Artist’s Statement

As a Master Printer who specializes in intaglio (etchings), Lawrence Hamlin is equally known for his large format graphite drawings. As an artist whose works span genres and a range of subjects, Hamlin’s works on paper are united by a consistent set of underlying thematic explorations: The tensions that exist in knowing that beauty can suddenly and unexpectedly transform into the awful; between the play and humor of childhood and an ever-present sense of proximate anxiety and disaster; and the unknowable aspects of the human psyche. As an artist with highly advanced technical skills, Hamlin’s work demonstrates a nearly obsessive attention to craft and technique. His interest in printmaking is linked to his fascination with the generation of immaculate multiples and he never tires of the magical qualities of a printmaking practice that pushes the boundaries of the possible in his medium. His abstract work is part of a disciplined examination of form and composition that he uses both as an end unto itself and as studies for his figurative work. He toggles between drawing and printmaking and uses his work in one medium to inform his work in the other.

With an MFA in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute, and a BFA from the State University of New York-Brockport, Hamlin worked as a Master Printer at Crown Point Press from 1986-96. He has been a member of the art faculty at Parkland
Community College in Champaign, Illinois, and at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. He has also taught printmaking workshops at Salt Grass Press in Salt Lake City, Utah, and courses in printmaking at the University of Washington. His work has
been shown in numerous exhibits and purchased by various museums across the United States. His studio, Mad Dog Press, is located in Seattle, WA.