Current WEN members will enjoy an interview with British artist Anne Desmet in 2020’s Autumn edition of the Block & Burin, WEN’s bi-annual journal. Desmet talks about her own work and about the exhibition and the exhibit catalog she curated to celebrate the Society of Wood Engravers 100th Anniversary: Scene Through Wood: A Century of Modern Wood Engraving now open through November 19, 2020 at the Ashmolean Musem (Oxford, UK). Desmet has posted many of the prints from the exhibit on her Instagram page along with fascinating insights and factoids that she freely shares. In lieu of being able to go in person, the book and Anne’s virtual Instagram display of Scene Through Wood exhibit are the next best things.
WEN member Tony Drehfal shared an article about the Ashmolean exhibit from Country Life titled “In Focus: Wood engraving, the peculiarly British artform that’s ‘the perfect medium for the times we are living through.'”
“Wood engraving commands laborious attention to detail, but the effects can be entrancing and varied. A new exhibition at the Ashmolean celebrates a British phenomenon that continues to fascinate.” — Clive Aslet (article author)
Wishes of “Happy Birthday” rang out for the Society of Wood Engravers on March 27 — 100 years after their formation on March 27, 1920. Unfortunately, the global pandemic postponed all of the Society’s planned Centenary activities — along with the WEN’s own trip to England. When WEN can start rescheduling activities and events for our England trip, Anne Desmet’s studio and home are a planned stop!
