A new exhibition of rare work from an acclaimed print artist will kick off tonight with an opening reception for “Syl Labrot, Synthetic Landscapes.”
The show, hosted by More Fire Glass Studio in conjunction with Visual Studies Workshop, intends to highlight Labrot’s unique artistic vision, as well as his Rochester connections. Elizabeth Lyons, founder of the Rochester-based glass studio, says the works have left an impression on her since childhood.
“These prints are so beautiful, timeless, and easy to live with,” Lyons says. “I am still enamored with the vibrancy and luminosity of Syl’s prints. It is these qualities that fuel my work in glass and it is rare to see that kind of play of color and light in two-dimensional works.”
The works featured in “Syl Labrot, Synthetic Landscapes” were produced in the 1970s and are considered a culmination of Labrot’s skills as a painter, photographer, and printmaker. The pieces are certainly grounded in the language of landscape art, but they create surreal, vibrant environments through their luminous colors and integration of photographic techniques.
This element perhaps comes from Labrot’s own background as a successful commercial color photographer. During his early career, he produced calendars, magazine covers and travel pictures, mostly in Boulder and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. However, this clearly did not creatively fulfill Labrot.
“This game of counterfeit and stage sets wore out once success was achieved,” he wrote in a 1974 magazine article.
Instead, Labrot worked to develop new techniques and approaches toward the art form, working with other Colorado photographers such as Walter Chappell, Nile Root, Arnold Gasson, Winter Prather and Jim Milmoe. In particular, his production techniques pushed beyond the norm for the color separation process, dye transfers, and carbro printing.
“In my work I began to see that the camera could create a new space out of the relationship of visual reality to the graphic forces of the print,” Labrot wrote in his artist statement in “Under the Sun: The Abstract Art of Camera Vision 1,” published in 1960. “This complete combining formed a distinct language.”
In 1976, he published “Pleasure Beach,” a masterwork considered one of the most important photography books of that time. Also during that era, he taught photography at VSW, focusing on silkscreen printing. Labrot’s screenless technique for color separation used fine-line transparencies, which resulted in nuanced detail and clarity.
The vintage prints available for purchase are unsold 1974 Synthetic Landscape portfolio prints produced in conjunction with and as a fundraiser for VSW.“Visual Studies Workshop has been the life’s work of my parents, Joan and Nathan Lyons, and at the center of our family history,” Lyons says. “As the institution enters a new chapter, I wanted to support and also celebrate with this exhibition and print sale. I hope that the community will come out to support VSW and for this rare opportunity to enjoy the work of Syl Labrot.
Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].