Over the past two decades, the art world has broadened its geographic reach and opened itself to new continents, allowing for a significant cross-pollination of post-conceptual strategies and vernacular modes. Printed materials, in both innovative and traditional forms, have played a key role in this exchange of ideas and sources. This catalogue, published in conjunction with an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, examines the evolution of artistic practices related to printmaking, from the resurgence of traditional printing techniques—often used alongside digital technologies—to the worldwide proliferation of self-published artist’s books and ephemera. Print/Out features focused sections on ten artists and publishers—Ai Weiwei, Edition Jacob Samuel, Ellen Gallagher, Martin Kippenberger, Lucy McKenzie, Aleksandra Mir, museum in progress, Robert Rauschenberg, Superflex and Rirkrit Tiravanija—as well as rich illustrations of additional printed projects from the last 20 years by major artists such as Trisha Donnelly, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Thomas Schütte and Kelley Walker. An introductory essay by Christophe Cherix, Chief Curator of Prints and Illustrated Books at the Museum, offers an overview of this period with particular attention to new directions and strategies within an expanded field of printmaking.
