Florence Gidez

I am an artist working primarily in silkscreen, and an arts educator working with youth in all five boroughs of New York City.  My work consists of hand drawn and printed, color charged silkscreens on paper and dimensional constructions of ramshackle buildings, vehicles, plants and animals.
The idea of place, both in general and specific, is a theme I always return to. Moving to New York City after growing up in Vermont I felt a sense of nostalgia for rural architecture, open space, and decay. Wherever I travel there is another farm, house, bus, or shack overcome by time, vegetation and eventually the elements that collapse them. This sense of loss is as present in many urban environments as it is in rural ones like Vermont.
The physical spaces which we call home hold a deep resonance for me. The concept of home has become more intangible in our fraught economic reality, evolving as more of us move untethered in a globalized world. Home is both a real and imagined place. Our instinct to build safe spaces counters the inevitable forces of entropy to break it down. A dedication to craftsmanship is what draws me to architecture as subject matter and to printmaking as a medium. Silkscreen specifically allows me to transmute a range of drawing marks – dip pen, brush, marker, and lithographic crayon – through a process that unifies them. The diversity of textures enables me to be both graphic and painterly. I use this process additively, layering elements onto an image after printing has begun, much as buildings and landscapes are modified over time.

WHY FLORENCE JOINED THE POSSE

The most powerful experience for me as young person who had always loved making things was becoming part of a community of artists through printmaking. Printmakers are community oriented almost by nature: they are teachers and sharers of their knowledge, they often work in and create communal shops, increasing access to the artform for everyone. With the ability to make multiples through printmaking comes the opportunity to share art and messages with more viewers than other traditional artforms.  Speedball honors the artists who use their products by joining forces with them. I am excited to show my love and appreciation of the printmaking community by being part of the Speedball Print Posse.

Florence’s Limited Edition Posse Acrylic Screen Printing Ink, “REDWOOD”

“I love to use bright, saturated colors in my work – including neon and metallic colors – but I always like to temper them with contrasting, earthy reds and browns. This is a color I can’t live without in my imagery of wooden structures and landscapes.”