Print Perfect

Simon Zalkind, director of exhibitions at the Mizel Arts & Culture Center at the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center, is excited about Good Impressions, a collection of American master prints from the 1920s, '30s and '40s from the collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer. "Many of the artists have attained canonical stature in American art history," Zalkind notes. "This exhibit gives us a glimpse of what America was like during a period of both enormous optimism and progress, as well as the specter of looming war and the Depression. And I think, artistically, there's something about prints in which artists feel freer both to experiment and indulge investigations that they may be less inclined to do with so-called more major works."

The pieces on display include lithography, etchings and engravings in a wide range of style and subject matter, from John Steuart Curry's striking "John Brown" — featuring a bellowing man with his arms thrown wide, the heavens behind him responding to his furor — to Martin Lewis's sweet and nostalgic image of a woman gazing outside a window at the setting sun, framed by clotheslines. "There's a dimension of this work that is socially conscious in a way that is consonant with people's desire to see art reflect and mirror moral values," Zalkind continues. "In other words, morality and beauty can actually spring from the same source and serve the same function."

Good Impressions opens today with a reception from 3 to 6 p.m. and remains on display through April 13. Visit www.mizelcenter.org or call 303-399-2660 for information.
Feb. 17-April 13, 2008