BU Art Galleries

What to Find at Boston University Art Galleries This Fall

Fourteen artists investigate the medium of newspaper in the exhibition, Between the Bylines, and The Boston Printmakers return to Boston University for the 2026 North American Print Biennial

Between the Bylines

September 2 – December 10, 2026 • Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery

At its core, Between the Bylines investigates one crucial issue – that of absence. It looks at who gets represented in the newspaper and how that representation takes shape. It takes as its medium one that is disappearing. The featured artists undertake interventions into newspapers by concealing, obstructing, redacting, or disguising elements of the medium to highlight this representation (or lack of it). This invites the audience to contemplate issues of subjectivity, trust, and control in press coverage.

The fourteen featured artists employ diverse strategies to achieve this aim. Some work directly with the physical newspaper itself, altering or transforming the printed pages. Others intervene through press photography, manipulating or recontextualizing images originally intended for publication. Others utilize the very apparatus that stores and disseminates press information, such as microfiche archives.

Featured Artists

ALEXANDRA BELL

JENNIFER BOLANDE

DANIELA COMANI

TONI PEPE

ANNE EASTMAN

ODETTE ENGLAND

LAURA LETINSKY

LORIE NOVAK

SA’DIA REHMAN

DONNA RUFF

LAURA FIELDS

MICKEY SMITH

CARMEN WINANT

CLARE STRAND

Artwork by Odette England

Through their works, the artists prompt us to reflect on the physicality and materiality of the newspaper medium itself. How does this tangible form relate to the power dynamics inherent in deciding whose stories get told and amplified, whose get suppressed or marginalized, and who gets remembered and who is forgotten? In our current era of contested truths and narratives, their interventions into this iconic medium could not be more timely or vital.

READ MORE ON THE EXHIBITION

The Boston Printmakers 2026 North American Print Biennial

September 2 – November 21, 2026 • 808 Gallery

The exhibition, juried by Esther Adler, Curator at the Museum of Modern Art, NY (MoMA), features a broad array of contemporary prints and artists books, spanning traditional to contemporary/integrated media approaches, with both emerging and established artists from across North America. The exhibition includes examples of etching, lithography, woodcut, linocut, screenprint, digital printmaking and dimensional works, in which the artists explore a rich diversity of conceptual and narrative content.

Ms. Adler has selected 120 prints from 2017 entries for this exhibit. She writes, “At a time when there is increasing nervousness (panic, even, in some circles) about artificial intelligence and the expanding realm of the digital, I remain in awe of the handmade – both the mark carved into wood or linoleum or drawn on an intaglio plate, and the mechanism of rolling a matrix and a sheet of paper through a press. There is great diversity in this selection of prints, but all of them show the hand of the artist in one way or another.”

“At a time when there is increasing nervousness (panic, even, in some circles) about artificial intelligence and the expanding realm of the digital, I remain in awe of the handmade – both the mark carved into wood or linoleum or drawn on an intaglio plate, and the mechanism of rolling a matrix and a sheet of paper through a press. There is great diversity in this selection of prints, but all of them show the hand of the artist in one way or another.”

-Esther Adler, Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Over its extraordinary 76 years, the primary mission of The Boston Printmakers has been to create dynamic exhibitions and promote interest in the graphic arts. Founded in 1947, The Boston Printmakers reaches a large and diverse audience through the Biennials, national and international members’ shows, and traveling exhibitions across North America. The Boston Printmakers North American Biennial has a long history with Boston University, having been hosted by the School of Visual Arts at 808 Gallery from 1999 to 2009, and in 2013 and 2023.

Artwork by Deborah Cornell (left) and Holly Berry

Both shows have connections with the Boston University community, including faculty members Professor Deborah Cornell and Lecturer Joshua Brennan, and BU alums Andrew Stearns (MET’24) and Renee Covalucci (CFA’84,’85), as well as Holly Berry, who studied at CFA. 

COMPANION EXHIBITION

Throughlines: Contemporary Works in Print

September 2 – November 21 • 808 Hall Gallery

Alongside the North American Print Biennial, this exhibition celebrates both the extraordinary professional artists of the Boston Printmakers Board and the young artists in BU’s MFA in Print Media and Photography program. This expansive exhibition expands from the elegant methods of traditional printmaking into new surfaces and approaches, ambitious digital explorations, and transfers from photographic sources. The student work showcases BU’s unique interdisciplinary program and serves as a window into the visions of these young artists.

RELATED EVENTS

read more on the biennial

ABOUT BU ART GALLERIES

BU Art Galleries animates the cultural life of Boston University by exhibiting inclusive, dynamic art that encourages learning and appreciation for the visual world.

There are two primary exhibition spaces: Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery (Stone Gallery) on the first floor of 855 Commonwealth Ave, and 808 Gallery located at 808 Commonwealth Ave.

All exhibitions at BU Art Galleries are free and open to the general public.

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