How has Central Iowa’s art scene changed in four decades? And what’s it really like to work as an artist here? Internationally acclaimed printmaker Amy N. Worthen offers her perspective May 17 at 1 p.m. at Olson-Larsen Galleries in West Des Moines’ Valley Junction. Her presentation is the first in a series of gallery talks by Olson-Larsen artists celebrating the gallery’s 35th anniversary.
Worthen, the Des Moines Art Center’s curator of prints and drawings, creates fine-line engravings, often showcasing architectural themes (realistic and fanciful). Her prints have been exhibited widely and are in top museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.
Although based in Des Moines since 1970, Worthen has wandered the world. She grew up in the Bronx, earned a master’s degree in printmaking at the University of Iowa, and spent several years living in Italy, as well as extended time in England, France, Japan, Turkey and India. Venice, Italy, where Worthen also owns a home, inspires her current projects. Worthen’s talk is free and open to the public. Wine and light refreshments will be served. Don’t miss the gallery’s anniversary exhibit too, through June 7.
