A new exhibition at the University of Liverpool's Victoria Gallery & Museum will showcase more than forty prints by some of Britain's most celebrated artists, highlighting the collaborative craft behind fine art printmaking and a collection not previously seen by the public.
A new exhibition at the University of Liverpool’s Victoria Gallery & Museum is currently highlighting the essential but often overlooked role of professional printmakers in the creation of fine art. Titled "Making a Mark," the exhibition features more than 40 works from the Studio Prints collection, showcasing the technical expertise and collaborative efforts that helped bring these pieces to life. Sarah Cox, curator at the Victoria Gallery & Museum, notes that the exhibition serves as a tribute to both the artists and the printmakers who turned creative visions into finished works.
"The greater thing about printmaking is that an artist might have a vision for what they want to produce, but ultimately they can't do it alone," Cox explains. "They need to work with a printer to take their vision to its conclusion. It's a really collaborative process with conversations between the artist and printer about what they want the artwork to look like." The Studio Prints workshop was established in 1968 by Dorothea Wight and later co-run by Mark Balakjian.
The pair developed a reputation for high-quality production during a period when contemporary printmaking was growing in popularity. The workshop was known for its close collaboration between professionals, with the printer’s technical knowledge playing a vital role in the creative process. The exhibition highlights works from several prominent British artists, including Lucian Freud, Stephen Conroy, and Celia Paul, as well as prints created by Wight and Balakjian themselves. The collection spans several decades and demonstrates how experimentation and artistic intent were translated through various printmaking techniques.
In addition to the finished works, "Making a Mark" includes archival photographs and documents that provide context for the environment in which these prints were made. The materials offer insight into the trial-and-error nature of the medium, demonstrating that successful prints were the result of sustained technical application rather than spontaneous output. The exhibition is free to enter and remains open to the public until January 30, 2027. Visitors are encouraged to explore not only the aesthetic quality of the works but also the collaborative craftsmanship required to produce them.
