Making an Impression: Printmaking Finds New Dimensions at the Bechtler
By Scott Jelleyman, Editor, Queen City Backstage
A print does not have to stay flat, and an image does not have to behave like a window. At Charlotte’s Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Making an Impression: Pioneering Latin American Printmakers invites visitors to think about what happens when artists push beyond those expectations.
Four Artists, Different Possibilities
The exhibition’s planned presentation brings together Rufino Tamayo of Mexico, Jesús Rafael Soto of Venezuela, Regina Silveira of Brazil and Analia Saban of Argentina. Across generations, their approaches explore the relationship between an image, its material surface and the space around it.
The museum describes Tamayo’s Mixografías as introducing sculptural relief; Soto’s works engage optical effects and perception. Silveira develops spatial illusions, while Saban experiments with materials and technology. Together, their practices give visitors several ways to reconsider what the word “print” can mean.
An Important Update Before You Go
As of October 16, the Bechtler’s official exhibition page still reports a shipping delay for Tamayo’s works. The exhibition is open with Soto, Silveira and Saban, plus a temporary presentation introducing Tamayo’s practice. The museum says his works will be installed when they arrive. Check the linked page for updates before planning a visit specifically to see them.
A Reason to Look a Little Longer
The useful question here is not only what an artwork depicts. It is also how the object changes your act of looking. Does its surface invite a closer view? Does distance alter what you perceive? Does the surrounding space become part of the encounter?
Those are approachable questions for a first museum visit. They also connect with photography, design and other image-making practices, where scale, texture and placement influence what a viewer notices.
A Related Evening of Music
The museum lists The Sound of Print: Featuring the Bechtler Ensemble for October 19, 2026, from 6–8 p.m. The program connects music with this exhibition. See the exhibition page’s event links for booking details.
Plan Your Visit
September 26, 2026–February 1, 2027
Fourth Floor Gallery, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
420 South Tryon Street, Charlotte.
Exhibition details and current shipping update · Plan your visit · Museum tickets
Artwork: Regina Silveira, Touch #11, 2013, engraved aluminum. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Gray Associates, New York. Image via the Bechtler’s current-exhibitions page. Exhibition dates and shipping notice rechecked October 16, 2026.
