Roland Poska: Deckle Edge

Roland Poska (1938-2017) was a pioneer in the field of printmaking and papermaking and sought to extend and break the boundaries of his chosen medium. He landed on what he called “Papestries” or paper tapestries, which are featured in this exhibition of paintings, sculptures and prints from his four-decade career. 

Roland Poska was born in Scotland in 1938 and immigrated to Rockford, Illinois when he was a child. He received degrees from Rockford College and Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he was introduced to the mechanics of paper making. He later cofounded the Milwaukee School of Art and Design and taught there while simultaneously running a print studio, Fishy Whale Press.

In composing these works, he laid handfuls of different colors of the mixture - moist cotton fibers mixed with pure powdered pigment - onto plastic sheeting and added elements such as handmade, sliced forms and coils. After drying, Poska would flip the panel over to reveal a flattened, abstract composition. Many of the paintings consist of multiple panels with intentionally rough and unrefined edges.