ROLAND POSKA
Pioneer in Papermaking

Since the mid 1960's, Roland Poska has pioneered the medium of handmade paper. His show at the Milwaukee Art Museum, July 4th, 1976 was the first major paper painting exhibition in the United States. Joined later by David Hockney, Frank Stella, and others, he is today a leading figure with his own distinctive technique of painting with pulp and pigment.

Complexity of depth and color runs throughout his paintings and prints in a manner evocative of the spontaneity of the Abstract Expressionists, yet controlled. Much of this can be attributed to Poska's philosophy of "deckle edge." For him, nature is rough and unfinished, with forces meeting and parting, much like the "deckle," or irregular edge of handmade paper.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, of Lithuanian descent, Roland Poska received early education in Glasgow, Scotland; London, England; Montreal, Canada; and Rockford, Illinois. His degrees came from Rockford College, BA 1961; and Cranbrook Academy of Art, MFA 1962. He taught at Rockford College from 1963-64; served as head of Printmaking at Layton School of Art in Milwaukee from 1965 until its close in 1974; co-founded a new art school currently called Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, where he set up the printmaking department and taught from 1974-76.

He began to create Fishy Whale in 1961 by acquiring lithography stones, then the printmaking equipment, and finally, the paper mill and it was in full bloom operation by 1965. The studio attracted artists from around the country, and he began publishing some of them, including: Emil Weddige; Sandra Hall; Ron Ruble; John Doyle and many others. His current goal is to ensure that future artists can continue to explore the possibilities of Fishy Whale by having it become part of an institute of higher learning.