Mitch Lyons earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphics from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and his Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Tyler School of Art. His clay monoprints can be found in numerous private and public collections throughout the United States, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Woodmere Museum, American University, and the University of Delaware. He has exhibited his work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Noyes Museum, Kalmar Lans Museum in Sweden, and the Vonderau Museum in Germany.

Lyons is an innovator and holds a unique position in the history of art. In 1975 he developed a monoprint method using clay, not ink, which he calls clay monoprints. According to Lyons, he takes a slab of stoneware clay and rolls it out about 1/4” thick. After allowing the slab to dry to a “leather hard” consistency, colored slips (liquid clay) are made using China clay and permanent pigments. These colored slips are brushed on, dried and rolled into the clay slab, one color over another, building the design with images, colors, and textures. Dried pigmented clay is also used to create more unusual effects. Once the slab is rolled flat, a moistened piece of paper/canvas is placed over the slab. Pressure is applied using a rolling pin to transfer the clay slips onto the substrate creating the final print.

Lyons’ artwork epitomizes much of the work in eo art lab – innovative, bold, and intuitive. Each composition appears to be in a state of flux or change. The coloring and patterns are fluid and organic. The images feel primordial. The layers meld and transition abstractly between solid, liquid, and gas. With Lyons’ work, the originality of the method truly matches the originality of the form with one of the basic elements of the earth, clay.

commissioned & site specific works are available from each artist; please call the gallery for details.

education

Tyler School of Art, MFA, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
University of the Arts, BFA, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

solo exhibitions

2011     Pigments of My Imagination, The Printmaking Center of New Jersey,  Branchburg, New Jersey
2009    Blue Streak Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware
2007    Between States, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2006    Lynden Gallery, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
2006    Pensacola Junior College, Pensacola, Florida
2005    Read/Johnson Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2005    West Liberty University, West Liberty, West Virginia
2005    Garrubba Bazán Gallery, West Chester, Pennsylvania
2004    Rentz Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
2004    Darlington Art Center, Boothwyn, Pennsylvania
2003    Sapitina Gallery, Topeka, Kansas
2003    Carolynn Roberts Gallery, Hockessin, Delaware
2002    Fairmont University, Fairmont, Virginia
2001    Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
2001    Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, West Virginia
2000    West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania
1999    Miriam Perlman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

group exhibitions

2011     Synesthesia,2010, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2010     The Ties that Bind, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2010    Shared Response, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2010    Give & Take, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2009    Push & Pull, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2009    In the Middle, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2008    Group Experiment, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2008    Group Dynamics, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2008    Group Therapy, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2006    Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, Delaware
2005    Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
2005    West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania
2005    Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, Delaware
2004    Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2003    Southern Graphics Council Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
2002    Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, California
1999    Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
1999    The College of New Jersey, Rutgers, New Jersey
1998    Indiana University, Indiana, Pennsylvania
1995    Associated American Artists, New York, New York
1995    Johnson Art Museum (traveling), Johnson, Pennsylvania

group workshops

Foosaner Art Museum, Melbourne, Florida
Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, Kansas
Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, Connecticut
Wheaton Arts, Millville, New Jersey
Fibre Arts, Sydney, Australia
Lyden Gallery, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Peter’s Valley Crafts Center, Layton, New Jersey
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Island, Maine
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Alfred University, Alfred, New York
Danforth Museum, Danforth, Virginia
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
Jacksonville Art Museum, Jacksonville, Florida
Indiana Unviersity, Bloomington, Indiana
Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
Millersville University, Millersville, Pennsylvania
NCECA Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, West Virginia
Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maitres, Montpellier, France
The Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Skopelos, Greece
and many more! 

honors and awards

2009    Nature Genetics, cover,  June 2009
2005    Walter Gropius Master Artist
1994    Visual Arts Grant, Pennsylvania Council of the Arts
1985    Purchase Award, 23rd Bradley National Print and Drawing Exhibition, Peoria, Illinois

collections

The Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
Nature Genetics, New York, New York
AT&T, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Beneficial Bank, Wilmington, Delaware
Hercules, Wilmington, Delaware
The Noyes Museum, Oceanville, New Jersey
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
Elon College, Elon, North Carolina
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York
Astro Zenaca, Wilmington, Delaware