Bringing letterpress to Miami
Join me in my studio on Saturday, May 21 as I open to the public for Artists Open. Explore my studio and learn more about my work from 11am to 6pm. As the only open studios event of its kind in Miami Dade County, don’t miss out of this opportunity to intimately engage with the artists you most admire! You can register for the event, explore the interactive guide, and get directions to my studio at www.artistsopen.miami.
Join Tom Virgin, Peter Balakian, and Jonathan Plutzik to celebrate the end of Poetry Month.
Books & Books in Coral Gables 265 Aragon Ave
Coral Gables, FL 33134305.442.4408
Tom Virgin is thrilled to be participating in the exhibition. From the press release:
This exhibition features approximately 50 works by members of the Guild of Book Workers, an book artists organization that promotes interest in and awareness of the tradition of the book and paper arts by maintaining high standards of workmanship, hosting educational opportunities, and sponsoring exhibits. Members were invited to interpret the theme of “wildlife” in any way they wish, be it literal or abstract, humorous or serious. In a biological sense, wildlife describes the myriad of creatures sharing this planet, interacting and adapting, all connected to each other and their environment. “Wild” also describes an untamable essence that survives despite the constraints of society and culture. As craftspeople, knowledge of materials and keen observation of how they behave (and often how they refuse to comply) is an integral part of the practice of book making, and a reminder of how traditional bookbinding materials originate in nature.
https://guildofbookworkers.org/content/wildlife
A Questionnaire for Two Pussies, 2021. Written by Denise Duhamel & Maureen Seaton. Drawing, painting, and design by Mary Malm. Design, drawing, printing, and binding by Tom Virgin. This book records a feminist conversation between Duhamel and Seaton, regular collaborators, in both verse and prose.
Printed on French Paper’s Poptone Bubble-gum, with a cover that white stained, maple veneer, laser cut, and attached to the book block hand sewn tackets. The book is bound with a kettle stitch using waxed linen thread, Okawara, and pink bias tape. All pages are hand printed on a 1949 Vandercook 4 Proof Press using Avenir Bold and Book fonts, wood type, polymer plates, and linoleum blocks.
Q42P is 9.5 in x 6. 25 in x .5 in. 25 pages.
Key West and Other Unusual Places featuring artwork from Brian Reedy and Tom Virgin.
Early in 2019, I responded to a call for art from the Miami International Airport by pestering one of my favorite artists in the world to join me in a show. It took a while, but eventually Brian Reedy relented, and we sent in a proposal a few weeks later. In early April 2019 we found out that our proposal was accepted. March 2020, our show was postponed indefinitely. Unusual times for Unusual Places notwithstanding, our show opened June 23 – October 3, 2021.
Both Brian and I were offering travelers a bit more that they expected. If you do not already know Brian’s work, follow him on Instagram and you will soon see that he has visited far more worlds that I have. “Art can be a perfect form of escapism – a means to go to fantastic places limited only by the extent of one’s imagination.” Brian Reedy @brianreedy
I chose my work to reflect my travels to artists’ residencies in the United States (Earth), It takes the traveler kitty corner across the country, South-East to North-West. From Key West, Florida to Portland, Oregon the prints, photos, ephemera, and drawings bounce north through the Midwest to Mount Hood. My intention was to offer travelers a jump start at the beginning of their journey, or one last hurrah upon their return home. @extravirginpress
Last August MIA put out a Call for Artists to lift local artists practices and profiles during Covid 19. I was delighted to inform all the collaborators in the Home/s Portfolio, created at Extra Virgin Press in 2017, that all travelers arriving at Gate D would pass our broadsheets, offering them an introduction to our city, and our eleven Miami artists and poets. The poets: Edwidge Danticat, Denise Duhamel, Mia Leonin, Maureen Seaton, and Michael Hettich. The artists: Pip Brant, Adler Guerrier, Laura Tan, Michelle Weinberg, and Tom Virgin.
In a city where the “minority” has been the majority for over two decades, Miami has long provided a refuge to refugees. Our city and its people usually name more than one city as home. “Home/s” invites you to join our conversations.
View the work at MIA Galleries, Miami International Airport, The Eye Has to Travel Gallery in Concourse D – 2nd Level – near Gate D29.
Tom Virgin is participating in this exciting fund-raising event that supports the gallery exhibitions and events.
The Art and Culture Center/Hollywood’s popular exhibition and fundraiser Exposed returns with an opening reception on Saturday, August 28 from
5 – 7 pm. The Exhibition will run through September 24th, with the draw set for that night from 6 – 9 pm.
https://www.artandculturecenter.org/13th-annual-exposed
Extra Virgin Press will have three printing presses running for the kids at PAMM.
I have lived in Coconut Grove longer than any other place in my entire life. The time span represented in PLACE AND PURPOSE/ Art Transformation in Coconut Grove, was recent history when I moved there in 1992, on the heels of Hurricane Andrew. I am grateful to the Frost, Amy Galpin, Jordana Pomeroy, and their remarkable team for filling in this history of the Grove.
I earned a MFA in Printmaking at the University of Miami in 1994, and worked in three museums in Miami as well. MDCPS kept me around for over twenty five years in Title I Public High Schools as an art teacher. I have worked with kids all over the city. Still… The Grove was my neighborhood. Coconut Grove is and always has been a small town: A neighborhood, a place where people come together, an artist’s haven, with places to walk, with lots of trees and public parks.
Many artists gravitated to the Grove, and I have met hundreds, if not thousands, who participated in the Coconut Grove Art Festivals over the years. I have met wood carvers who lived in trees (Sundog), Mango Kings (Glen Terry), and librarians who knew their patrons so well, that they ordered books for them, before they were requested. Many of my friends preceded me to the Grove and moved on.
The work on this page represents a selection of the exhibition, links to Frost Museum’s site with educator resources, Making Space (2021) created in response to the exhibition that reflects my neighborhood now, Can’t See It From My House (2008) my book in the exhibition, a poster created for a demo on Juneteenth 2021 at the FIU Frost Art Museum, and other work that is Grove-centric from my time here. I love this town.
EVP and Miami artist Brian Reedy are setting up a show at Miami International Airport.
