Two exhibits on display at library
Detail of Mary Orwen's oil painting "Shafts of Sunlight" (1953). |
he art of printing and a local artist's works are on display in two new exhibits at Rush Rhees Library.
Early Printing at Venice, 14771558 is open through Friday, September 24, and Shafts of Sunlight, an exhibit of selected paintings by Rochester artist Mary Orwen, is open through Thursday, August 26. Both are free and open to the public.
Early Printing at Venice, in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, spotlights some of the finest examples of Venetian printing from the era after Johannes Gutenberg printed the Bible using movable type in Mainz, Germany, in 1455. Within 40 years of that event, the center of the printing trade had shifted south to Venice, as artisans from other parts of Italy and Europe went to work in the city's vibrant commercial and intellectual atmosphere.
Among the 16 volumes on display are three pocket-sized books from printer Aldus Manutius; six incunables---books printed before 1501--that reveal high technical quality in the use of type and woodcut design, including Sphaera mundi, a collection of astronomical works printed by Erhard Ratdolt that contains colored diagrams; and Appian's Historia Romana, with elaborate ornamentation for initial letters and page borders.
In addition, the exhibit includes descriptions and illustrations of changes in bookbinding techniques after the invention of movable type.
Shafts of Sunlight features paintings by Mary Orwen, a well-known Rochester artist whose work has been shown in more than 40 exhibitions. A lifelong painter, Orwen has taught and lectured about art, including at local universities and the Memorial Art Gallery. She often focuses on nature themes in her nonrepresentational style.
Her paintings are in the collections of several museums, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. In the local arts community, she is a member of the Arena Group and has participated in its exhibits at MAG and at other venues.
For more information on Early Printing at Venice, call x5-4477; for more information on Shafts of Sunlight, call x5-4476, or visit www.lib.rochester.edu.
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