Cocktails by Craig Marcus

My practice centers on printmaking as both image making and object making. Working primarily through various traditional print processes, I work primarily in the realm of realism where I examine familiar objects and the quiet complexity hidden within everyday life. I am particularly interested in overlooked objects and familiar images that often go unnoticed, heightening them to great detail while inviting an often humorous and lighthearted playfulness in my work. Photography and the tradition of trompe l’oeil influence my approach to realism. I use careful drawing and observation not simply to reproduce an object, but to explore the memories and associations attached to it. Through the fine art of printmaking, recognizable subjects become opportunities to reconsider things that might otherwise seem ordinary. Printmaking is central to this process because of its relationship to repetition, transformation, and materiality. An image moves from a carved or etched matrix to a sheet of paper, changing through each stage of the process. The impression in the paper, the platemark, and the way ink sits on the surface are essential parts of the finished work. I value the print as a physical object that carries evidence of my own hand and the process used to make it. I am also interested in the relationship between printmaking, consumer culture, and popular imagery, drawing from the legacy of Pop Art. I continue to explore these ideas through humble materials such as corrugated cardboard particularly for the use of creating special boxes or frames for many of my works and various works in which it is the primary medium. These projects reflect my general interest in paper products and manufacturing, which is my current profession as a press operator and print technician.  My work in production printing continues to inform and intersect with my artwork. For me, printmaking is a process of transformation in which ideas, materials, and actions remain visible in the final work.  My work is about exploring and using the magic of traditional fine art printmaking in all its complexity and simplicity.