In Conversation: Sable Elyse Smith

Thursday, March 19, 2026, 5:30 pm

Chazen Museum of Art Auditorium | 800 University Ave, Madison, WI

Join us for a conversation with New York-based artist Sable Elyse Smith and Tandem Press Collaborative Printer Patrick Smyczek. They will discuss their collaborative process in creating Smith’s first print edition at Tandem Press.

Sable Elyse Smith works across video, painting, and performance, interrogating the carceral state and the pedagogical systems that normalize its authority. Her work reveals how seemingly ordinary visual languages participate in the maintenance of legal and social power.

During her first visit to Tandem Press in June 2025, Smith fully embraced the studio’s experimental approach. Collaborating closely with Tandem’s collaborative printers, she created two images designed to be read as a single, interwoven print. This conversation will explore Smith’s artistic process, the collaboration with the Tandem Press team, and the ways in which her work transforms printmaking into a space for critical inquiry and experimentation.

The talk will be moderated by Tandem Press Director Katie Geha.