Romas Viesulas
American, 1918 - 1986
Printmaker and educator Romas Viesulas (1918-1986) holds a preeminent place in the history of American printmaking. Beginning his artistic career in the late 1940s as an exile from war, he ultimately radicalized the medium by emphasizing the print as an abstract form of expression and printmaking as both a craft and an aesthetic end in itself. Viesulas taught at Tyler School of Art in Pennsylvania and in Rome for 25 years while pioneering graphic techniques and becoming recognized as one of the foremost American printmakers of his generation. Exploring associations between image and sound, testing the medium’s limits through inkless reliefs and monumental prints on fabric, Viesulas created a unique oeuvre that forms part of the permanent collections of the world’s most prestigious museums. His vision and methods continue to inspire and instruct present and future generations of printmakers. https://www.viesulas.org/bio-1
