Victoria Eidelsztein (left) and Jasper Duberry (right)
Jasper Duberry and Victoria Eidelsztein are s the inaugural Full Color Printmaking Fellows at Highpoint Center for Printmaking. With the guidance of a steering committee, this program has been in development since 2019 for the purpose of creating a more diverse and equitable space for artists of color to participate, create work, and engage in the printmaking community! We are thankful to the steering committee and all of the individual donors and family foundations that helped make this program possible now and into the future!
Jasper Duberry is a printmaker that resides in St. Michael, Minnesota. Jasper learned printmaking at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Jasper often explores themes that are various stages of the Black experience – pain, joy, healing, and resistance to name a few.
As Michelle Alexander, author of The new Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness writes, “Slavery defined what it meant to be black (a slave), and Jim Crow defined what it meant to be black (a second-class citizen). Today mass incarceration defines the meaning of blackness in America: black people, especially black men, are criminals. That is what it means to be black.”
Victoria Eidelsztein is an Argentinian artist and screenprinter based in Minneapolis. Victoria’s artwork reflects on simple yet complex themes like loneliness, self-care, and homesickness. “My immigration process started in 2019 and coincided with the pandemic which delayed my documentation. This created a very delicate situation for me; I found myself very lonely, not being able to work or go back home, and I was feeling very homesick without a sense of belonging. My artwork was shaped by these events and overwhelming feelings, and printmaking became a powerful tool to express them.” In one image, Victoria’s blue women are alone in the middle of the paper, without any background or elements that ground them; they seem to be floating but they always have themselves. Victoria prints her drawings on paper and apparel and is currently exploring large-scale fabric printing techniques, creating tapestries with intricate patterns.
Victoria offered this about her practice and how the fellowship will be a benefit: “My practice now is mainly focused on screenprinting; I also do ceramics and paint murals. Recently, I learned how to sew which expands the limits of my creativity and gives me access to new formats. Being selected for the Full Color Print Fellowship is a dream! Having access to a fully equipped studio, mentorship, and guidance for a year will help me expand artistically but also be able to create on a higher level and even larger scale.”