Shark's tank: Sharkive hits CU museum's walls after its 2018 acquisition

Sep. 1—Shark's Ink — a print-making studio in Lyons, founded by artists Bud and Barbara Shark — has hosted an array of creatives over the decades.

What started as a small center, first located in Boulder, has evolved into a destination for those looking to have an intimate and high-quality experience creating art, communing with fellow makers and receiving inspired instruction.

Shark's Ink's 46-year-old legacy will be showcased in a new exhibit at University of Colorado's Art Museum, displaying the works of 27 artists who have collaborated with the lithograph studio over the years.

Opening Tuesday on campus, "Onward and Upward: Shark's Ink" will display 34 prints and a variety of tools used in the creation process. Shark's Ink is known for its three-dimensional lithographs created through unusual and inventive printmaking techniques.

The work on display is part of an extensive permanent collection, named the Sharkive, that holds 2,700 prints and related materials from 40 years of collaborative work in lithography, monotype and woodcut. CU Boulder acquired the internationally acclaimed collection in 2018 as part of a $1.35 million purchase.

The collection includes work from more that 40 years of collaborations between world-renowned artists and Shark's Ink. It has more than 700 signed limited-edition prints and more than 2,000 related materials, including artist studies, trial proofs, unique proofs with paper alternatives and artist and printer's notes and correspondence.

"We began documenting the Sharkive in 2004 with the hopes it would find a home," said Bud Shark. "The artists we work with have become friends, and we love all the prints we've made with them. It's hard to pick favorites."

For Bud Shark, the art of printmaking was literally love at first sight.

"I saw a lithograph and was intrigued with how the ink was in the paper, not on the paper," Shark said. "I took a lithography class at the University of Wisconsin and that was that. We do what we love and are fortunate that it has been a success."

The upcoming opening of this exhibit is a highly anticipated one for the Sharks, and staff, who worked hard to bring the project to light.

"We started to transport and unpack the Sharkive to CU in the summer of 2019, and just several months into the project we experienced pandemic-related delays," said Hope Saska, CU Art Museum's chief curator and director of academic engagement. "It feels like we've been working towards this project for a while, and it's thrilling to see the prints on the wall."

Renowned artists who have worked with Shark's Ink include John Buck, Enrique Chagoya, Red Grooms, Jane Hammond, Robert Kushner, Hung Liu and Betty Woodman.

"They have a reputation that extends beyond regional and national borders," Saska said. "Shark's Ink prints are collected by museums and art lovers far and wide. We're excited to celebrate the scope of Shark's Ink and to share that with our visitors."

Ana Maria Hernando — an Argentinian artist with a studio in North Boulder — is among the number of creatives who have collaborated with Bud Shark over the years. She started working with the Sharks in 2005. Over 10 of her pieces made at Shark's Ink fill the Sharkive at CU.

"It's an immense pleasure to work with somebody that is so incredibly knowledgeable," Hernando said. "Coming to work with Bud (Shark) my work flourishes in ways that I didn't prepare for before. It becomes bigger. My language becomes more expansive. It's a true collaboration."

For Hernando, like so many artists, the magic is also in the hospitality put forth. Some artists stay on the property and awake to Barbara Shark's homemade granola and yogurt.

"You are nurtured on so many levels," Hernando said.

Visitors to the exhibit will get an up-close look at a limited edition lithographic book that includes poetry, "Salka Archipelago," that Hernando created with Kenneth Robinson.

Hernando wanted to be an artist since the age of 5 years old. As a child growing up in Argentina, she would often receive English lessons from a visiting tutor who afterwards encouraged her to draw the word's subject on paper after learning it.

Years ago, Hernando underwent major surgery to remove a brain tumor— an experience that impacted her work.

"I began to make these pieces that had these 3D components that had a lot of white," Hernando said. "Those pieces I'm grateful for because they kind of nourished me back to my practice."

After recovering from the successful operation and slowly gathering her strength, Hernando joined Bud Shark in the studio again to make more meaningful works.

"By the time I did 'El Corazón Inocente,' in 2010, I was much better and could use these brighter colors," Hernando said. "We incorporated 3D elements and more sculptural pieces into the work. It's inspired by the experience of going through the world with your heart open and the experience of going through such a life event."

Hernando stays busy crafting sculptural works and fiber installations made from tulle while she experiments with other mediums.

"Art is the air that I breathe," Hernando said. "It's a way for my heart, mind and soul to come together. It's also my way of giving to the world. Without art, my life would be flat."

For the team over at the CU Art Museum, narrowing down the collection to choose which pieces to put on display was no easy task, Saska said, but they channeled much thought into their choices.

"I think some of the prints that are really special to Shark's Ink are the ones that are assembled in three-dimensions or have cutouts and collaged elements," Saska said. "Many of the prints made at Shark's Ink combine visual and technical complexity. For example, Enrique Chagoya's codex from 1999, 'Les Aventures des Cannibales Modernistes,' asks the viewer to read from right to left and to decode a number of symbols and visual references."

From 10 a.m.-noon on Sept. 10, the museum will host an open house breakfast that will feature music, food and a special visit with the Sharks, along with local artists who have work on display as part of the exhibit.

"I am looking forward to celebrating with the Sharks, and I think we're all looking forward to interacting with our visitors," Saska said. "Opening an exhibition is just the first step in sharing the Sharkive. We'll be unrolling a series of programs related to the show, and we're looking forward to continued engagement with visitors."

Visitors will get a glimpse of just how these stirring pieces come together.

"We even filmed Bud (Shark) at work on a recent edition by (artist) Kara Maria and are displaying that video alongside production materials so visitors can see how a print is made," Saska said.

Attendees of the open house will also be able to stretch their creative muscles and experiment with the art form.

"We decided to turn the entire museum into a celebration of prints and printmaking," Saska said. "My colleagues in our visitor experience department have designed several interactive activities so that visitors can engage with the exhibition and then make something to take home."

The exhibit will be up until July of 2023. There are plans to rotate the work in January.

As for the future of Shark's Ink, the Sharks are enthused about continuing to team up with creatives and keep the creativity flowing.

"We look forward to future collaborations with new artists and artist friends who return year after year," Shark said.