Vermillion Editions Limited

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Minneapolis

Vermillion Editions Limited was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Master Printmaker Steven M. Andersen in 1977, following a very successful seven year career launch in New York City.  The studio was established on the sixth floor of an old warehouse building in the nearly vacant north loop area of downtown Minneapolis.  Vermillion soon attracted dozens of both local and nationally recognized artists as well as many other art related businesses.  During the early eighties this area became the newest center for fine art in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

In 1982 Vermillion became the “enfant terrible” of the fine art printing and publishing industry on an international level.  In addition to being invited to show their newest publications at the American Center in Paris for the summer, Andersen was also given a Rockefeller Foundation Award to remain as an artist-in-residence and a guest of the city of Paris for the entire three month run of the show.  That same year, Vermillion was the celebrated as the invited guest publisher at the Chicago International Art Expo located on Navy Pier in Chicago.  During that public debut, Vermillion was the first participant to ever remove the front walls of their booth.  Opening up the space to the passing public was, until that moment, an exercise that was completely forbidden by the show producers.  Within hours more than half of the other participants had followed suit, setting a precedent for all art expos that remains a standard today.

Seeking more privacy and quieter environs, Vermillion relocated in 1985 to a free standing private building located near the University of Minnesota, away form the bustle of downtown traffic.  In 1991 Andersen sold some stock to several Wisconsin based partners.  In 1992 Vermillion celebrated its 15^th year in business with an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  That same year, suffering a hostel takeover, Vermillion Editions offices were moved to Milwaukee while the studio facilities remained open in Minneapolis.  In June of 1993, Vermillion Editions, then a Wisconsin Corporation, was formally closed.

Operating within the same studio facility, Andersen continued full printmaking operations and in March of 1993 renamed the studio Akasha Fine Art.  Over the next 12 years Akasha continued to produce and publish great prints by such recognized nationally recognized artist as Red Grooms, William Wegman, Sam Gilliam, John Walker and Ed Ruscha.  In 2005 Andersen regained the name Vermillion Editions Limited, an LLC which remains active today.

In 2009, Andersen agreed to an arrangement to share the printmaking facilities with a print shop located in Amarillo, Texas shipping most all the presses and other studio equipment to that location.  Though this arrangement is currently non public and still in the process of finalization, it remains open and functional where it continues on a limited basis to produce and publish fine art prints and multiples.  Simultaneously, Andersen moved the offices to a permanent home in Hopkins, Minnesota, a nearby suburb of Minneapolis.

The full archive of Vermillion Editions Limited, more than 800 prints, was acquired and accessioned into the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  In the fall of 2006, The MIA exhibited a portion of this archive as part of the celebration of the publishing of a large coffee table book, fully illustrated in color, entitled “Vermillion Editions Limited: A History and Catalogue 1977-1992”; 352 pgs.