Copyright 2024 by Justyne Fischer, Curator. The book author and each artist here retains sole copyright to their contributions to this book. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without prior permission in writing from Justyne Fischer and the individual artists.
ISBN: 9798303556553
Catalog designed and edited by Karen M. Gutfreund, www.KarenGutfreund.com @karengutfreundart
Out of Darkness celebrates the powerful work of four black female artists. Strength, beauty and resiliency are explored through black identity, social justice and our shared history. The use of bold imagery, text and collective ideas unifies this selection of work while challenging stereotypes and racial bias. Through the use of printmaking, wood-burning and mixed media, these artists tell stories of struggle, strength, adversity and triumph. The decisive and unapologetic themes are thoughtprovoking and encourage the viewer to think critically and collectively. Featured Artists: Stéphane Calvin, Lauren Jackson, Sarah Matthews and Justyne Fischer
~Justyne
Fischer, Curator
The Betty Mae Kramer Gallery occupies a unique place in Greater Washington's arts community. It is the first and only art gallery dedicated specifically to showcasing Montgomery County's professional visual artists. Although the gallery was built as an integral part of the Silver Spring Civic Building, it is a collaborative venture between the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Montgomery County government.
Stéphane Calvin
Lauren Jackson
Sarah Matthews
Justyne Fischer
Montgomery County, MD
@stephanecalvin.art
stephanecalvin.art
Biography
At the heart of Stéphane’s artistic journey lies a profound commitment to weaving the rich tapestry of her diverse cultural influences into a visual narrative that speaks to the complexities of the human experience. Through her work, Stéphane invites viewers to explore themes of social justice, Black identity, and the passage of time.
As an artist and educator, Stéphane seeks to cultivate a space where art becomes a vessel for dialogue, a mirror reflecting the kaleidoscope of cultures that have shaped her perspective. Rooted in her Haitian heritage, nurtured in France, and thriving in the United States and Africa, she blends the figurative and abstract to articulate the nuances of multiculturalism and personal resilience.
Whether in the quiet sanctuary of botanical watercolors or the intricate layers of mixed media, Stéphane finds solace in, and channels a slow tactile process. With a background in international affairs and conflict management, she infuses her art with a deep understanding of the human condition, creating pieces that provoke thought and resonate with authenticity.
Guided by core values of curiosity, respect, excellence, and honesty, Stéphane aims to expand her artistic footprint through jewelry designs, product creation and surface patterns. Through every brushstroke and crafted piece, her mission is to inspire reflection, foster connections, and contribute to a world enriched by the beauty of diverse perspectives.
In 2019 she received her Licence d’Arts Plastiques ( BA Visual Arts) from the Ecole des Arts of the Sorbonne University in Paris. At that time she was lucky to be tutored and mentored by the late Martine Nostron, a consummate visual artist, and to learn watercolor techniques with master watercolorist Mireille Pizzano.
In a previous life Stéphane trained in international affairs and worked in that field.
I’m a visual artist and art educator with a deep commitment to using art as a vessel for dialogue and connection. I practice and work here in Montgomery County, MD. My work often explores themes of social justice, cultural alienation, and the passage of time, reflecting the blend of influences from my Haitian roots, my upbringing in France, and my adult life in the United States and on the African continent.
For this exhibition, I’ve contributed mixed media pieces that tell stories of resilience and strength, but also of letting go. These pieces are largely inspired by the history of Haiti a story of chains broken and of unending resilience toward hope for future generations. Haiti’s history, in many ways, is humanity’s history, and thus my art examines Black identity and the shared history we all carry. In particular, I invite you to look at the diptych, with its pieces titled The Price and The Legacy, respectively. One speaks of the unthinkable what humanity insists on repeating. It reflects the universal price of slavery, which can only be transcended collectively. The other speaks to the hope that still binds us for a better future and explores the legacy we could inherit if we collectively renounce dehumanizing practices.
