Lou Stovall has transformed the field of printmaking in Washington, DC since the 1960s. Over the course of his career, Stovall has developed an experimental approach to screenprinting, creating works with vibrant colors, delicate washes of pigments, nimble layering of forms, and experimental textures and surfaces. In 1968, he established Workshop, Inc., a screenprinting studio aimed to reach new audiences, connect with political movements, and create opportunities for a diverse group of artists. Through this artistic hub, Stovall has continued to have an enormous impact on the city, its communities, and the realms of artmaking, along with his wife, collaborator, and fellow artist Di Bagley Stovall.

Lou Stovall: On Inventions and Color presented nearly 40 years of the master printmaker’s artworks, starting with his color-saturated, fantastical visions inspired by nature, created during a period of civil unrest and social change in the United States. Stovall’s fascination with the natural world continues in his smaller, more intimate screenprints, his intricate studies and drawings, and even his experimental monoprints, created with lush fields of color. The second part of the exhibition focused on prints by artists who have worked with Stovall at the Workshop: Gene Davis, David Driskell, Louis Delsarte, Sam Gilliam, Loïs Mailou Jones, Minnie Klavans, Gwendolyn Knight, Jacob Lawrence, Samella Lewis, and Paul Reed. Lou Stovall: On Inventions and Color brought together these two parts of Stovall’s artistic practice to understand the sheer innovation behind his work, and how he expanded the medium of screenprinting throughout the Workshop’s long and prosperous history.

Cover image: Lou Stovall, Secrets of the Day, 2010.
Photos below: Greg Staley and John Woo.