ART CITY >> Steven Vail cont. from p. 23 surface was catalogued as it would have been by the conservation department of a museum acquiring the work. Here, again, the nature of the work requires that it be a print, and the relationship of the painting to the print is conceptually quite straightforward: The print must be a print because it is related to and comments on the original painting in a particular kind of way. The flow between print, painting and later print in this case is rich and engaging and has a story to tell of its own. The prints have to be prints and the painting has to be a painting: the character of the work demands a certain form of production. The critical challenge for Steven Vail Fine Arts is to show prints that have to be prints—prints whose artistic character is bound up in the printing process. If the works only end up being objects that would do better as paintings, with restricted edition sizes to achieve no end other than artificially high prices, I would be very disappointed. The danger facing the gallery is the danger that comes with all potentially lucrative aspects of the art world: work that looks great but lacks vitality—work that is valued because of the reputation of its maker, instead of the life it has within it. It is, of course, the work that makes all the difference. The first exhibition, Art and Architecture, will open in late September. It should be a provocative show, especially considering the controversial building rising quickly on the other side of the pedestrian mall (also a Moen Group project). I look forward to the opening, and also to seeing whether the new addition to the downtown scene is an exciting new gallery or just another luxury goods shop. Brian Prugh holds an MA in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and is currently an MFA candidate in Painting and Drawing at the University of Iowa. In addition to his art criticism for Little Village, he is editor and cofounder of the Iowa City Arts Review and has recently finished Housing Project, a booklet documenting the author's opposition to the redevelopment of University Apartments at UI.
26 | Sept. 4-17, 2013 | LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV139