Thesis Exhibition: April 17-20 

Reception: April 19, 6-8 pm 

"The dream before the flight," 2023, copper etching and aquatint on paper, plate, 6" x  8".
 

"Help," 2023, copper etching and aquatint on paper, plate, 5" x 8".

Artist Statement  

My work as a draftsman and printmaker acknowledges the absurdity, tragedy, and humor of the modern world. Through constructing narratives around masculinity, religion, family, and power structures, I use personal and public memories to respond to and make observations about current events with history in mind. I adopt print techniques that have been historically used to disseminate news, religion, propaganda, and political satire, and activate those traditions to re-imagine various pasts through whimsical storytelling. In this case, the language of print becomes a framework that allows me to engage with the history of public opinion, social discourse, and media. Often, my narratives are derived from personal and familial folklore and touch upon sensibilities related to Jewish history. The stories I tell, or interject in, connect my personal curiosity to overlooked spaces of history, politics, and cultural complexity. By inserting my own proposals into the dominant narratives, I can reckon with history while simultaneously interrupting it and highlighting the connections I find engaging. I investigate the exaggeration of how tales are shared and inevitably distorted. Whether it be dramatizations or misinterpretations, I'm fascinated with how these alterations shape understanding of humanity on personal and collective scales. 

More information about Henry Rosenberg at https://www.henrydavidrosenberg.com/  

All photos credited to the artist.