For the past 20 years, the Koerner Artist-in-Residence Program has brought some of Canada’s most innovative artists to Queen’s for sustained periods of engagement with students, faculty and the Kingston community. This exhibition brings together a selection of prints produced during these residencies to consider the relationship between art practice and artist-led pedagogy. As this is the first time these works are available to the public, it offers a unique glimpse of the rich history of collaboration between Queen’s students, faculty and leading Canadian artists Stephen Andrews, Shary Boyle, Sean Caulfield, Kim Dorland, Geoffrey Farmer, Vera Frenkel, Luis Jacob, Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyen and Ursula Johnson. Prints from Master Printer and Professor Emeritus Otis Tamasauskas and Print Technician Ryan Laidman are also included.

The name Hidden Currents Press comes from Tamasauskas, who led the Fine Arts printing program from 1980 to 2017. Driven by a spirit of radical experimentation, Hidden Currents initially referred to the sparks of creativity and inspiration that pass between artists in the closed space of the studio. In the context of this exhibition, the title takes on additional significance as an allusion to the often-invisible connections between an artist’s approach to teaching and learning and their own artistic output.

With the generous support of The Koerner Visiting Artist Fund, The Fine Art/Visual Art Program and The Department of Art History and Art Conservation.

Hero image: Shary Boyle, Mermaid Seabed (detail), 2010, colour lithograph on paper, Queen’s proof 1/1. Printed by Otis Tamasauskas. Print Archive, Queen’s BFA Program. Photo: Bernard Clark