Milwaukee letterpress artist N. Adam Beadel will be exhibiting his newest large broadside poems, relief prints, Wheel of Fortune woodcut, and other typographic wonders at the Grove Gallery. His mysterious Gravity Computer will be on view along with linocut flowers, and souvenir paper hats. The works were all hand-printed using antique wood and lead type in his letterpress print shop next door to the gallery. Beadel takes ideas, words, phrases, even individual letters, and transforms them into art. This is letterpress like you've never seen it before.

Also on view is the unique collaborative linocut print “Break the Block: Pizza Party” featuring eight slices carved by Milwaukee printmakers Celeste Contreras, John Fleissner, Teddy Lepley, Hunter Lewis, Gregory Martens, Jessica Meuninck-Ganger, Julia Scheckel, and Beadel.

“Chews Your Words” is an experiment in broadside production, according to Beadel. “Can we trust what we hear? Can we trust what we read? I’m fascinated by scholarship and understanding how we know what we know. I believe in the magic of casting words into the world. Words have the ability to leave an impression when the author is long gone.”

“Letterpress technology requires that all excess be cut out, and phrases lose their adornment. Brevity is sacrosanct. I choose visual language with connections to the cosmos, book history, printing technology, and the human body. I respond to visual cues in the text that suggest composition and arrangement. After much trial and error during typesetting, I arrive at a selection of fonts and spacing that is most suited to the story. I hope the viewer will consider the visual aspects of the typography and enjoy the repetition of motifs in the prints.”

Nathan Adam Beadel is a printmaker with a hand in many book-arts. He specializes in carving illustrations out of wood and linoleum blocks, display typesetting with wood and lead type, and printing posters in the American Show Print style. In 2005, be began making zines, prints and stickers as Team Nerd Press, becoming a brick and mortar business in Milwaukee in 2013. He works with businesses, non-profs, and individuals to make brilliant, one-of-a-kind prints.

In 2020, Beadel graduated with an MFA in Printmaking from UW-Milwaukee where he studied history of books and printing, methods for making artist books, and constraint-based poetics. His letterpress and carving classes are geared towards image-text collaborations between artists. He’s taught at MIAD, UWM, the Studio Arts and Craft Center at UWM, Walker’s Point Center for the Arts and privately. He keeps a robust flower garden in the summer and enjoys whittling and reading.

Grove Gallery, 832 S. 5th ST. Milwaukee WI,
Opening Reception Friday, Feb. 11, 5:00-9:00 pm.
Closing Reception Sunday, Feb. 27, 12:00-5:00 pm.
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday, 12-4 pm and weekdays by appointment, 414-520-3891.
Show runs through Feb. 27

Email: beadelbeadel@gmail.com
Website: www.gallerygrove.com
Instagram: @teamnerdpress
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1343681806073939