Martin Puer: Reed

In 1923, writer Gene Tumer published Reed, an extremely experimental and lyrical novel that included a variety of stories of African American characters. In 2000, Arion Press collaborated with contemporary sculptor and printer Martin Puer, creating woodcuts to illustrate the new edition of the novel. Puer decided to focus on women, many of them southern and black, described in the book of Tumera. He created portraits of seven characters, working in an inventive and almost abstract style. Arion Press also released a separate portfolio of Puer seven woodcut portraits created from African wenge, Swiss pear, Italian walnut and New England maple. This exhibition includes portraits of wood and seven engravings.