Frank Boyden: The Empathies

A ceramic artist and printmaker, Boyden has explored a wide variety of themes in his prints over the past twenty years, including animals, the landscape, and most recently, the human figure. In this suite of 96 drypoints, Boyden set out to depict horrendous and abhorrent images of humanity: "characters from creation's ineptitudes, vagaries, vengeances, and sad jokes." In the process of creating the series of three-inch-by-two-inch plates, the artist came to the realization that a process that was born in anger and disillusionment had metamorphosed into a state of empathy. Included in this exhibition catalog are prose pieces by Kim Stafford and David James Duncan, and well as a discussion with the artist on his use of the drypoint technique.