Kent Ambler

Kent Ambler’s work is largely autobiographical, drawing upon the richness of his home life and natural surroundings. He creates woodcuts lovingly infused with images of his wife and his dogs, scenes that lingered after being with friends, and surrounding environments – townscapes, trees, birds. Yet regardless of how seemingly subject-focused his work may appear, it is the beauty, tone, and overall aesthetic of each piece which seduce the viewer with a sense of balance and comfort.

While Kent did go to art school, he feels it did not affect the work he currently does today. “I was born an artist. College afforded me the opportunity to make work for four years.”

His woodcuts are a true example of craft, vision, and technical skill expressed unaffectedly. Each woodcut brings to life a memory and feeling which then becomes palpable in his prints.

Kent says, “I create an image through the age-old technique of woodcut printing. I hand carve a woodblock for each color, mix inks and then print the blocks layer upon layer on archival paper. Each print is unique due to the hand-printing process. I limit the printing of the blocks to twenty or thirty images, at which point I destroy the blocks and reuse the pieces to create woodblock assemblages.”

The December 13, 2018 issue of The Wall Street Journal, included a pictorial profile of Kent’s new studio in an issue devoted to Artists moving to the Upstate of South Carolina…look for it, it’s an inspired space to create.

A few notes:

The dimensions listed for the unframed woodblock prints are the size of the image itself, not the size of the paper Kent is printing upon.

If you see a framed woodblock print here, it is very likely that same print is also available unframed. If that would be preferred, please contact the gallery: 828-281-2134.

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Selected Works

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