Cover | David Huffman
Ouroboros (2007) is an etching published by Paulson Bott Press in Berkeley. The artist, David Huffman, arranges rich compositions that explore identity and sociopolitical history in a futuristic world of metaphor. Some images are related to reclaiming African-American icons, including historic ones like early slave trader buildings, and others are more recent, like basketball players. Still others are more personal, like astronauts, Jackson Pollock’s studio, and even the local liquor store near Huffman’s studio. But all relate to Huffman’s conscious and unconscious memories of childhood, art school, and growing up in a politically turbulent time. Despite the cartoonlike realism of his imagery, the abstract compositions leave space for interpretation. Huffman lives and works in Oakland and has been exhibiting his work in California and New York since 1993. He has been included in numerous shows such as Alien Nation at the Institute of International Art in London and Freestyle at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Paulson Bott Press specializes in limited-edition intaglio prints. The press emerged from the San Francisco Bay Area’s rich tradition of fine-art printmaking. Paulson Bott Press’s philosophy is to facilitate rather than direct an artist, creating an environment where artists can do their best work. In January 1997, the press launched its first publication with four-color etchings by Christopher Brown. Since then, Paulson Bott Press has published nearly 500 editions with more than 40 artists, including Tauba Auerbach, Ross Bleckner, Isca Greenfield-Sanders, the Quilters of Gee’s Bend, Kerry James Marshall, and Martin Puryear. Please visit www.David-Huffman.com and www.PaulsonBottPress.com for more information.
NEXT MONTH: The Monthly shares ideas for bringing a sense of style to your low-water garden from Piedmont garden designer Anne Weinberger; profiles David Loeb, publisher of science magazine Bay Nature and executive director of the nonprofit Bay Nature Institute; and provides insight into Bay Area Figurative painter David Park concurrent with a retrospective of his work on display at the Richmond Art Center through May 22.
