Major art fair taps into talents of art students

Tandem Press, the fine-art printmaking studio affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s art department, will be among hundreds of galleries represented, as thousands of collectors and artists gather December 7-10 for fairs and events surrounding Art Basel Miami Beach, the leading international art event in the Americas.

Among the fairs is the inaugural edition of Ink Miami 2006, featuring 15 major print publishers, including Marlborough Graphics of New York, Crown Point Press of San Francisco, and Tandem Press. Tandem played a lead role in organizing Ink Miami, which has opened the door for several UW–Madison art students, as well as alumni, to get directly engaged in a major international art event.

Endorsed by the International Fine Print Dealers Association, Ink Miami 2006 is co-chaired by Paula Panczenko, director of Tandem Press, and UW–Madison alumnus Bud Shark (B.S. ’68 in art), founder of Shark’s Ink, a fine-art press in Lyons, Colorado.

“Ink Miami could not have taken place without the input of the UW–Madison Art Department’s current and former students,” says Panczenko. “Tandem Press employs graduate and undergraduate students in all aspects of its operation and this was the most exciting and rewarding experience we have ever undertaken.”

In July, Panczenko invited art Professor John Rieben’s undergraduate graphic design students to create the logo for the fair, which senior Alison Graettinger and junior Melissa Martin did. To promote the event, Graettinger, Martin, and junior Renee Schlatter also designed promotional postcards, which were mailed to 50,000 people throughout the United States and overseas.

In addition, Rieben’s students designed ads for art magazines, including Art Forum and Art In America, and for the electronic publications E-Flux and the Art Travel Guide.

Meanwhile, a UW–Madison alumnus, Jason Ruhl (M.F.A. ’02 in art), designed the Ink Miami website, where information about the fair is available, along with links to the participating galleries.

“The results have been spectacular,” Panczenko says. “Even the December issue of Travel and Leisure mentioned the Ink Miami Fair as a destination.”

Launched in 1987 as a self-supporting print publisher affiliated with the Art Department in the UW–Madison School of Education, Tandem Press is designed to foster research, collaboration, experimentation, and innovation in the field of printmaking. More than 60 major artists – including Jim Dine, Judy Pfaff, and Sam Gilliam – have produced works at the Press. Tandem prints are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.

Tandem Press is located at 201 South Dickinson Street, Madison, WI 53703. Hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For further information, call (608) 263-3437.