Catherine Ade

Riverside MillMaker Showcase GalleryExhibition

29 Dec

Written By Laura Wasley

Maker Showcase

Printmaking: Lithography

‘A place to be in our minds together’ is a collection of lithographs which record flashes of memories, personal connection to place, and the transformative cycles of nature which continually shift from one state into another. These works reflect on a quote from James Baldwin in correspondence with Sol Stein ‘The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I make it’. This quote speaks powerfully about making a space for yourself and Catherine has interpreted this as doing that very gently, through the building of relationships and tending to them.

Catherine’s practice explores the dualities of identity, thresholds and the nature of memory. The essence of private interior spaces witness these narratives of human relationships, and the passing of time. Using transparent colours and the sensitive qualities of lithographic drawing materials, she build up tones and marks to act as a visual metaphor for memory. The process of stone lithography is slow and labour intensive, which allows for an extended time to dwell on a moment passed. The use of water tusche washes occurs as both material and metaphor; rain, bodies of water and vessels expand the notion of fluidity of memories and cycles of nature.

28 March - 9 May 2026

Maker Showcase Gallery

The etching process in lithography chemically changes the surface of the limestone or ball grained aluminium plate and the image is printed from the flat surface of the plate or stone. The image is chemically processed with a gum arabic and acid solution which transforms the drawing into the printing matrix. During printing the stone or plate is constantly kept damp and the water forms a protective barrier on the non-drawn area which only allows the inky roller to touch the drawn areas. Each colour layer requires a different stone or plate to be used, and this is a meditative process which allows many different visual effects to be obtained.

Catherine is the co- author of Lithography: An Artist’s Guide, Crowood Press, 2023. She runs The Lemonade Press, a printmaking studio dedicated to Lithography in Bristol.

Stone lithography is considered an endangered craft by the Heritage Crafts Association, and Catherine is one of the few practitioners in the UK.

About the exhibitor

Catherine Ade | Printmaking | Bristol

Catherine's practice is rooted in drawing and lithographic printmaking. At her studio in Bristol, she draws directly on to the lithographic limestone or ball grained aluminium plates, where her final images are resolved.

The labour intensive processes in lithography and their endless technical possibilities are a key element of her practice. Mixing inks, chemically processing the matrix and printing her multi layered images by hand form part of the creative process.

Catherine has a particular interest in the 'seen-unseen', paying attention to our wordless and silent experiences, our interior worlds and private lives as highly charged places - both in terms of their physical properties, their powerful symbolism, and their ever changing role in the topography of personal identity.

Catherine studied at UWIC in Cardiff, UWE in Bristol and Tamarind Institute for Lithography, USA. She previously worked at The Curwen Studio, London and now runs The Lemonade Press collaborative lithographic studio in Bristol.

Website: catherineade.com
Instagram: @catherineadeartist