Mel Bochner, the renowned Conceptual artist, will be the first guest artist to speak at the inaugural Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Lecture Program on November 8 at the IFPDA Print Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, as announced by Michele Senecal, the executive director of IFPDA. Jordan D. Schnitzer, the Portland, Oregon-based art collector and philanthropist, is funding the lecture through his foundation.

“We are extremely grateful to Mr. Schnitzer for his generosity in underwriting our inaugural lecture program and are privileged to feature Mel Bochner as our first guest artist,” says Michele Senecal, the executive director of the IFPDA Print Fair. “The lecture program is our the lead programming initiative during the Fair, and aims to honor and raise public consciousness about the unique ways in which contemporary artists use print-making in their artistic practice.”

Sparked by a keen interest in the inventiveness of printmaking and carrying on a family legacy of collecting art, Jordan Schnitzer began collecting prints in 1988. Today, the family’s collection exceeds 8,000 works and its foundation manages an active lending program aimed at making fine art easily available to qualified institutions, especially those in less-served communities.

“Art makes us feel alive!” says Mr. Schnitzer. “I love prints, and getting to know the print artists, publishers, galleries, and print curators has been a highlight of my art life.  I am honored to sponsor the IFPDA Print Fair artist lecture.”

Mr. Schnitzer aims to create a long and lasting impact through the arts with the significant funding he has provided for the renovation and construction of two university museums that now bear his name; the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and The Museum of Art at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, planned for completion in 2016.

About Mel Bochner

A founding figure of the Conceptual art movement of the 1960s, Mel Bochner whose critically acclaimed exhibition at The Jewish Museum recently concluded, has taken an unusual turn toward painterly expressiveness during the past two decades. The use of words as sources for painting stems from Bochner’s interest in philosophy, on the one hand, and humor and popular culture on the other. Using a variety of techniques, including print-making, Bochner riffs on words in countless permutations.

Free and open to the public with limited seating, reservations for the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Lecture, which takes place in the historic Board of Officer’s Room at the Park Avenue Armory, at 11:00 A.M. must be made online: www.printfair.com

General Information:

The IFPDA’s Print Fair opens with a benefit preview for the IFPDA Foundation at the Park Avenue Armory, Park Avenue & 67th Street, on Wednesday, November 5, from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. Tickets are $85 and include a one-day pass.

The third recipient of the Richard Hamilton Acquisition Prize, sponsored by Champion & Partners, will be announced at the Opening Night Preview, on Wednesday, November 5, which will benefit its grants-making arm, the IFPDA Foundation. The prize was established in 2012 to support museum acquisitions, and it provides one institution with up to $10,000 for the purchase at the Print Fair of one or more prints from any period.

The Designer Committee co-chairs are Dee Dee Eustace, Brian McCarthy, Sandra Nunnerley and Matthew Patrick Smyth.

The four-day Print Fair opens to the public on Thursday, November 6. Hours are Thursday to Saturday, Noon to 8:00 PM and Sunday, Noon to 6:00 PM. Daily admission is $20.   Group admission can be arranged in advance through the IFPDA Office. (The IFPDA Print Fair has designated Turon Travel Inc. [turontravel.com] as its preferred U.S. travel agency. The Fair's pop-up cafe is hosted by 'wichcraft, Tom Colicchio's Crafted Hospitality.

About The IFPDA

Founded in 1987, The International Fine Print Dealers Association is a nonprofit organization of expert art dealers dedicated to the highest standards of quality, ethics and connoisseurship. The IFPDA Print Fair was established in 1991and has run every year with the exception of 2001. Proceeds from the Fair support its educational programs and the IFPDA Foundation, which provides grants to museums and cultural institutions worldwide to support a greater awareness of prints as an artistic medium.

For more information visit: www.printfair.com or phone 212-674-6095.