15 Aug Blending photography, ink and nature…

For John Pearson, making art is a process of continual discovery. From selecting and photographing a subject, to exploring the possibilities of polymer photogravure, printmaking allows him to develop the potential of the medium. Pearson’s work will be featured at Ripple River Gallery near Bay Lake from Aug. 17 through Sept. 11. A meet-the-artist reception is set for Saturday, Aug. 20 from 3 to 5 p.m.

Since 2015 Pearson has been working in the medium of polymer photogravure, a printmaking process in which digital photos are transferred to photosensitive plates. The plates are then inked, wiped, and printed on a hand-operated intaglio press. “I am drawn to this medium because it brings the warmth, colors, and textures of intaglio printmaking to the immediacy and veracity of digital photography. I’m still discovering the full range of expression the medium offers.” 

John Pearson, photogravure – “Dot, Dot, Dot”

Pearson’s prints begin with the camera. “Photography heightens my experience of the world.” A Twin Cities native who spends time at his family’s home on Mille Lacs Lake, Pearson’s subject matter reflects his abiding interests in natural history, landscape, and everyday domestic and commercial locations. “I’m often drawn to situations in which human activity rubs against the natural environment, especially where there’s a hint of a storyline. I also shoot items I’ve collected from the wild and arranged in the studio or outdoors under controlled conditions.”

When Pearson considers working up a new image, he asks himself, “Will it beguile a viewer’s eye and merit deeper attention? Is the subject revealed in a new or surprising way?” He assesses the image’s composition and texture to determine if those qualities will be enhanced by the medium. To strengthen an image he might pair it with another image, expand it across multiple plates or add color during the printing process. “I may start with a clear intention, but as I work with the image I try to let the medium’s tools and techniques inform and expand the image’s possibilities.”  

A graduate of Minneapolis College of Art and Design and a member of Highpoint Printmaking Collective, Pearson has combined his interest in the natural environment with his art practice. He pursued an internship at the Environmental Learning Center in Isabella (now Wolf Ridge Environmental Center), and was artist-in-residence at both the North Dakota Museum of Art’s McCanna House and at the Science Museum of Minnesota’s St. Croix Watershed Research Station in Marine-on-St. Croix. His work has been included in numerous solo and group shows and can be found in public and private collections.