I use abstract and figurative elements to highlight the beauty and complexity of these themes. By layering materials and textures, I invite viewers to engage with the different facets of cultural experiences, both personal and collective. The relevance of layers is especially striking in the work titled Lift Me Up, where each layer contributes to weaving a tapestry and telling a story. I focus on building layers that express both fragility and resilience. In my process, I draw inspiration from the struggles and triumphs that come with navigating multiple cultural influences, but always circling back to the core of being a Black woman in this world.
My work is slow and tactile. This approach reflects my belief in taking time to understand, reflect, and create intentionally. As you view my work in Out of Darkness, I encourage you to think about the stories behind each layer the intersection of identities, the challenge of stereotypes, and the persistence of hope. I hope my pieces provoke thought and inspire conversations about not just where we’ve been, but where we’re headed, together.
Acrylics, collage, gold foil on stretched canvas
36 x 48 x 1.5 inches
Acrylics, colored pencils, collage, gold foil on stretched canvas 30 x 24 x 1.5 inches
Legacy 2024
Acrylics, collage, gold foil on stretched canvas
36 x 48 x 1.5 inches
Acrylics and collage on canvas 19 x 24 x .5 inches
Acrylic, Colored Pencils, collage, on stretched canvas 30 x 24 x 1.5 inches
Baltimore, MD
@jacksonpressco
laurenmjackson.com
Biography
Lauren Jackson is a multimedia printmaker, graphic designer, and art educator from the DC Metropolitan Area, living and working in Baltimore, Maryland. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), majoring in Printmaking with concentrations in Graphic Design and Book Arts. Jackson received her Master of Arts in Teaching for Art Education from MICA in 2022, during the height and in the midst of the global pandemic.
Focusing on printmaking, artists’ books, and contemporary graphic design, Jackson’s work often involves complex typographic solutions paired with illustrative, bold compositions. Her work is heavily influenced and informed by letterpress printing and hand typesetting. Using her extensive relationship with printmaking and print design, she specializes in designing printed materials expressing ambitious narratives and identities.
Currently, Jackson is thinking about the intersections of art education and culture and how might her work as a printmaker and designer lend itself to building an art classroom that thrives on the different cultural makeup of its students and expels anti-Blackness in school institutions.
Jackson is extremely dedicated to her students and her craft. Lauren has exhibited work nationally, including spaces in Maryland, Hamilton Woodtype & Museum in Two Rivers, WI, and Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center Gallery in Indianapolis, IN. Her work is also included in the permanent collection of the Dolphin Press & Print Archive in Baltimore, MD. Jackson has been the recipient of many awards in leadership and merit as an artist and art educator, those rewards include but are not limited to, the Patricia Lion Krongard Award, Leslie King Hammond Fellowship, and the MICA Alumni Leadership Award. She was recognized as early career visual arts teacher of the year in Baltimore city public schools in 2023. Additionally, In 2024, Lauren Jackson was recognized as the Maryland Art Educator Association agent of change awardee.
Recent artistic explorations include communicating unapologetic narratives of her surroundings and community through the use of multiplicity of symbols and icons sourced from current pop culture.
I am a print and paper artist originally from Northern Virginia, now based in Baltimore, Maryland. My new body of work, featured in the show Out of Darkness, explores the transformative phase I am experiencing as a Black American woman. Throughout my journey as an artist, I have captured pivotal moments of my life to reflect on the complexities of struggle, triumph, love, and hardship. This history is not only personal but is interwoven with my family’s history and the history of my identity as a child and now, grown woman.
In this current series, The Occupied Dimensions of Her Space, I delve into the complexities of leaving adolescence behind and grappling with the nuances of mistakes and growth on the path toward maturity. Through these pieces, I question: What does it look like? What does it feel like? How does one experience the passage out of adolescence, particularly as a Black woman, often expected to mature rapidly? This body of work is my exploration of evolving as a grown woman and the social and historical weight attached to ideas like “grown and sexy.” I engage with oral histories, family discourses, and my own reflections on the unique challenges and beauty of being a woman in her mid-twenties.
I hope viewers approach my work with curiosity and leave with questions rather than answers. Let this work be an invitation to reflect on the roles of discourse, pain, and love in shaping one’s life.
