Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
Harold M. Williams Auditorium

Admission is free. Reservations are required.

For over 40 years, the pioneering workshop Gemini G.E.L. (Graphic Editions Limited) has expanded the notion of what constitutes traditional printmaking. Cofounded by Sidney Felsen, Stanley Grinstein, and Ken Tyler, the workshop collaborated with a host of renowned contemporary artists, including John Baldessari, Vija Celmins, Ann Hamilton, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Ellsworth Kelly, Bruce Nauman, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, and Richard Serra. By offering a unique opportunity for artistic experimentation and technical innovation, Gemini G.E.L. cultivates an environment in which artists can fulfill their creative vision. Their published editions range from lithography, etching, woodcut, and screenprint to three-dimensional sculptural works.

"Gemini is the only place I ever make prints. No one has ever said no to anything here. They gave me the sense of infinite possibilities," said Richard Serra, who started working with Gemini in 1971.

Gemini G.E.L was established in 1966 as the art scene on the West Coast was burgeoning. The allure of Los Angeles, and the creative freedom demonstrated by Southern California artists' use of a wide array of media, attracted artists from other parts of the country, and Gemini G.E.L was instrumental in dissolving the barriers between East and West coast artists. Gemini G.E.L. also played a key role in ensuring that artists' prints receive the same serious scholarly attention as the more established media of painting and sculpture. Editions and multiples produced by the workshop are now routinely collected by museums and galleries worldwide, and in recent years Gemini G.E.L. has been the subject of three major museum exhibitions.

Confirmed participants for this program include cofounders Sidney Felsen and Stanley Grinstein, and artists John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha.

This event is part of the Getty Research Institute's ongoing Pacific Standard Time project.