Maxwell Pius - Printmaking

Printmaking

2019-Present

I am a self-taught printmaker native to Dallas, Texas. While being a graphic designer by trade, I have carried a stratified approach into the tactile medium of printmaking. I have found the best way to create is through continual experimentation. Using a range of methods and materials such as: screen printing, risography, relief, laser engraving, embossing, letterpress, monotype, scratch offs, puff additives, installation and tool creation to bring my ideas to life. Beyond experimentation, my work focuses on repetition and rhythmic patterns in everyday items, organisms and interactions. I am interested in how simple elements accumulate into larger systems, revealing the hidden frameworks that shape behavior, communication, and shared experiences. Repetition is not just the subject of my work, but also the method of creating my work as a printmaker. By drawing attention to these often-overlooked patterns, I hope to generate a sense of curiosity and appreciation for the hidden architecture that exists within everyday life, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship with the objects, organisms, and interactions they encounter each day.

ANTS! (Formations)

Relief Printed on Rives BFK

32" x 24"

1 of 1

2025

ANTS! is an experimental print series that explores the rhythmic and irregular patterns of ants. The series is created using two engraved rollers that have been modified to create unbroken trails of ants: Carpenter Ants & Fire Ants. This piece focuses on finding our own true path within chaos.

ANTS! (Single Filed)

Relief Printed on Rives BFK

44" x 3"

Open Series

2025

ANTS! is an experimental print series that explores the rhythmic and irregular patterns of ants. The series is created using two engraved rollers that have been modified to create unbroken trails of ants: Carpenter Ants & Fire Ants. This piece demonstrates the balance of two opposing forces.

Repetition of Sounds
in Speech

Relief Printed on Rives BFK

26" x 40"

1 of 1

2019

This work is from a series revolving around repetition with this piece focusing on speech. In the English language and in most languages, there are twelves shapes that our mouths make when creating speech. An example of a distinct moth shape is saying “Oh” or "Shh". These are just two of the 12 examples of repetition in speech. Using these 12 shapet is these shapes that are repeated over and over to create our vocabulary. In an average day, a person will speak 7,000-10,000 words. From those 7,000-10,000 words, the same 600-900 words are repeated over and over to create our daily total, and we do this by repeating the same sounds and shapes that our mouth makes. I made this work by creating twelve stamps of a mouth, each making one of the twelve shapes. I created them in a graphic style so that they would be recognizable with their bold red lips and bright white teeth. I then hand stamped 648 mouths to represent the amount of words we say in a given day. These were then stamped onto a 26" x 40" piece of paper, while going back in and drawing teeth when necessary. The order of these stamps is random, just like in reality, your entire day’s speech is not planned. Some of these lips overlap, some are very opaque and bold, and some very light and soft. This relates to speech as sometimes we stutter, repeat ourselves, shout, or whisper. This piece is also applicable to most languages, as they use the same twelve mouth profiles to create sounds and their speech. The only difference between speaking another language and your current language is the order that these sounds are in, we are all making the same shapes and sounds, but the order is incredibly crucial in order to create speech. Whether we realize it or not, we are constantly repeating ourselves, one sound at a time.