On April 19th, 2024, Grove Gallery will be proud to show Matthew Presutti’s first Milwaukee solo exhibition. “Negative Capability” is a collection of handprinted photopolymer gravures by printmaker and educator Matthew Presutti. Shot with a 4 x 5 camera and printed on handmade hemp paper, Presutti uses long exposure techniques to illuminate the hidden landscape of the subconscious. Coined by the poet John Keats, a person with Negative Capability “is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” These images invite the viewer to contemplate where the boundaries between the known and unknown blur.

The project seeks to unravel the uncanny nature of time itself. Each image serves as a visual meditation, prompting us to confront the paradoxes that shape our perceptions of the past, present and our unknowable future. These landscapes document the complexities of our existence, urging us to find comfort in the uncertain and to recognize the language that resides in the shadows of our shared human experience.

Matthew Presutti is a print and paper artist originally from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains nestled in rural southeastern Ohio. The region's rich history of social activism and the beauty of its forgotten landscape are the driving force behind his artistic practice and research into sustainable studio methods. Presutti received his BFA from Ohio University in 2006 and MFA in printmaking from the University of South Dakota in 2013. He is an Adjunct Faculty Member and Printmaking Lab Technician at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design where he teaches printmaking, papermaking and book arts. Presutti is the founder of HOAX, a non-commercial research exhibition space & print shop located in the Bay View, Milwaukee. He’s currently researching papermaking with raw hemp fibers grown in southeastern Wisconsin courtesy of Dr. Shekinah of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute.

OPENING: GALLERY NIGHT AND DAY
FRIDAY, April 19, 2024, 5-9 PM
SATURDAY, April 20, 2024, 12
CLOSING: SATURDAY, May 31, 2024, 12-4 PM
OPEN HOURS: SATURDAYS, 12-4 PM

For more information, visit: matthewpresutti.com; on Instagram: @captainprintypants