In 2008, when Barack Obama was still a senator, Julie Mehretu was at Gemini G.E.L., where she made a drypoint etching on woven paper titled Amulets—a good luck charm. She donated the funds from the sale to Obama’s presidential campaign. Every piece Mehretu printed at Gemini G.E.L. is now on display in the workshop. Although Mehretu is known as a painter, this show exclusively features her prints, which employ etching techniques from drypoint to spit-bite, and have grown larger over time. Included here are three large-scale print projects—wall-spanning pieces with Mehretu’s signature loose lines and layers of abstract signs, maps, and architectural imagery. —J.D.
The Arts Intel Report
Julie Mehretu
When
Mar 25 – Sept 18, 2021
Where
Etc
Julie Mehretu, “Untitled (Amulets),” 2008 © Julie Mehretu and Gemini G.E.L.