Screen Printed Artist Book
18 x 24 inches, 10 pages
Fury is an artist book that examines my evolving relationship with education and girlhood, revealing how personal growth often stems from wrestling with fear and uncertainty. Through the recurring imagery of waves, this book captures a force that once felt distant and intimidating a reflection of the power and pressures I encountered as a young girl within structured education. Each page moves closer to understanding the waves not as external threats, but as representations of an inner strength I had yet to recognize. As I confront and overcome obstacles, these waves transform, mirroring my journey from vulnerability to self-realization. In the final pages, the water that once appeared insurmountable becomes a part of me, illustrating the discovery that what I feared was, in fact, my own resilience. Through this work, Fury invites readers to reflect on the ways we grow through adversity, ultimately recognizing that our inner power has been there all along, waiting to be embraced.
Pulp Painting 20 x 16 inches
Pulp Painting
20 x 16 inches
Pulp Painting
20 x 16 inches
Mean & Surly Essays, Trio 2019
Figure blind-embossed, giclée prints 18 x 18 inches each
Mean and Surly Essays is a 9-piece series(3 of which are featured in Out of Darkness) that reimagines Jenny Holzer’s Inflammatory Essays from the perspective of a contemporary Black woman. While employing Holzer’s iconic visual style of the 1970s and 80s, these essays distinguish themselves through embossed silhouettes of Black women, symbolizing the enduring strength and resilience of Black women working tirelessly to overcome systemic barriers. The silhouettes emerge as if breaching the surface, a metaphor for Black women’s historical struggle to rise above despite obstacles.
This series brings to light the urgencies faced by a frequently misunderstood and underrepresented population, and it remains critically relevant in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris's recent presidential defeat. This moment reflects ongoing challenges that, even at the highest levels, persist for Black women seeking to lead and be seen. Through its layered text and imagery, Mean and Surly Essays invites viewers to confront the intersection of identity, struggle, and resilience that defines the Black female experience and encourages reflection on the work still needed to bring true equity and representation to light.
Details of Mean & Surly Essays, Trio 2019
Luck 2024
Artist-made paper collage 35 x 23 inches
Bound by Echoes 1 (left)
2024
Artist-made paper
35 x 23 inches
Bound by Echoes 2 (right)
2024
Artist-made paper
35 x 23 inches
2024
Artist-made paper
22 x 32 inches
This featured piece, titled You Two Look Nothing Alike, examines my relationship with my younger sister. Growing up, we often heard comments highlighting our different skin tones and physical features. While these observations emphasized our differences, they overlooked the profound bond we share as sisters. This notion of “difference” imposed by societal standards, particularly within a white patriarchal framework, has historically sought to fracture bonds within communities of color. My piece celebrates my sister and me our shared history and the love that unites us despite the contrasts in our appearance. In this work, I intentionally use textures and symbols such as hair, not only to illustrate our shared experiences but to highlight the resilience in our relationship. These elements serve as a reminder that our identities are intertwined not only by blood but, most importantly, by love.
Sarah Matthews
Hyattsville, MD
@iamsarahmatthews iamsarahmatthews.com
Sarah Matthews’ work reflects her commitment to exploring the complex issues of race, equality, and gender while shining a light on social injustice. Through her layered prints and artist books, she documents the struggles of breaking through barriers in our society. As an African-American, Mrs. Matthews has experienced firsthand the impact of negative media images that portray her community as inferior. Through her art, she aims to challenge these stereotypes and empower her audience to see all individuals’ beauty, intelligence, and importance, regardless of race.
Sarah Matthews is a highly skilled printmaker and book artist with a background in art and business. She holds an MA in Art & the Book from the Corcoran College of Arts and Design at George Washington University, an MBA with a Marketing Concentration, and a BS in Sociology from Bowie State University. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are part of prestigious collections at institutions such as the National Museum of African American History & Culture Library, Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, George Washington University’s Gelman Library, University of Puget Sound, and Samford University. Mrs. Matthews is also a dedicated educator, teaching Artist Books at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and bookbinding and printmaking classes at various art centers and platforms.
