80th Anniversary Benefit Editions

Mel Edwards

Mel Edwards Untitled, 2026. Relief rolled from an etching plate. 28 x 18.25 inches. Edition: 40. Printed by John Andrews. Represented by Alexander Gray Associates.

In 2027, the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (RBPMW) will celebrate 80 years since artist, educator, and master printer Robert Blackburn founded the Printmaking Workshop in New York City. Now the longest-running community printshop in the United States, RBPMW marks this milestone with benefit editions by Mel Edwards (b. 1937 - 2026), a particularly meaningful collaboration between the artist and the Workshop. Edwards returned February, just weeks before his passing on March 30, 2026.
 

Edwards first came to the Printmaking Workshop when he moved to New York in 1967. His innovative approach to print reflected his sculptural work in industrial forms, labor, violence, history, and the African diaspora. He experimented with stencils made from chains and wire, using them to block sprayed paint and create areas of exposed copper for etching. Over the years, he collaborated in printmaking with poet and wife, Jayne Cortez, extending his practice into monotype and lithography.
 

For his recent editions, Edwards arrived with a canvas tote of materials, including a wooden U-shaped form used to developed copper plates. Working in the Blackburn Study Center, temporarily transformed into a makeshift studio, Edwards created the plates with Master Printer Jazmine Catasús, who subsequently etched and proofed the plates in the days that followed, the project resulted in three dedicated BATs to help continue and preserve the mission of the Workshop. We feel honored to have an opportunity to work with him once more. Ase.

We would like to thank Mel Edward's wife, Diala Toure, and Page Benkowski and Alexander Gray at Alexander Gray Associates for making this collaboration possible.

Email rbpmw@efanyc.org to purchase a print to support the Workshop.