Rockford artist Roland Poska’s pioneering work in the field of handmade paper establishes him as an important figure throughout the Midwest and the nation. For nearly five decades his work has explored themes of color, nature and egalitarianism on a monumental scale. Pulp and Pigment showcases many of the works that helped define his career as well as the medium of paper as an art form.

Born in Scotland in 1938 to parents of Lithuanian descent, Roland Poska received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rockford College in 1961 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. It was while he was a senior at Cranbrook that Poska first made paper with Lawrence Barker, then head of the printmaking department. He would later recognize the moment as a life-changing experience.

From these initial stages, Poska began to experiment with a slurry of pulverized rag fibers combined with ground raw pigments. Utilizing this brightly hued paper pulp he began to create sculptural paintings, elements of which were shifting and wet as he constructed them face down on the floor of a building where his parents formerly operated a bakery. This location also became home to a lithography studio called Fishy Whale Press, which was founded by Poska in the 1960s and gained recognition for attracting leading printmaking artists from across the country.

Poska’s work is held in both public and private collections, including the Milwaukee Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, and Rockford Art Museum. Guest curator Dave Menard, assistant professor of art at Rockford College, curates this exhibition.