Working proofs provide invaluable feedback during the creative process. Images made on the copperplate are often hard to see, and imagining their appearance when printed is even more difficult. By pulling proof impressions from the plate, an artist can assess a work’s progress: Does the design match expectations? Is it working? The final three galleries of the exhibition Yes, No, Maybe are structured around the notion that working proofs compel decisions: yes, no, maybe. This, the first of these sections, features print projects that advanced in a straightforward manner. The preliminary proofs testify, for the most part, to the logical development of an image and the successful execution of a well-formed vision.

Banner image: Detail, Mamma Andersson, Room Under the Influence, 2008, color spitbite aquatint, sugarlift aquatint, aquatint, and softground etching,  Gift of Kathan Brown, Crown Point Press, © Mamma Andersson

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