May 28-June 15, 2026 | Opening Reception: Thursday, May 28th, 6:00 PM
SRISA Gallery is pleased to present Botanica Collectanea, an exhibition of intaglio prints and handmade paper by Professor Leslie Koptcho of Louisiana State University.
Drawing on the long tradition of herbals dating back to the 16th century, Botanica Collectanea situates itself within this lineage through printmaking. The artist’s appreciation for the various ways that hand-formed paper, illumination, illustration, and printing have been combined for centuries to make beautiful herbals—be they medieval manuscripts or incunabula—is extended through a contemporary lens, integrating printmaking, chine collé, papermaking, and book arts as a narrative to explore how natural histories are constructed, preserved, and reimagined.
Botanica Collectanea serves as a contemporary and novel means of celebrating the time-honored tradition of botanical prints while offering an expressive and creative point of view of the natural world, one that shines a spotlight on current environmental challenges facing both local and global communities.
This project is supported by the LSU Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research Awards, and the Louisiana Board of Regents.
About the Artist
Leslie Koptcho is an American contemporary artist working in printmaking, book arts, and papermaking. She is a Professor of Art at Louisiana State University and was named the LSU School of Art Emogene Pliner Distinguished Professor in recognition of her sustained creative accomplishments, scholarship, and research.
Koptcho’s work is held in major public collections including the Bibliothèque nationale de France; the Brooklyn Museum; the Library of Congress; the New York Public Library; and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She has exhibited internationally in over 250 venues and has received numerous awards and residencies, including a Yaddo Fellowship and an American Cultural Specialist Grant. Her recent presentations of Botanica Collectanea include the Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Art and the LSU Museum of Art.
Botanica Colletanea by Leslie Koptcho will be on view in the SRISA Gallery from May 28 through June 15, 2026. The artist will be present during the public reception on May 28, 2026, at 6:00 PM.