RISO Artist of the Month Panayiotis Terzis

Meet RISO’s June Artist of the Month

My name is Panayiotis Terzis. I’m an artist who works in a variety of media from traditional printmaking techniques like Silkscreen and Lithography to Risograph printing, as well as drawing and painting. I’m the co-founder and director of the RisoLAB at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where I’ve been working and teaching classes for undergraduates, grad students, and the NYC art community since 2015. I run a Risograph based publishing company called Mega Press that produces limited edition runs of books and zines featuring the work of artists from around the world.  I also do commercial illustration and design work as well as private commissions.  My studio practice is represented by Good Naked Gallery, which is also based in NYC.

How long have you been in the art industry?

Since 2006 I’ve been working in a wide range of art fields, from the world of commercial illustration and design for textile and fashion companies and online or print publications, exhibiting my work in galleries and museums, and publishing limited editions of my own work as well as the work of other artists. My work has been published by independent publishers such as Nieves Books and Fantagraphics, and collected by institutions including the MoMA Library, New York Public Library, and Stanford University. Some of my recent clients include Hermes, Bloomberg Digital, and the UK based record label Godezz Temple.

How long have you been using RISO duplicators and the method of RISOGRAPHY?

I first encountered Risograph printing in 2010. I had been deeply involved in the art book and independent publishing scene in NYC for several years at that point, and a friend who was familiar with my hand-silkscreened artist books mentioned that he had gotten ahold of something that he described as an automated screen-printing machine and invited me to try it out.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I was captivated by the beautiful, pigment rich ink colors, the speed of the printing process, and the Riso duplicator’s ingenious design. As a printmaker, it made perfect sense to me-the process of designing a piece of artwork in separate layers of color and printing one layer over another was already second nature, and the automation of the Duplicator process dramatically reduced the production time.

I was able to print an entire book edition in one day with the quality of traditional printmaking-a project that would have taken hundreds of hours of physical labor to produce if I had printed it by hand. This opened up the possibility for me to produce bigger editions of books that I could sell at more affordable prices since the Riso printing process had reduced the amount of time and labor required.  Eventually I bought my own used Risograph and launched my press Mega Press with an old EZ 390 Duplicator as my main production tool, printing editions from originals scanned from the glass scanning bed.

In 2015, I was invited by MFA Visual Narrative Chair Nathan Fox to collaborate on launching a new Risograph based print studio at the School of Visual Arts, which became the RisoLAB. This space was dedicated to offering access to the Risograph process to the general public through training, classes, and workshops-since then, the RisoLAB has exploded in popularity, with most of our classes selling out with a wait list every semester. Our students come from all parts of the NYC art world, including world class illustrators, artists, designers, and photographers working at the top of their field. It’s been amazing to see our space and community grow along with the phenomenon of Riso printing used by artists for their own independent publishing practices.

 What are some of your favorite colors to use with a duplicator?

Most artists become obsessed with the combination of Blue and Fluorescent Pink when they first discover Risograph printing, which is a phase everyone grows out of as they discover other beautiful and unusual combinations of color. I get a lot of mileage out of combining the basic Riso colors-Blue, Yellow, Black, and Fluo Pink, with a little help from Green and Violet. Lately I’ve been particularly excited about the possibilities of combining some of the more unusual specialty colors, including Light Olive Green and Fluorescent Orange. I’ve always been enamored by Medium Blue, it’s a perfect Ultramarine Blue which looks just like the Blue you get from a ballpoint pen.

Why RISOGRAPHY?

The Risograph Duplicator is a brilliant invention, and while it wasn’t designed to be used by artists, it’s not surprising that they discovered it on their own and put it to use as a printing and production tool! It really is like a printshop in a box. There are so many reasons for visual artists of all disciplines to use this process.

It’s such a great tool for artists to learn about how to use color and color combinations.

It’s a perfect entry level printing process that can teach the user about different print techniques which can then be applied to both traditional printmaking and large scale commercial offset printing.

As a production tool, it’s fast and economical, and is a wonderful option to make a small edition of books for someone interested in starting a publishing or printing practice on a limited budget.

Finally, it’s an extremely fun process-I love seeing the prints fly out of the machine into the paper catch tray at high speed, and seeing my artwork translated from digital artwork or analog originals to the rich layers of Riso ink that blend together and saturate the paper that they’re printed on.

What would you tell people who are just finding out about RISO Duplicators and the artform of RISOGRAPHY?

You may be familiar with the beautiful, dynamic, and complex work of artists who are experimenting with this medium and opening up new possibilities in print work and visual art. However, this does not happen overnight.

To achieve these results, you will need to take time to learn how to design your artwork to work with the medium’s strengths rather than expecting it to simply translate your work automatically.

This takes time and effort, and ideally a full semester of study at a Risograph studio like the RisoLAB where you can build up your arsenal of print design techniques over time guided by an artist-instructor who has put in years to unlock the potential of this medium. If you are patient and put in the effort, you too can become a master of the new and exciting field of Risography while transforming your own creative practice in response!

 Upcoming Events:

I have some art exhibitions planned for later this year, and should be able to announce them soon. At the end of every semester the RisoLAB has a print sale and exhibition of work created by our students-this summer the event will take place on July 26^th from 5-8 pm. Everyone is welcome to join! Follow the RisoLAB on Instagram at @risolab to find out more. You can also follow my other accounts to keep up to date with future art exhibitions and events: @_pppannn_ & @mmegapress

Website Links:

Studio practice: https://panterzis.net/
Mega Press: https://megapress.info/
RisoLAB: https://risolab.sva.edu/