‘Solar Impressions’ Heads West

The art exhibition “Solar Impressions” that was at the Southampton Arts Center this past fall is now heading to the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck. This show, which opens with a reception on Sunday, January 26, from 4 to 6 p.m., brings together works by more than 40 artists who worked alongside Sag Harbor master printmaker and artist Dan Welden using the Solarplate etching process, a technique which Welden himself developed.

Welden, the director of Hampton Editions, Ltd in Sag Harbor, will be in attendance at the opening reception, according to Jude Amsel, Gallery Director at Gold Coast Arts. Welden’s career spans more than 50 years and the Solarplate etching process which he perfected is a simpler and safer alternative to traditional etching and relief printing. Instead of corrosive acids, Solarplate etching uses light-sensitive material applied to a metal plate, which then is hardened by the sun. Universities and art schools the world over use the Solarplate technique as a safer and more economical alternative to printmaking.

Throughout his career, Welden has collaborated with numerous artists on printmaking projects, including Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Jimmy Ernst, James Brooks, Kurt Vonnegut, and Eric Fischl, whose work graces the cover of the exhibit catalog guide and is among those on display at the Gold Coast Arts Center Gallery.

“Eric Fischl has made more prints with the Solarplate process through my studio than any other artist,” said Welden. “He has validated the process through his exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has written articles for the Smithsonian’s publication called American Art. We are pleased to be exhibiting at the Gold Coast Arts Center.”

“‘Solar Impressions’ is the result of a nearly three-decade friendship with Dan Welden, whom I consider a great friend and treasure, and who has altered the art of etching by developing the Solarplate process,” Amsel said. “With this process, he has helped make printmakers safe while protecting the environment.”

The “Solar Impressions” exhibition runs through April 10, at the Gold Coast Arts Center, 113 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck. For more information visit goldcoastarts.org or call 516-829-2570.