Ardstrum Collaborative
Installation featuring works by Arnie Mueller and Maddy Prince (Image © Ardstrum 2024)With ongoing wars, nervous financial uncertainty, and a global art market still trying to rebound from a couple of less-than-optimum years after the 2021-2022 rebound, it’s always nice to relay positive news regarding the visual arts as 2025 approaches.
Hot off the press: Ardstrum will be expanding its online presence to include works by over two dozen international artists hailing from all corners of the planet. Recent additions to the roster include Arrnier Mueller, Becker & Bonet, Buju Lynton, Hannah Metzenger, JP Paul, Libby Nguyen, Natalie Chan, Santiago Rivera, Seth Marsden, Shawn S. Perez, Yuki Chang, and Tanner Iturralde. The website will be open for online ordering before the end of the year. Until then, feel free to communicate with the consortium via their This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
After a private preview of the initial roster, we sat down with co-director Isabel Perez-Etchavarria. According to Isabel, “Ardstrum began over sixty years ago as a drop-in, on-campus art & design studio founded by a creative group of like-minded colleagues featuring visual art educators, established artists, photographers, architecture professors, as well as two generations of art journalists and historians. By the turn of the century, the consortium had grown to incorporate several similar-minded affiliations spanning four continents that collaborated to share art and design-related knowledge and resources primarily from an educational perspective."
Over time, the creative center attracted new generations of college art students searching for not only camaraderie and vigorous critiquing but also exposure to alternative theories, shared techniques, and cooperative opportunities. As a non-profit, they worked largely parallel but adrift from the mainstream commercial art market. With this impetus and support, many original members also went on to successful careers in visual arts or design.
Years after the original founders had passed the torch and a global pandemic temporarily paralyzed the bricks-and-mortar art market, daily reunions and shared spaces became rare. Like many other co-ops, Ardstrum pivoted sharply in 2021 to become a predominantly online/roving pop-up hybrid model with an emphasis on promoting carefully curated and under-represented artists for discerning buyers who wanted to explore artists from other continents but weren't regularly traveling to international art fairs.
Ardstrum offers collectors an exceptional lineup of contemporary art that is thought-provoking, poignant, and timeless. They concentrate on an exclusive group of like-minded artists who believe that visual art is an integral part of enhanced living and should be ubiquitous in all of our lives rather than being reserved for only institutions and seasoned collectors. This cooperative and inclusive approach further manifests in the form of a broad offering of products for every budget, including everything from fine art originals to premium limited editions and museum-quality reproduction prints. Some of the members of the collaborative accept commissions, others will even license their artwork for special projects such as apparel, marketing materials, and one-off alternatives.
Coming to Ardstrum in 2025 (Z Editions @ Ardstrum)
Most of the artists contribute works to Ardstrum’s Z Editions print department, thus allowing the consortium to offer incredible large-format reproductions of over two meters in width or height at previously unattainable price points. Also available are exclusive originals and series of artworks from the estates of several artists, including Stig Nilsson, Marla Smythson, Nora Etchavarria and Carlos A. Perez-Franco.
As part of their pledge to create not only great visual art but also contribute toward a cleaner planet, Ardstrum artists also share the consortium’s support of several regional green initiatives.
New Artists Coming to Ardstrum in 2025
Most of Ardstrum’s signature limited editions are produced in their printing department with direct collaboration and physical involvement of the artists. When possible, open-edition prints are shipped by our partners in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, or SE Asia in order to avoid importation costs and delays, thereby fulfilling scheduled deliveries in a timely manner with either limited or no additional shipping costs to the buyer.
JP Paul uses alternative materials with analog and digital practices for installations, plus 2D works on canvas, acrylic, and paper (© JP Paul)