Erik Waterkotte: Invocation
February 24 – March 31, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, February 24, 2012, 6:30-8:30 pm



Erik Waterkotte, Invocation of Demons, digitally printed film in lightbox, 12" x 16", 2011.

Open Studio is pleased to present Invocation, an exhibition by Mankato, MN based artist, Erik Waterkotte from February 24 – March 31, 2012. The exhibition is accompanied by a text by Minneapolis, MN based writer Brandon Cooke.

Invocation is a word that connotes magic. It can be a prayer of entreaty or a formula for conjuring, or even a petition for help. Erik Waterkotte's work is an exploration of popular culture, myth and fantasy as conveyed through print and mixed media. He is drawn to ideas and events in popular culture that blur the line between fantasy and reality, finding that these ideas and related imagery act as illustrations for the cultural fragmentation of contemporary society. Waterkotte's recent work alludes to fantastic, magical, and mystical spaces. Juxtaposed and submerged in the work are images from the films Woodstock and Gimme Shelter, heavy metal album art, the Mormon Tabernacle, alchemical symbolism and ancient ruins. Using appropriation, collage, mixed print media, digital applications and video projection, Waterkotte creates layered imagery that both elucidates and obscures. According to Cooke in the accompanying essay, the sensuousness of Waterkotte's works draws viewers in before it is quite realized what we are seeing.

Working with collage and printmaking, layering imagery and media, Watterkotte references architectural spaces and landscapes. He sees collage as an act of destruction, building, distortion and reduction. Distortion and reduction are key to his process — he wants the viewer to experience imagery that is temporal, shifting and could easily be peeled apart. Waterkotte is interested in creating works that reference the beauty and terror of the sublime, that walk the line between representation and abstraction, form and formless.

Erik Waterkotte received his MFA from the University of Alberta and his BFA from Illinois State University. He has shown in many group exhibitions internationally, including THENOW Contemporary Prints/Historical Perspectives (University of Minnesota), the Hong Kong Graphic Arts Festival (Hong Kong City Hall), (S)edition, Prints as Activism (Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids MI), the 2009 China Sanbao International Printmaking Exhibition, and the Edmonton Print International (SNAP Gallery). Recent solo exhibitions took place at Saltgrass Printmakers (Salt Lake City, UT, the Printmaker's Gallery (Arkansas State University) and Hemingway Gallery (Boise State University, ID). Waterkotte work is included in several university collections and he has participated in numerous print portfolios and residencies. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Art at Minnesota State University.

Showing Concurrently


Jennifer Linton, Domestikia: An Account of Some Strange Disturbances, film still from stop-motion animation, 2011.

Jennifer Linton: Domestikia: An Account of Some Strange Disturbances
George Gilmour Members' Gallery
Jennifer Linton continues to explore the interdisciplinary possibilities of printmaking in her new project Domestikia: An Account of Some Strange Disturbances. Creating jointed, movable paperdolls from her lithographic prints, Linton arranges these dolls in strange, dream-like shadow box tableaux. These same paper dolls are brought to life in a stop-motion animation. Ultimately, this project will include several animated short stories linked together by an overarching narrative, all taking place within an imagined dollhouse.

The Print Process: Monotypes on Paper: Susan Collett, Sadko Hadzihasanovic & Elena Roginsky
Print Sales Gallery
This group exhibition focuses on the use of the monotype print process by three artists – Susan Collett, Sadko Hadzihasanovic and Elena Roginsky. A monotype is a print in which the artist paints or draws an image on a plate and the impression is then printed onto paper. Only one impression is produced; the exact image on the original plate cannot be repeated onto another surface, thus the print is unique. Featured works include portraiture, still life and nature-based imagery.

Liz Menard
Varied Editions: Open Studio Members' Online Gallery
An initiative of Open Studio's Membership Committee, this online art gallery showcases the work of Open Studio members on a rotating basis.

Offsite Exhibition

Urban Nature: A Group Exhibition of Open Studio Print Sales Gallery Artists
Malton Airport Gallery
Greater Toronto Airport Authority, Pearson Airport, Terminal 1
To May 30, 2012
Using the tradition of printmaking in sculptural compositions, eighteen artists curated from the Open Studio Print Sales Gallery address the intricate and constructed relationship of nature and the city. Featuring: Nadine Bariteau, Yael Brotman, Carlina Chen, Rebecca Cowan, Faye Digulla, Elizabeth Forrest, Isabelle Hémard, Jenn Law, Colin Lyons, Liz Menard, Theresa Morin, Loree Ovens, Parvaneh Radmard, Walter Procska, Penelope Stewart, Jennie Suddick, George Walker and Pawel Zablocki.


Open Studio gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council. Open Studio also acknowledges the generous support of its members and numerous foundations, corporations and individuals.




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