Artist Dan Welden To Help Open New Art Exhibit At Gold Coast Arts On January 26, 2020

A new art exhibition, "Solar Impressions," will kick off with an opening reception that is free to the public at the Gold Coast Arts Center, 113 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck on Sunday, January 26, 2020, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. This show will bring together the works of more than 40 artists including Eric Fischl, each representing an ongoing exploration of the Solarplate etching process.

Dan Welden, artist, master printmaker, educator, author, and director of Hampton Editions, Ltd., in Sag Harbor, will be in attendance at the opening reception, according to Jude Amsel, Gallery Director at Gold Coast Arts. Welden, whose career spans more than 50 years, is the developer of the Solarplate etching process, which is a simpler and safer alternative to traditional etching and relief printing that uses corrosive acids. Solarplate etching uses light-sensitive material applied to a metal plate, then is hardened by the sun. Universities and art schools all over the world use the Solarplate technique as a safer and more economical alternative.

Welden has collaborated with numerous artists, including Willem and Elaine De Kooning, Jimmy Ernst, James Brooks, Kurt Vonnegut, and Eric Fischl, whose work graces the cover of the exhibit catalog guide and whose work is among those on display at the Gold Coast Arts Center Gallery.

"Eric Fischl has made more prints with the Solarplate process through my studio than any other artist," said Welden. "He has validated the process through his exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has written articles for the Smithsonian's publication called American Art. We are pleased to be exhibiting at the Gold Coast Arts Center."

"'Solar Impressions' is the result of a nearly three-decade friendship with Dan Welden, whom I consider a great friend and treasure, and who has altered the art of etching by developing the Solarplate process. With this process, he has helped make printmakers safe while protecting the environment," said Amsel.

The "Solar Impressions" exhibit runs through April 10, 2020.

For more information about "Solar Impressions," including gallery hours, visit www.goldcoastarts.org, or call 516-829-2570.

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