Curated by artist Eric Felix, Impresión de Cultura: Latine Printmakers is the latest exhibition at ETSU’s new Tipton-Ashe Gallery, a vibrant showcase of creativity, heritage, and most importantly community.
Through a partnership with the Language and Culture Resource Center, this exhibit serves as a part of a series that represents the diversity of Appalachia and the diversity of America.
Showcasing works from a range of Latinx printmakers, the exhibition highlights both the artistic innovation and cultural storytelling that define this rich and historically significant medium.
“Printmaking has a very important significance in Latin culture,” said Karlota Contreras-Koterbay, director of Slocumb Galleries. “It has been used in political movements, by the people, by the community and we wanted to honor that.”
The exhibition explores a range of printmaking techniques including traditional lithographs and screen prints to contemporary methods like risograph and aquatint.
A key standout piece from this exhibit features a woodblock printing process most common in Japan known as mokuhanga, by artist Matthew Willie Garcia.
“Matthew actually went to Japan for an internship and learned from a Japanese master,” said Contreras-Koterbay. “The imagery itself is celestial and original, but the process speaks to the cross-pollination of culture. That’s what makes this exhibit so powerful, it’s where heritage meets innovation.”
However, at its core, Impresión de Cultura is about much more than just impressive technique as its central theme revolves around community and belonging.
This exhibition invites greater dialogue about finding one’s identity, the idea of freedom, and cultural truth.
“If I had to describe this exhibit in one word, it would be community,” said Contreras-Koterbay. “They are our community. They’re not just Latin American artists, they’re family. The creativity they bring is something we want to celebrate.”
The expansion into the new Tipton-Ash space has allowed for broader community access and visibility.
For Contreras-Koterbay and her team, the Tipton Gallery has always been more than a display space, it’s a “community kitchen” designed to be a safe space for creative expression and open dialogue.
“Now we’re more open to the public, and that means more people can experience these conversations,” said Contreras-Koterbay. “It’s all about access, bringing art and community together. Art should reflect life: diverse, complex, and connected.”
The exhibit was made possible through generous support from the Tennessee Arts Commission, ETSU’s Student Academic Allocation Committee, the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts, Bravissima! Women Sponsoring the Arts, the Language and Culture Resource Center, and Black American Studies.
Impresión de Cultura stands as a testament to the enduring power of creative expression as one that honors both heritage and humanity, reminding visitors that art, like community, thrives when it welcomes every voice.
This gallery will be running through November 21, and gallery hours are Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11am to 3pm and Thursdays and Fridays from 5 to 7pm.
