Experimental Ground: Modernist Printmaking in Paris & New York at Atelier 17

Experimental Ground: Modernist Printmaking in Paris & New York at Atelier 17 is the first large-scale survey of original prints made at Atelier 17 to be held in the United States in 50 years. The show is organized by the American Federation of Arts and co-curated by Ann Shafer and Christina Weyl.

Atelier 17 (1927 – 1988) was a revolutionary printmaking workshop famous for its impact on the development of modern art. It served as a hub of artistic and intellectual exchange—first for Surrealists in interwar Paris, and after World War II for the exploration of abstraction and other modernist styles.

Founded by English artist Stanley William Hayter (1901–1988), this studio attracted hundreds of international artists drawn to Hayter’s radical vision of printmaking as a mode for experimentation rather than reproduction. Artists at Atelier 17 employed a range of intaglio print methods, including engraving, drypoint, and etching. The prints in the exhibition also showcase some of the techniques that artists developed at the studio, including: softground etching for transferring textures; printing in plaster to proof prints without the press; and simultaneous color printing. These advancements reveal how artists broke new ground in graphic media at the studio and often crossed into other disciplines.

Experimental Ground presents works by notable artists who gained formative skills at Atelier 17 such as Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy, Louise Bourgeois, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Louise Nevelson, and Krishna Reddy, among many other less-well-known artists who participated in intense collaborations at the studio. Approximately half of the artists featured are women whose contributions were critical to the studio’s technical innovation and community from its earliest days.

This exhibition commemorates 100 years since the founding of Atelier 17 and celebrates the impactful legacy and creative scope of this groundbreaking printmaking studio.

The show will open at the Bruce Museum, Greenwich CT (September 4, 2027 to January 2, 2028) and travel to the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY (May 19 to August 13, 2028). Other venues to be announced.