Tonight's Nexus Press lecture is sure to be Enlightening

This blog is often informative, but rarely personal. Today I have decided to share my beginnings in the world of contemporary art.

This is me, Jennifer Price, with a few of my favorite Nexus books.

Fresh out of college, I landed a great opportunity as an intern at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. I worked closely with this organization for nearly a year and I learned many things about the Atlanta art scene, art administration, and non profits in general, but one of my favorite indulgences of working at the Contemporary was discovering the books of Nexus Press.

As an intern, you are asked to do things that no one else wants to do and you do it gladly. You do it for the experience, the foot in the door, the recommendations. I have to admit, when I was assigned to inventory the Nexus books, this was my initial reaction. I remember thinking, "Counting books? Is this what I studied for?" Once I began the task, my attitude made a complete 180 degree turn. The books of Nexus opened my eyes to the art of printing and the beauty of artist's made books. It also fueled my passion for the arts and planted a seed of interest in Atlanta's art organizations, past and present.

Since that summer, I have moved on to another great institution, Spruill Center for the Arts, but I have not forgotten my humble beginnings and the spark that lit my fire. This is why I am tingling with excitement over JoAnne's lecture tonight. This talk will be personal insight into an organization that was loved nationwide, and is still influencing artists and art historians today.

If you need one more reason to attend the Nexus Press lecture next Wednesday...

Nexus books at Spruill Gallery tell stories with lessons for the present

May 4, 2011

By Jerry Cullum

Scott McCarney, In Case of Emergency, 1984. Image courtesy Spruill Gallery.

In a megalopolitan area that remythologizes its self-image every six months or so, it requires only four or five years for things, people, and institutions to be utterly forgotten. This is not intrinsically bad, since history moves onward and Atlanta has been even more obsessed with newness than the rest of America. The problem comes when the reasons and motivations are forgotten; these tend to be overlooked even when the people and institutions behind them are remembered.

Nexus Press is one such institution, and, while it is unfortunate that it was allowed to go out of existence, it is even more unfortunate that the details of the place’s DIY spirit have slipped into our largely unrecollected history.


Read Jerry Cullum's entire article on BurnAway

Nexus Press Lecture In One Week!

The Books of Nexus Press
with JoAnne Paschall
FREE Lecture
Wednesday, May 11
6:30 – 8:30 pm

On May 11 at 6:30 PM, visit Spruill Gallery and view this wonderful collection of Nexus Press Books. The Nexus Press was a national leader in artist made books and an important element in printmaking art history. Learn more about this local icon and the evolution of Nexus Press from its co-founder, JoAnne Paschall. Special introduction by Louise E. Shaw, Executive Director of Nexus Contemporary Art Center from 1983 - 1998.

IMPORTANT CHANGE: Tonight's Lecture is Postponed

Due to the severe weather forecast for this evening, the Nexus Press Book Lecture has been rescheduled for Wednesday, May 11 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM.

Excerpts from Cathy Fox's article "Spruill Exhibit Celebrates Printmaking"

Jim McLean, Urban Fragment III, 1973, Collagraph

Now, we can revisit the work of Nexus Press, the nationally known and respected book art press that flourished here between 1976 and 2003.

A display of artist books published by the press is the heart of “Out of Print,” a group show centered on printmaking, at Spruill Gallery.

The exhibition is also a timeline of sorts, as it surveys printmakers and acknowledges printmaking organizations from the ’70s to the present. Included are Nexus Press, Rolling Stone Press and the newest, the Atlanta Printmakers Studio, as well as college programs at the Atlanta College of Art, Georgia State University, Savannah School of Art and Design and the University of Georgia.

That this is a living tradition is announced right when you walk in the door.

Read the entire article in today's AJC and be sure to join us for next Wednesday's free lecture of the Books of Nexus Press featuring JoAnne Paschall.

IMPORTANT CHANGE: Upcoming Event Rescheduled

The Books of Nexus Press
with JoAnne Paschall
FREE Lecture
RESCHEDULED for Wednesday, May 11
6:30 – 8:30 pm

The Nexus Press was a national leader in artist made books and an important element in printmaking art history. Learn more about this local icon and the evolution of Nexus Press from its co-founder, JoAnne Paschall. Special introduction by Louise E. Shaw, Executive Director of Nexus Contemporary Art Center from 1983 - 1998.