centuries; also Southern folk art & regional artists. Wikipedia |
And SOME MORE….The North Carolina Art Museums
- Ackland Art Museum — Chapel Hill.
- Asheville Museum of Art — Asheville.
- Greenville Museum of Art — Greenville.
- Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum — Wilmington.
- The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University — Durham.
- Reynolda House Museum of American Art — Winston-Salem.
- The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture — Charlotte.
Photo by Melissa Evers
Check out the current and upcoming exhibitions. Continue the learning, build on the curiosity, be apart of the conversations, & seek out the women who are breaking the GLASS CANVAS.
Until next time on @glasscanvas!
Instagram – @heartmailstudios & @heartsonwalks
See you soon – M.E
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