Working out of his Santa Monica printshop since 1988, printer and publisher Jacob Samuel has developed a practice that aims to keep traditional etching processes relevant to contemporary artists. Understanding that artists often work best in their own studios, he designed a portable aquatint box in 1993 (completed 1996), on view here, that has enabled him to make prints with an impressive range of international artists in their own spaces. Samuel has likened his experience to “working without a net,” a significant change from the customary tightly controlled print workshop environment.

Samuel has chosen to work with artists regardless of their printmaking experience. This approach has made him versatile in responding to a multitude of art practices, from painting and sculpture to graffiti and performance. Three of the more than forty projects Samuel has published to date are on view here, including the first portfolio he made using the portable aquatint box—Marina Abramović’s Spirit Cooking (1996)—and his most recent series of prints, produced on the occasion of this exhibition with the Romanian artists Gert & Uwe Tobias.

See a video of Jacob Samuel’s demonstration of the portable aquatint box.

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