Laney College printmaking instructor Alex Echevarria has spent the last few months co-curating an exhibition of his students’ work at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Museum.
Echevarria, alongside the museum’s Curator of Photography and Student Art, Allie Haeusslein, put together the exhibition titled Shared Impressions: Printmaking from Laney College, which will display 32 original prints from 15 of Echevarria’s students. Printmaking is the process of creating an image and transferring it using ink, most commonly, to paper.
“I’m very excited, I’m grateful to the students,” Echevarria said, “I’m always happy when we can have students’ work out in the community.”
According to Echevarria, the prints cover a wide variety of themes, such as “identity, place, memory, and social experience.”
“What’s on view really is a showcase of high quality prints by students who have been working in a very deliberate way to develop their process,” he said.
Visitors can view the exhibition in pre-security at the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 gallery 1A. The museum is the first and only accredited museum in the country located at an airport.
Echevarria and this semester’s printmaking class traveled to SFO on Thursday to view the exhibition.
Laney artist Abigail Shaw has three prints on display at the gallery.
“My heart is beating like mad, […] it’s so real., It’s [so] professional looking when it’s up on the wall. They did a beautiful job…” Shaw told The Citizen.
The exhibition opened to the public on April 23 and will be on display until April 25, 2027.
In the printmaking class
Echevarria begins his class in the printmaking studio at the Laney Art Center by opening up the doors and connecting his phone to the studio’s speakers to play music.
Echevarria trusts his students’ artistic freedom; they already know what to do. Each student chooses a seat and begins to set up their stations by grabbing tools, pulling out their notebooks, or even eating a quick snack.
“I think people will always come back to these processes,” Echevarria said about the physicality of making art, “people have been painting for hundreds [and] thousands of years with dirt.”
He emphasized that having both beginners and professionals in his class creates a unique collaborative environment.
“I just love being able to do this with such a wide range of people, because [the variety] brings so much more to the table,” Echevarria said.
His personal journey into the art world started in high school. Echevarria, a Pennsylvania native, went to Tunkhannock Area High School, where his teachers encouraged him to pursue an art career.
“I knew that I wanted to continue studying art, but I also […] wanted to be practical about it,” Echevarria said. “I could see a path forward to take more art classes, but also potentially have employment.”
Echevarria spent seven years in southern California before accepting a role at Laney. For him, teaching in higher education means working with students who are “really committed to their practice or craft.”
Moving forward, Echevarria says he wants to continue to expand his knowledge by enrolling in art workshops. He also hopes to connect with graphic and printmaking artists in Uruguay, where his father lives.
Laney student artists make their mark
Raha Banoo, one of the students with prints on display at SFO, has taken seven classes taught by Echevarria.
“I love it,” Banoo said. For her, the atmosphere in the studio is laid back and inclusive to all art levels. She describes Echevarria as “encouraging and positive.”
Banoo isn’t sure when she’ll graduate, but she plans to earn two associate’s degrees in Studio Art and Art History while enrolled at Peralta.
Laney artist Michele Petherick has four prints on display.
“I am intensely proud not only in that my own work was selected– but also that I am part of this incredible group of artist[s] and under Alex Echevarria’s instruction,” Petherick told The Citizen while perusing the exhibit.
“I never cease to be surprised,” Echevarria said, “I love seeing what [students] make. That’s the best part.”
