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Maja Godlewska, Włochacz, a Fragile Creature from Pipe Clay Lagoon, 2026, monoprint with seaweed, salty water, mud, coastal detritus, water based inks and dip pen and India ink on watercolor paper, 22 x 30 in., Courtesy of the Artist and Toshkova Fine Art.

VAN EVERY GALLERY
50 Years Later: Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition
On View: Aug. 24 - Sept. 27, 2026

About the Exhibition

From 1972 to 1976, the Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition brought some of the most compelling contemporary works on paper to Davidson College. Conceived by Herb Jackson '67 in the early days of his more than forty-year teaching career at Davidson, the exhibition invited leading voices in the art world—including Clement Greenberg and Marcia Tucker—to serve as jurors. Individual artists as well as printmaking studios from across the country responded by shipping original drawings and prints to Davidson for consideration. Although the competition ended in 1976, it left an indelible mark on both the College and its permanent collection, adding nearly fifty significant works over its five-year run.

"50 Years Later: Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition" celebrates the spirit of that original exhibition while reimagining it for today. Similar to previous iterations, the submissions represented a survey of contemporary drawing and printmaking from across the United States. We also invited distinguished curators, though this time working together as a panel. Caitlin Haskell (Davidson College Class of 2000), Gary C. and Frances Comer Senior Curator in Modern and Contemporary Art and Director of the Ray Johnson Collections and Research at the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Maria Elena Ortiz, Curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas; and TK Smith, curator, writer, and cultural historian based in Atlanta, Georgia, reviewed over 230 submissions. In previous Davidson Nationals, more than 100 artists presented one work each. This year, we chose instead to focus the exhibition on fewer artists, allowing each to be represented in greater depth. The panelists selected nine artists, who then worked with our gallery director/curator to select works—or, in many cases, groups of works—for display. Representing some of the many important conversations shaping the field today, we invite you to engage more deeply with the artists' practices.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Paul Stephen Benjamin
Yoonhee Choi
Jillian Conrad
Maja Godlewska
María Korol
Ambrin Ling
Jenene Nagy
Adrian Rhodes
Sergio Suárez

Exhibition and related programs made possible through the support of the Herb Jackson and Laura Grosch Gallery Fund and Davidson College Friends of the Arts

RELATED PROGRAMMING

Lunch + Learn: Gallery Talk
Thursday, Sept. 17, 11:05 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.
Join the exhibiting artists to hear about their work in the current exhibition! Grab-and-go lunch options. RSVP here.
Location: Van Every/Smith Galleries and Missy Boaz Woodward '73 Atrium, Belk Visual Arts Center

Opening Reception: 50 Years Later
Thursday, Sept. 17, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Join us for a floating reception with refreshments.
Location: Van Every/Smith Galleries, Belk Visual Arts Center

ART + APPS: Understanding Printmaking Techniques with Prof. Tyler Starr
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Want to know the difference between a monotype and woodcut? Come learn with real examples from our exhibition and Galleries' collection. Participants will also get to create a monotype of their own.
Location: Van Every/Smith Galleries, Belk Visual Arts Center