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Atelier 17: A Legacy of Modernist Printmaking

FIA Graphics Gallery | 1.18.24 – 4.28.24

In 1927 artist Stanley William Hayter opened an experimental printmaking school and studio in Paris. Located on 17 rue Campagne-Première, it became known as Atelier 17 (French for workshop). Unlike other studios at the time, Hayter emphasized collaboration between artists and urged them to explore experimental and innovative printmaking techniques. Throughout the studio’s sixty years in existence, Atelier 17–trained printmakers pushed the boundaries of what was previously thought possible for graphic arts. They pioneered and perfected new methods of marking, inking, and printing matrices that revolutionized printmaking and brought it in line with modernist expression. Key achievements include the revival of engraving, the expansion of soft ground etching beyond its traditional use, and the development of “simultaneous color printing” or “viscosity printing” which produces multicolor prints with a single pass through the press.

The technical experimentation that Hayter fostered at Atelier 17 put the workshop in the vanguard of a development that was to become increasingly important in 20th century art. This exhibition includes artists who studied at the Atelier during their career, focusing on artworks made with the new techniques that were developed out of the studio.