Brightest Young Things

THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART AND COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN
PRESENT 2012 PRINT PORTFOLIO

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This spring, the Printmaking Department at the Corcoran College of Art + Design will debut its 27th annual Printmaking Portfolio at Coas on F Gallery. For more than a quarter century, the Corcoran's print portfolio exhibition has showcased the artistic vision and printmaking skills of Corcoran's faculty and students in the Master of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Continuing Education programs.

This year's theme, Attention, The resulting prints will embody a shared creative vision realized through a wide range of traditional and experimental printmaking techniques, including screen printing, lithography, etching, letterpress, relief, and digital.

"This year's theme, Attention, feels appropriate due to the current social and political situations which have formed over the past year, both positive and negative", said Elizabeth Klimek, portfolio coordinator at the Corcoran College of Art + Design.

The exhibition will be on view at Caos on F in Washington, D.C. from February 3 - March 30, 2012. The public is invited to attend an opening reception with the artists on February 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. and a literary reading by Corcoran faculty, students, on Friday, March 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Caos on F, 923 F St. NW. The exhibition will be open to the public on Fridays from 3-7 pm and Saturdays from 12 - 6 pm.

ABOUT THE PRINT PORTFOLIO
The annual Print Portfolio offers positive opportunities for Corcoran student artists. The exhibition at Caos on F is an opportunity for the art community and collectors to view student work in a professional setting. Portfolios from previous years have been purchased for private and public collections including the Library of Congress and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Organized for many years by printmaking coordinator Georgia Deal, this year's portfolio project has been coordinated by Elizabeth Klimek, printmaking instructor at the Corcoran. For more than 26 years the annual print portfolio has showcased the work of MA, BFA, and Continuing Education students and their instructors. This year, 25 students
and faculty have been involved in every aspect of the production of the portfolio - from choosing a theme, editing the prints, designing and producing the title sheet, portfolio case and invitation, planning the reception, assisting the gallery with hanging the show, and manning the gallery for public viewing.
Both the February 3 reception and March 2 literary reading provide an opportunity for visitors to meet the student and faculty artists and to learn about the prints from the artists themselves-opening a window into their creative processes. For more information, please visit www.corcoran.edu.

ABOUT THE PROJECT DIRECTOR, ELIZABETH KLIMEK
Elizabeth Klimek is an instructor of printmaking at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, D.C. and a working artist living in Alexandria, VA, who shows her work nationally and internationally. She received her BFA from West Virginia University and her MFA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Klimek is currently serving as the secretary and newsletter editor of the board of SGC International printmaking organization, and in the fall of 2009 she taught in Italy for the University of Georgia's Cortona Program. Her most recent exhibitions include the Sanbao International Biennial Printmaking Exhibition 2011, Sanbao, China, the Freak of Nature International Print Exchange, Gippsland Centre for Art and Design, Churchill, Australia, the 2011 Atlanta Print Biennial, Atlanta, GA, and an upcoming solo exhibition at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania.
ABOUT CAOS ON F
Caos on F is an artist-owned and artist-operated showroom offering a unique blend of fine art, hand painted fabric and furniture located at 923 F St. NW in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood. Read the Washington Post review about Caos on F's unique collaborative focus on arts and crafts as presented in its most recent exhibit.


ABOUT THE CORCORAN
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, a privately funded institution, was founded in 1869 as Washington's first and largest nonfederal museum of art. It is known internationally for its distinguished collection of historical and modern American art as well as contemporary art, photography, European painting, sculpture and the decorative arts. Founded in 1890, the Corcoran College of Art + Design is Washington's only four-year college of art and design offering BFA degrees in Digital Media Design, Fine Art, Fine Art Photography, Graphic Design, Interior Design, and Photojournalism; a BA in Art Studies; a five-year Bachelor of Fine Arts/ Master of Arts in Teaching (BFA/MAT); an AFA in Digital Media Design, Fine Art, Graphic Design, and Photography; and MA degrees in Art and the Book, Art Education, Exhibition Design, Interior Design, Master of Arts in Teaching, and New Media Photojournalism. The College's Continuing Education program offers part-time credit and non-credit classes for children and adults and draws more than 2,500 participants each year.