Join us for a special demonstration and talk about Rufino Tamayo and the groundbreaking Mixografía printmaking technique. Hear from Mixografía founders Lea and Luis Remba about their memories and experiences working closely with Tamayo. Learn from Mixografía Director Shaye Remba about the process of making a Mixografía print, such as those featured in Rufino Tamayo: Innovation and Experimentation, using the materials and tools involved in this signature method.
Luis Remba, a second generation printmaker, founded Taller de Gráfica Mexicana (the precursor to Mixografia®) in Mexico City.
The event has been canceled due to international coronavirus prevention recommendations. We will inform you about the newest date. Thank you very much for your understanding.
History of Mixografía:
Luis’ father owned a commercial printing business, through which the Rembas befriended Pablo O’Higgins in 1969. He was impressed with the Remba’s print quality so he encouraged them to open a fine art studio. Luis took O’Higgins’ suggestion and opened Taller de Gráfica Mexicana (TGM). During that time, Luis and his wife Lea invited artists to the workshop, providing them with studio space and an environment to explore their creative ideas.
In 1973, the Rembas invited Rufino Tamayo to create a series of prints at TGM. This collaboration was what led to the invention of the Mixografia® printing technique. Luis rose to the challenge by inventing a process that not only allowed Tamayo to create prints in relief, but also registered the artwork’s texture and very fine surface detail.
Unable to use commercial paper for this new kind of printing, Luis and Lea’s son Shaye Remba designed and built the papermaking machinery to use in the studio. The name of the print shop was changed to reflect the name of the medium for which it had become known: “Mixografia.”
Mixografia went on to publish over 80 editions with Tamayo, including the 1983 paper mural “Dos Personajes Atacados Por Perros,” which was printed using the largest lithographic stone in the world, measuring 103 x 63 inches. This stone, on which the artist’s original drawing is still visible, is on view in the Mixografia gallery.
In 1980, the Rembas were approached by Robert Grey, the then Dean of the Department of Fine Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles. He suggested that the Rembas open a studio in Los Angeles. This space would allow for artists visiting and teaching at UCLA a chance to collaborate with Mixografia and a chance for Mixografia to broaden its reach. In 1984 the Rembas moved to Los Angeles to open a second location and Mixografia began operating out of the newly established printmaking facility in Downtown LA. Mixografia still operates out of this location today and has attracted major names in 20th and 21st century art.
As the Mixografia® printing technique has developed and evolved, it has been able to produce increasingly complex works of art that have come to redefine the category of “print.” Because of the quality and adaptability of the process, the artist’s ideas are not constrained in the way they would be while working with a strictly two-dimensional medium.
Today Mixografia, directed by Shaye Remba, continues to attract major national and international artists. Mixografia has enriched the Los Angeles artistic community and reached audiences all over the world.
Mixografia has produced over 600 unique editions by 90 artists, since it was founded 50 years ago.