The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco recently acquired one of Nancy Macko’s large format archival pigment prints, “Nirvana for Now,” from the series, “Our Very Lives,” which she created in 2003 during her sabbatical in France. Since the early 1990s, Macko has drawn upon images of the honeybee society to explore relationships among art, science, technology, and ancient matriarchal cultures.
Karin Breuer, curator in charge of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, praises Macko’s works. “I’m always thoughtful about adding contemporary prints to the collection, but particularly so in the case of digital prints,” Breuer says.
“Many experienced artists who are successful in traditional printmaking have worked with digital processes, but only a few, in my opinion, have been truly creative,” Breuer says. “Nancy’s work reveals a true creative and innovative embrace of digital media.”
Macko’s print will become part of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at the Palace of the Legion of Honor alongside digital print works of other renowned artists including Ed Ruscha and William Wiley. The San Francisco museums acquired Macko’s piece in October.
On March 6, Macko speaks at the University Club of Claremont at the Hughes Community Center. She lectures on a body of work that explores her mother’s mental decline from dementia and memory loss. Her talk, “Hopes and Dreams: A Visual Memoir,” begins at noon. This work was recently exhibited at Andi Campognone Projects in Pomona and will be included in the exhibition, “When I’m 64,” at the Wignall Museum in Rancho Cucamonga in the fall of 2012.
In 2006, Macko’s work was featured in the exhibition, “Hive Universe: Nancy Macko, 1994-2006,” at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery in the Barnsdall Art Park. The exhibition, which showcased more than 60 pieces of her work, was part of The Feminist Art Project, a national initiative celebrating the Feminist Art Movement and its impact on art history and contemporary artists. Macko’s work often draws on several mediums including painting, photography, and digital installations.
A practicing artist since 1981, Macko has had more than 20 solo exhibitions, has participated in more than 140 shows, and has received more than 30 research and achievement awards for her art. Her works are in many public and private collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, UCLA’s Hammer Museum, Portland Art Museum, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art.
Macko is professor of art at Scripps College and director of the digital art program. She also maintains the printmaking program. She was the chair of the College’s department of gender and women’s studies from 2004-2011 and chair of the art department from 1998-2003.