Dinderbeck, a made-up word that means nothing but sounds cool, is the creative moniker for a new studio and gallery space on Grand Rapids' West Side – a place where printmakers can fire up the presses, both vintage and modern, and express their artistic visions on paper.
The studio, 323 Straight Ave. SW, is across the street from the former
Tanglefoot Co. warehouse, which is now a hotbed of artists and art studios.
With nearly 2,000 square feet of work and display space, Dinderbeck has plenty of room for artists to lease space for a private show or for those who want to rent time on the specialty printing presses: a 1951 325G
Vandercook Hand Proof Press for relief printing, or the soon-to-be-refurbished Fuchs & Lang lithography press rescued from a scrap yard. An intaglio press is on the wish list.
"Our first intent was to use the space as a private studio for our own work," says Brandon Alman, "but we wanted to figure out how we could use the space and generate interest within the space, so we decided to expand it and offer it to more people."
Alman is a partner in the endeavor with Kyle Isbell, Trevor Hill-Rowley, Anthony Mead and Lucas Schurkamp. All of the partners are artists, four of them are printmakers and they are all students or graduates of Kendall College of Art & Design.
Besides the print shop, artists can rent the studio's woodshop with woodworking tools.
Dinderbeck hosted its first show in June and will be the site of "Kung Fu (hard work + reward)" on Oct. 22, featuring the works of the nine artists in The GR8 Death Squad, formerly The GR8.
Source: Brandon Alman, Dinderbeck Studio, Dinderbeck Gallery
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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