Kent Manske

 First Time Art Party Participant

Within

Artist’s Website

www.preneo.org/kent

Artist’s Statement

Inquiry and introspection about the interconnectedness of things drives my need to create. Processing thoughts, ideas and observations is the nature of my studio activity. Through the creation of images, symbols and visual narratives, I explore my being and belongingness. This investigation helps me access my own truths and facilitates my understanding of the world in a broader context.

I am interested in language development, including its construction, ambiguity, contradictions, intentionality, translation and interpretation. My works function as conscious maps, providing visual routes for evolving ideas, advancing understanding and constructing meaning. Each mark metaphorically documents a thought experience, comments on an inquiry or reveals a process of thinking. Meaning evolves and diversifies over time.

Print making processes serve the conceptual development of my images and satisfy my passion for working with materials. Completed works are realized as original prints and artists’ books.

“Nests” is an ongoing series of one-of-a-kind experimental prints. Each print is created using a single stencil that is used repetitively. Ink is squeegeed through the stencil over and over while rotating the paper with each successive squeegee pull. Wet ink that sticks to the bottom of the screen transfers back on to the print as a ghost image.

“Cells” is an ongoing print project exploring and celebrating living organisms, the human genome and our personal microbiome.

About the Artist

Kent Manske was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA in 1960. He received an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1992 he co-founded PreNeo Press in Redwood City, California, with artist Nanette Wylde. A survey of his work was published by Hunger Button Books in 2014. His work can be found in collections including the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and the Oakland Museum of California.