Letterpress / Block Printed Collage 36 x 27 inches
Black Children Matter is a collage created to protest the tragic killings of unarmed Black children by police. The artwork combines block printing and letterpress techniques to symbolize the diversity and resilience of Black communities. Through its powerful design, it calls for justice, empathy, and societal change, urging us to protect and cherish the lives of these young individuals.
Homage to NMAAHC 2022
Offset Printed Flag Book
6.25 x 12 inches closed
Homage to NMAAHC is a flag book I designed to honor the National Museum of African American History and Culture. After several visits to the museum, I was inspired to create a piece that reflected the impact of what I experienced and learned there.
The base layer of each flag is a digital collage made from photos I took during my visits. Over this, I added my original designs and an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
I designed this flag book, and Amanda D’Amico and Erica Honson printed it using a Heidelberg Offset Printer at the Borowsky Center for the Publication Arts at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in March 2022. This piece is part of an edition of 138.
Letterpress / Riso printed installation
70 x 6 x 3 inches
Sonya Massey: Say Her Name is a letterpress and risograph-printed series of artists' books displayed as an installation. I created it to remember her. After witnessing the horrifying video of her murder, I returned to my studio, pulled out background prints I’d prepared earlier, and printed her name 50 times. I couldn’t bear the thought of forgetting her. This book and installation honor her memory, highlighting the beauty of her spirit.
Letterpress Print Installation
70 x 5 inches
Can We All Just Get Along? is a series of letterpress prints I created shortly after the pandemic. Coming out of that difficult time, I noticed a lot of people struggling to connect or show basic kindness to one another, and I was tired of witnessing that lack of care. Creating this series helped me release negativity by printing the question more than 100 times as a form of personal reflection. For this exhibition, I assembled several of those prints into a paper installation, creating a visual reminder that we need to reconnect as neighbors and be kinder to each other.
The phrase, originally spoken by Rodney King, resonates with me because I remember his press conference, his plea to the public: “Can we all just get along?” His experience, one of the first widely broadcast incidents of police brutality, is still painfully relevant today. This piece ties directly into my work on Sonya Massey, as we continue to confront police violence against people of color. It’s a call to end hate, end violence, and come together in love and understanding.
Letterpress/Relief Experience 14 x 11 inches
Take What You Need is an interactive piece inspired by a sign I saw during the pandemic. I chose words that felt meaningful to me like patience, kindness, selflove, happiness, courage, forgiveness, and healing inviting people to tear off and take with them whichever word they feel they need. I carved each word into linoleum and printed over 50 copies using a Vandercook 4T press at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, with plans to create more in the future.
Washington, D.C.
@justynefischer
justynefischer.com
Justyne Fischer is a Washington, DC-based artist who examines social justice and the legacy of racism. As an artist and educator, Fischer explores printmaking, mixed media, wood burnings, and art installation to shine a light on systemic racism, and hidden histories. The implications of “Blackness” are questioned, examined, and challenged. Whether exhibiting her work locally or nationally, Fischer spreads her message through features in Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, East City Art Magazine, Professional Artist Magazine, Wall Street International Magazine, Artscope Magazine and The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education. Fischer teaches AP Studio Art to nationally recognized and award-winning students at South County High in Lorton, Virginia.
Fischer maintains a printmaking studio at Windom Road Studios in Brentwood, Maryland. She earned her BFA from The Kansas City Art Institute in 1993 and her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1995. Her works are featured in public and private collections including the Washington, DC Art Bank, The Library of Congress, The Boston Athenaeum, The Boston Public Library, Montgomery College, Michigan State University, The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press, The Center for Local History, at the Arlington Public Library, The Letterform Archive, John Lewis High School, and Nationally acclaimed author, D. Watkins.
