On Friday, January 16th, 5-9pm, Grove Gallery will present “Husks,” a solo show of Michael Laurito’s collagraphs. By using handmade paper and textural plates to make low-relief prints, Laurito investigates an aquatic world of evolution and decay. Laurito’s prints primarily depict fish, in life and in death. Curious viewers will strain to identify parasites and crustaceans without habitat, context or geological time. These are creatures forgotten and left unseen within the watery depths or hanging in a market, covered in discarded skin and paper pulp.

Initially, this series was intended as a meditation on the man-made landscape and bountiful fish market, but now at its completion, the series has turned to focus on individual creatures and their role in the world. “Rot is a force of creation,” said artist Michael Laurito. “As things die, they transform, becoming reborn. ‘Husks’ shows the muck of evolution through the discarded.”

This series of collagraph prints was made by placing paper pulp over an inked plate and letting the pulp dry. The dried paper serves a cast, holding the form of the collagraph plate as a physical object. Laurito uses this type of print to explore texture and line as DNA. The final pealed paper cast is real, mirroring the scale and contours of its counterpart.

Gallery Open Hours: Open on Saturdays, 12-4pm, through February 21st, 2026.

Bio

Michael Laurito is a print and paper artist in Milwaukee. He recently earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Milwaukee School of Art and Design. Originally from Florida, the chaos of the swamps and jungles informs his work and its focus on human-influenced environments. He has exhibited in West Palm Beach, FL, Milwaukee, WI, and New York City, NY, and has a nationally recognised portfolio from the Young Arts Organisation. He has taught collagraph at Anchor, Press, Paper, and Print, Milwaukee’s community access print shop.