huldra press

Philadelphia Art Book Fair 2015


:: Philadelphia Art Book Fair ::

I had to take it a little easy in the studio this weekend because I came down with a nasty cold. But I did manage to do some prep work for the Philadelphia Art Book Fair, coming up April 24th and 25th. I'm excited to participate in this event, which will host a diverse group of institutions, presses, and individual artists. I highly recommend taking a look through the exhibitor list. Closer to the event date, there will also be events and lectures to check out too. 

My main focus will be recent experimental letterpress edition books and prints, but I will also be bringing a small selection of unique handmade journals for sale as well. 

:: unique handmade books ::

One day, the sea will overflow into the valley and roll over all...

I was working on an artist's statement today and writing,  "...paper; fleet and quiet carrier of words and questions...an intent to look with an eye that sees both the mystical and the negligible as valid and acknowledges their equivalents and connections."

Fleet sources and thoughts. Belief in world's beyond our own perceptions. Beauty in the ability in people to create their own realities for whatever reason.

I keep thinking about an illustration of a wave I found in an old children's book and its caption 

One day, the sea will overflow into the valley and roll over all...





Reading Variations

 :: gouache on paper ::

I'm working on a piece for an upcoming show titled Reading Variations. It's actually a collaboration with my father. We are both looking at the same piece of writing and responding to it. This drawing is part of my side of the project. 

Now I'm working on turning it into a print.

 :: hand-cut printing matrices on boxcar base ::

:: first layer, letterpress print in process ::

IPCNY 50|50 New Prints 2015/ Winter Opens Tonight

The International Print Center New York's 50|50 New Prints/2015 Winter opens tonight in Manhattan. Grid is included in the exhibition which will run January 15 through March 14, 2015.

IPCNY's New Prints program works puts together beautiful exhibitions of new print work. In a statement regarding this exhibition, the 50th of its kind, the gallery notes...

"Opening IPCNY's 15th Anniversary year, 50/50: New Prints 2015/Winter is the fiftieth in this unique exhibition series. With all prints required to have been made within the past year, these shows bring to the fore new trends, talents and techniques as they emerge in the field of contemporary printmaking. Many mediums of printmaking are represented, including etching, lithography, silkscreen, and relief." (and letterpress!)

Thrilled to again be a part of one of IPCNY's New Prints program. Thank you!
 :: Marianne Dages, Grid, letterpress print, 2014 ::

:: more work from 50 | 50, including work (l to r) by Szilvia Revesz, Ross Racine, and Jennifer Marshall  ::

:: I spy Grid in the upper right hand corner! ::

Geist Magazine Review of Distant Operator

A well-written and insightful review of Distant Operator by Evan Paul Laudenslager for Geist Magazine. I think the greatest experience of this show has been to have access to writer's perspective of what they seeing. I feel very close to this work, it can be difficult to talk about it. Reading these points of view is a rare and challenging thing. Thank you.

:: on the left, Aleut, on the right, White Lepiota ::

" A success of the work is an emphasis on variety of process. Dages has worked mainly in printmaking, photography, and book arts. These processes clearly influence the narrative display of the work, and reaching connections between pieces both aesthetically and in process is intuitive and enjoyable for the eye. The materiality of her pieces correlates to her love of books: bone, ink, lead, and thread all feature prominently. Even these objects reach a higher significance under Distant Operator’sthemes; the mortal utility of bone, the toxic allure of lead, or the permanence of ink. These executions are fluid and varied, charcoal rubbings and darkroom prints made without cameras and using only photographic chemicals become visually interchangeable while staying theoretically disparate. "

Read More HERE

- "MARIANNE DAGES EXPLORES MYTH, TRANSLATION IN DISTANT OPERATOR AT NAPOLEON GALLERY" by Evan Paul Laudenslager, Geist Magazine

:: handmade paper, carbon, gouache ::

Marianne Dages, Distant Operator: January 9 - January 25th @ Napoleon

Yesterday was the opening for my first solo exhibition, Distant Operator, at Napoleon Gallery in Philadelphia. Thank you so much to everyone who came for the opening and who came today! While I was gallery sitting, I took some images of the installation for those of you who are out of town, or those who would like a sneak peak. 

You can also read a wonderful and insightful essay written by book artist and linguist Sarah Hulsey on the work HERE.

The gallery will be open on weekends from 2-6 until January 25th or by appointment.
You can reach me at mdages at gmail dot com if you have any questions.

:: right side of the gallery ::

:: Sea Exercises ::

 :: Fragmented I ::

And details of the Distant Operator wall...







Show is up...

The show is up, Distant Operator opens tomorrow, at Napoleon Gallery. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this happen, I hope to see you tomorrow night.

Opening Reception
Friday, January 9th
6pm – 10pm

NAPOLEON

319 N 11th Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA

Exhibition Dates: 1.9.2015 – 1.30.2015
Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 2pm – 6pm or by appointment



Distant Operator

This month, I'm preparing for my first solo exhibition as a member of Napoleon Gallery in Philadelphia. I hope to see you, if you can make it, January 9th for the opening.


"Chance, repetition, and hidden names. In this series of works on paper and object assemblage, the artist acts as distant operator, finding the connection between esoteric myth and private thought."

Opening Reception
Second Friday, January 9th
6pm – 10pm

NAPOLEON

319 N 11th Street, 2L

Philadelphia, PA

Exhibition Dates: 1.9.2015 – 1.30.2015
Saturdays and Sundays 2pm – 6pm or by appointment


Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 10/25 and 10/26


I will be opening my studio up to the public from 12-6pm on October 25th and 26th as part of POST, Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. This yearly event is hosted by The Center For Emerging Visual Artists and it is a great opportunity to meet working artist's in Philadelphia and get a rare glimpse at the studio's in which they work.

This year, I was so lucky to be interviewed for Paperclips215 by Aimee Gilmore and have some beautiful photographs taken of my space by Keristin Gaber. I really enjoyed my conversation with Aimee, an artist herself. We talked about the history of letterpress and about language and about the tools I use in my shop and what they do.

So I hope you'll come visit the Huldra Press studio the weekend of October 25th and 26th at Globe Dye Works. I'll have a small exhibition of recent projects up on the wall and a little something on the press to print and take home. There will be many other interesting studios to visit in the building and in the neighborhood as well, you can see a list here.

And you can view a little more info about my studio and the address HERE.

Hope to see you there.



Photographs by Keristin Gaber of PaperClips215

Recent Dreams


Recent Dreams:

Two blond women in a narrow walkway space outside of an office building. Beautiful late afternoon winter light. One is nude, sitting atop a stuffed gray goose that is being dragged around the space by the other. They say to me, "We make art in sad places." "We are making difficult art."

Standing next to an old and frail William Burroughs, we are reading a book together that looks like an oversized dictionary. I am holding his wrist as he moves his hand across the words on the page. He is wearing a suit and hat. A piece of text about dusty and decayed wooden window shutters. Maybe the first time I can remember looking at words and reading them in a dream.