"Ten in Black and White" Portfolio

In 1972, Artist and Printmaker Aris Koutroulis (1938-2013) supervised the printing of Ten in Black and White(at the Detroit Workshop of Fine Prints-Common Grounds Studio), a portfolio of prints by Detroit artists that is said to be the first suite of cliché-verre prints ever produced. The portfolio comprises work by a spectrum of Cass Corridor stalwarts, called by Detroit Institute of Arts assistant curator Frank Kolbert in his introduction to the portfolio, “the very best in this community.” Kolbert notes that the prints “do not represent a ‘Detroit esthetic.’ There is no clear, defined esthetic, local to Detroit, which they could represent.” Perhaps eager to position Detroit artists on a larger stage, Kolbert instead claims the prints address universal themes of interest to artists around the world. (text by Sean Bieri)