New York and Berlin-based artist Chloe Piene visited Highpoint Editions in the summer of 2009. With support from Master Printer Cole Rogers and his staff, she began several new etchings and lithographs. Like the charcoal drawings for which she is best known, Piene’s prints feature gothic figures that are darkly beautiful. Critics have compared them to Egon Schiele’s self-portraits and Edvard Munch’s depictions of death and maidens, yet Piene’s subjects inhabit the page in a way that is uniquely their own. Like her drawings, her prints are free of background and narrative content. Their impact thus depends on Piene’s delicate subjects, which stand, sit and even fly. Their lines are light and nervous, suggesting that she has drawn them quickly. In fact, with the proper momentum, her works may take only twenty or thirty minutes to complete. She has referred to the process as “pure performance,” no surprise from an artist who also produces and performs in her own videos. Piene will return to Highpoint to continue her project in the spring of 2010. At that time she will also give an artist’s talk at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Highpoint invites the public to join us for this event on Thursday, May 20 in the Pillsbury Auditorium at 7 pm. This event is free of charge and is part of the MIA’s Free Thursdays programming.