Between the Leaves: Print, Paper, and Artist Books at Ox-Bow

Exhibition Dates: July 6-October 6, 2024 

We’re tapping into our archives once again to create a new exhibition at Ox-Bow House. During Summer 2024, we’ll be highlighting print media at Ox-Bow from historic printfolios to zines! Artists featured will include those from Ox-Bow as well as guests of a partner organization: the Paper and Book Intensive (PBI). 

The exhibition is an homage to a decades long tradition at Ox-Bow. Works on paper have been a mainstay since our founding as a school specializing in plein air painting in 1910. In the early 1920s, Ox-Bow opened its first print shop, adding print making to the program as its second discipline. A letterpress soon followed, inspiring Ox-Bow artists to experiment with text. Visitors of Between the Leaves will witness some of these early works as well as those of contemporaries who have drawn inspiration from the tradition. 

Ox-Bow began offering intensives in papermaking in the 1970s and later bookmaking was incorporated into offerings in the print studio. These changes laid the foundation for the Paper and Book Intensive to approach Ox-Bow about a seasonal rental for their retreat, which has since become a decades-long tradition. Zine making has also become a mainstay of campus culture, particularly amongst staff, fellows, and students. Featuring everything from recipes to personal essays to field guides, these zines recently found their home in our on campus Zine Library thanks to artists Madeleine Aguilar and bex ya yolk. 

We hope to see you at this exhibition, showcasing the history and still-present tradition of print, paper and zine making at Ox-Bow. Between the Leaves opens at Ox-Bow House in downtown Douglas, Michigan on July 6 and will remain open through October 6.