Vestments | Vestiges: New Works on Paper by Gwen Partin
June 5 – July 12, 2025
Form+Content Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new works on paper by Gwen Partin. The vestments are garment-shaped drawings, monotype prints and paper constructions. Partin responds to the materiality of printmaking and drawing, the layering of colors and working with paper while creating objects that are traditionally made from fabric. Her inspiration comes from a life spent looking at textiles from family heirlooms as well as an inherent interest in pattern and textile surface design. The vestiges are the remnants of these insights along with another purpose: these eclectic forms were made to buoy up her spirits out of the dark winter months and to cover up and lay aside obstacles to contentment.
On View: June 5 through July 12 (Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 12-6pm)
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 7, 4-7pm
Artist’s Talk: Thursday, June 26, 7pm
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I interpret the human and natural made world and what we experience in life relating to nature, the body, words, texture and pattern. I'm drawn to patterns and textures in the natural environment. Textiles are also a big influence on my work, where systems of woven, tiled or tessellated designs inspire my approach. Drawing provides a meditative basis to my art practice forming the seed for further work in printmaking. In printmaking I use mainly monotype, cut paper stencils, relief blocks and collagraph plates. My process involves constructing matrices that create a lexicon of parts I then collage back together. I’m deeply satisfied by the intensity of the work process and the engagement with the materials and working with my hands. For me, the work is realized when it connects me to an intangible, emotional, and sublime place, and I feel accomplished when my work embodies a unique balance of control and serendipity.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
GWEN PARTIN is a printmaker, drawer and book artist working from her studio in the Northrup King Building in NE Minneapolis. She received her MFA in printmaking from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, and her BA in studio art in printmaking and drawing from Sonoma State University. She is a member of Form+Content Gallery in Minneapolis. Her work has been in numerous one person and group exhibitions (including the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Medical Clinic, Catherine G. Murphy Gallery, St. Catherine University; the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota) and has work in both public and private collections. She was a graphic designer, illustrator and educator in that field preceding an early retirement to pursue her art practice full time.