Spudnik Press Cooperative is pleased to present States of I: A Conversation, an exhibition featuring work by artists Mary Jones and Jolynn Reigeluth.

Jones and Reigeluth are artists that live and work in states of “I;” respectively, Indianola, Iowa and Indianapolis, Indiana. In addition to living in states that start with the same letter, these printmakers have a penchant for building images from a central persona who is at best an unreliable narrator, caught and fraught in a landscape of self.

In their work, both artists celebrate the absurdity of being human by bringing to light some of our deepest, untold internal monologues. These autobiographical works by Jones and Reigeluth exemplify their shared interests in narrative imagery, as well as a love for the graphic legacy and energy coming out of Chicago, Illinois. For this exhibition, Jones and Reigeluth will contribute two bodies of work that culminate in a conversation with a set of two prints – one from each artist – that correspond in size and title.

States of I: A Conversation opens on June 15, 2018 and will be on view through August 11, 2018 at The Annex at Spudnik Press, 1821 W. Hubbard Street, Suite 302, Chicago, IL 60622.

About the Artists:

Mary Jones makes maps of the wilderness of personal histories. Images and words are layered out of time and perspective, and where and when are subjective. Space is delineated by the inhabitants, the who in the journeys being told. These personas are a combination of what is seen with what is imagined about encounters with people, places, and things. Details get piled on in the way that life is lived– in steps, notes, beats, breaths, and marks. Whether drawing or working in print media, collage is always an element. Trained as a printmaker, Jones is a scavenger of technologies, old and new.

Prior to moving to the Des Moines area, Jones lived in Chicago, where she exhibited at Ann Nathan Gallery. She was employed as an illustrator and designer, with work published by the Chicago Tribune, Playboy Magazine, and the Philadelphia Enquirer, among other publications. She was awarded residencies with the Ragdale Foundation, and with Anchor Graphics in Chicago. Twice she has taught photopolymer intaglio workshops for Frogman’s Print Workshops in Omaha, NE. For the past 17 years, she taught printmaking, design, and book arts courses Grand View University in Des Moines. She has work in several public collections, including the Illinois State Museum, and the Alter Collection of Art by Women at PAFA in Philadelphia. She is represented by Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee and Moberg Gallery in Des Moines.

Jolynn Reigeluth’s work combines an array of printmaking processes with drawing, painting, and collage to create print and mixed media hybrids. The images earnestly and humorously reflect on the emotional and physical aspects of the human condition and its twisted ironies. By working in tension between intuition and structure, she creates imagery that playfully captures the complexity of ubiquitous human experiences and interactions. She has a distinct affinity for the absurd and scatological that manifests in these introspective self-portraits.

Reigeluth is an artist from Des Moines, IA currently living and working in Indianapolis, Indiana. She earned an M.F.A. in printmaking from Kansas State University in 2015. Since 2015, Reigeluth has completed a residency in Ontario, Canada, taught at Indiana Wesleyan University as well as other Indianapolis venues, and visited universities in Michigan and Kansas as a visiting artist. In 2016, she curated a traveling exhibition titled “Sateen Dura-Luxe,” an exchange portfolio in honor of Indiana born author, Kurt Vonnegut. The exhibition schedule included MAPC’s 2016 Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, and The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis, where Jolynn is currently organizing another exhibition for 2018. In recent years, her work has been included in exhibitions across the United States including the International Print Center New York’s New Prints Exhibition, Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition, Pacific States Biennial North American Printmaking Exhibition, and others. In 2018 Reigeluth will participate in conducting research for a project titled Transforming Printmaking Through Chemical Innovation lead by National Endowment for the Arts Grant Recipients, Jason Scuilla and Stefan Bossmann, of Kansas State University.

Image (left to right): Jolynn Reigeluth, These Are My Legs II, 2017 (detail); Mary Jones, Harryette, 2017 (detail).