Justyne Fischer examines the legacy of racism and memorializes pivotal figures and events in American history. Working between woodcut printing and using wood-burning (Pyrogravure) on live-edge wood panels, Fischer’s socially-conscious images offer graphic indictments of systemic racism and ask us to remember both the victims of injustice and those who have fought against oppression. Justyne Fischer’s collections include Social Memorials, Bad Asses from History, Burned in History, and her newest series, Before Bondage
Burned in History uses the medium of Pyrogravure, or woodburning in combination with dry and wet pigment, oil, and wax on wooden panels to memorialize influential figures such as John Brown, Harriet Tubman, and Angela Davis. Harriet 1910 references a photograph of Harriet collected by the Library of Congress. This double-sided work is meant to capture the strong presence and strength of Harriet while conveying her life and legacy through symbology. This work celebrates Harriet's inner light, wisdom, and tenacity.
Before Bondage features slaves who experienced lives of prominence before being reduced to cash crops like cotton, hemp, rice, or sugar cane. These works are double-sided with the front featuring a portrait of the slave, while the back provides the backstory or hidden history. Ganga Zumba is depicted from a low-level view to place the viewer at the feet of his Majesty's strength and pride. The back side tells the story of his rise while featuring a graphic of sugar cane, the cash crop he was reduced to before he escaped to freedom.
Disillusionment with current divisions and hatred in American society has caused Fischer to examine historical moments that shaped our systems and beliefs. She is interested in questions such as: How do oral and written histories shape our perceptions of the truth? Is the truth even valued anymore? Likewise, the artworks in this work exhibit, ask the viewer to interrogate their own understanding of history and recent events, and hopefully begin the work of reframing the narrative.
2024
6 block relief print on Stonehenge 20 x 15 x 1 inches
Reclaimed challenges the watermelon trope designed by racist Whites after slavery. When post slavery sharecroppers yielded bountiful watermelon crops, racist whites could not handle this level of success from blacks. These sharecroppers demonstrated resilience, hard work and ingenuity. Many maintained lucrative crops and found financial independence. Racist whites aimed to reverse this reality by creating their own narrative around the watermelon. Through propaganda artwork and advertisements, whites weaponized the watermelon to use as a symbol of ignorance, laziness and shame. The exact opposite of reality at that time.
To this day, there are many black Americans who are ashamed or embarrassed to eat watermelon in public. Comedic genius JB Smoove’s character Leon on “Curb your Enthusiasm” explores this embarrassment and shame on multiple episodes.
Pyrogravure, pigment, gold leaf , oil, and wax on Luan 70 x 50 x 2 inches
Ganga Zumba is part of a new series called Before Bondage. It features slaves who lived lives of prominence before being reduced to cash crops like cotton or sugar. Each work is double sided. The front features a portrait of the slave while the back provides the backstory or hidden history. By using the Pyrogravure method, I am able to burn into the wood to achieve rich blacks and smokey edges. This portrait features Ganga Zumba, also known as Nzumbi. After escaping a Sugar plantation in the late 17th century, he became the first leader of a massive runaway slave settlement in Quilombo dos Palmares in the present day state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name Ganga Zumba means “Great Lord” or “the priest responsible for the spiritual defense of the community”. The front side of this work is meant to capture the strength and unapologetic pride of Ganga. The back side tells the story of his rise while featuring a graphic of the cash crop he was reduced to before his escape to freedom.
Pyrogravure, pigment, gold leaf , oil, and wax on Luan 70 x 50 x 2 inches
Harriet 1910 2024
Pyrogravure, pigment, gold leaf , oil, and wax on Luan
70 x 50 x 2 inches
Harriet 1910 references a photograph of Harriet collected by the Library of Congress. This double sided work is meant to capture the strong presence and strength of Harriet while conveying her life and legacy through symbology. The size of her hands are deliberately enlarged to represent the work she accomplished in her lifetime. The gold seal on the back focuses on four main chapters in her life. The upper left features her date of birth, slave name and the crab represents Dorchester county where she was born. The upper right features elements of nature like the moon, north star and rivers which aided her journeys to freedom. The Quaker symbol of reconciliation represents the assistance Quakers provided in the underground railroad. The lower left features her role as a spy, cook, and nurse in the Union Army. The lower right represents her work as an orator, and her strong connection to God which allowed her to assist so many slaves throughout her lifetime.
Rear View of Harriet 1910 2024
Pyrogravure, pigment, gold leaf , oil, and wax on Luan 70 x 50 x 2 inches
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
