Winter Sumac

• Woodcut

Gordon Mortensen was born in North Dakota in 1938 and is now based in California. He received his BFA from the Minneapolis School of Art and attended the graduate school of the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. He has taught at the St. Paul Art Museum, the Rochester Art Center, and the Minnetonka Art Center. He first exhibited extensively in the Midwest before participating in the Brooklyn Museum’s National Print exhibition in 1976, after which his work has been shown throughout the US and is held in the collections of many American institutions. Mortensen is considered one of the contemporary masters of reduction woodcut printmaking. He begins with a watercolor study, then transfers the image to a woodblock and carves the first layer. One of the most labor-intensive, meticulous printmaking techniques, each of Mortensen’s woodcuts can use up to 64 colors and up to 45 press runs, which can take three months to complete. Focusing on landscapes and the natural world, Mortensen’s work is known for its technical excellence, creating a painterly quality with rich, layered colors; balance; and natural woodgrain textures.