ABOUT DENISE MARKBREIT
Artist, Printmaker & Educator
Born in Flushing, NY, I arrived in Asheville, NC in 2018. I had retired from a three decade teaching career in NYC public schools. I wanted to have a daily art practice, delve deeply into printmaking, and continue my love of teaching. I also wanted to find, or build, a community that would integrate all the parts of my new life.
The concept of a shared community space, that specialized in all things print, was a long held dream. The seeds were planted by my mentor, Bob Blackburn, while I was an undergraduate student. Working hard and being open to opportunities made the dream a reality, and I established Asheville Print Studio & Gallery in 2019. Located in the River Arts District, APS+G quickly grew and became a thriving printmaking studio and exhibition space - the only one of its kind in Western North Carolina. Specializing in green, solvent free print practices, the studio offered weekly classes in all aspects of printmaking and monthly memberships. I worked with many artists, mostly non-printmakers, in a collaborative way to help them create bodies of print work. The gallery featured themed exhibitions, and with forty five artists in its roster, showcased a diverse array of analogue printmaking. APS+G was also an event space, and served as a hub and meeting place for the printmaking community in Asheville.
Hurricane Helene swept through the River Arts District in late September 2024 and destroyed all in her midst, including APS+G. The losses in the studio were catastrophic. The mud and water destroyed the infrastructure, all of the artwork, the archives, the library, supplies and tools. Despite this, I couldn’t imagine my life without the community I had built. So… six months later, along with my partner Anna Bryant, we have opened a reimagined Print House. Grants, fellowships and crowd funding helped us to achieve our goals. Our new printmaking studio and gallery is located in downtown Asheville. Print House offers classes, exhibitions and one-to-one collaborative printmaking like APS+G did. I love working in our beautiful new space and devoting time to my personal art practice.
Asheville is my home and I share it with my partner Dan. Some of my non-art interests include practicing Transcendental Meditation, playing Mahjong, gardening, combing antiques malls for treasures and knitting. I hold a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and an MST from Rochester Institute of Technology, and am a founding member of NYC Urban Sketchers and former member of the National Art League. I am grateful to have artwork in collections around the globe, and to exhibit in numerous galleries and institutions in Western North Carolina and beyond.
