2022 Exhibitions


 

Queer Ecology Hanky Project

Friday, May 13 - Saturday, June 25, 2022

An exhibition of over 120 artist-made bandanas organized by Vanessa Adams and Mary Tremonte

Opening Reception: Friday, May 13, 5-9pm

Queer Print + Zine Fair: Saturday, June 18, 12-4pm

Closing Party: Saturday, June 25, 12-5pm + Outdoor Queer Dance Party 5-8pm

Gallery Hours: Wednesdays 5-9pm, Thursday, Fridays & Saturdays 12-4pm

Curatorial Statement:

As queer printmakers, artists, and nature freaks, we began the Queer Ecology Hanky Project as a way to bring together our many interests. Inviting artists to explore queer ecology—an area of inquiry which unites the study of biology, environment, and sexuality with a framework of queer theory—has given us windows into divergent possibilities for gender and sexuality, models of resilience and resistance in a world that feels increasingly bleak. In recent years, queers of all genders and proclivities have expanded the definitions of the original gay hanky code—which emerged in the United States in the early 1970s, as a means for gay men to subtly communicate sexual desires—to include different bodies, identities, and activities. We love designing, printing, and distributing bandanas as wearable artwork, and a means to continue a queer communication of flagging, of finding affinity with plants, animals, mycelia, and each other. 

In seeking artists and art for the project, we reached out to our intersecting networks of printmakers, artists, ecologists, zine makers, and herbalists, hoping the call for work would spread like mycelium growth.  We created and shared a digital flier, and were fortunate to have the project amplified by a few online platforms with a wide reach. This resulted in a nice mix of artists we actively recruited and new-to-us strangers.The full collection speaks to the diversity of queer experiences. 

One of the most exciting things about this project is that it is artwork intended for activation. We hope these hankies will accompany walks in the woods, accessorize outfits at queer dance parties, bundle up foraged mushrooms, and start conversations. 

-Vanessa Adams and Mary Tremonte, Queer Ecology Hanky Project organizers

 

Queer Print + Zine Fair

Saturday, June 18, 12-4pm

In conjunction with the Queer Ecology Hanky Project, Zygote will be hosting a Queer Print + Zine Fair outside the building on Saturday, June 18th from 12-4pm that will feature local, regional & national queer print & zine-makers selling their work. Vendors include:

Plus - Zygote Artist Sale Table! Free Snacks! 

 

Women That Print: A Zygote Press Showcase at MetroHealth Main Campus

Friday, Feb. 18 - Friday, June 3, 2022

This new show, hanging at MetroHealth Hospital (for location info click here), is meant to complement the Women in Print Exhibition currently on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art that highlights the work of female printmakers. For our exhibition, we are featuring prints by 8 women that currently work at Zygote Press. In the past, printmaking was often considered too technically difficult and physically demanding for women to undertake. In the mid-twentieth century, that attitude began to change, as women were increasingly allowed access to printmaking spaces traditionally reserved for men. Zygote Press was founded in 1996 by two women, Liz Maugans and Bellamy Printz, and has always been a safe haven for all printmakers. While the work of these women varies in subject, technique, and style, they all have benefited from the welcoming collaborative environment at Zygote Press.

Artists included:

Patricia Brett - www.patriciabrett.com

Margaret Collins - margaretcollinsart.com

Patty Flauto - pattyflautofineart.com

Dina Hoeynck - thecreativeartroom.weebly.com

Liz Maugans - www.lizmaugansart.com

Mickey Mencin - www.ideamarksart.com

Anna Tararova - www.annatararova.com

Jan Zorman - janzorman.com

All of the prints on view are for sale - to inquire please email brittany@zygotepress.org, or call Zygote at 216-621-2100.