NEWS
FERIAL UNA. Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June. Mitre 1860, Buenos Aires.
6 Jun 2026
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Last weekend, Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, I took part in FERIAL, the fair organized by the Universidad Nacional de las Artes at its Bartolomé Mitre venue. It was two intense days of meeting, exchange and celebration around books, graphic arts and independent publishing practices.
During both days I had the chance to share my work, talk with visitors, colleagues and curious people, and give a talk and a hands-on activity dedicated to wood-engraved ex libris. It was especially rewarding to see the interest that this ancient wood engraving tradition sparked, as it keeps finding new ways of dialogue in the present. I thank everyone who came to see my publications, joined the activities or simply shared a conversation. I also thank the FERIAL organizers and the Universidad Nacional de las Artes for creating these spaces of encounter among artists, publishers and the public.
https://ferial.una.edu.ar/marcelo-kopp
Presentation of Xilos Antiquas, 2nd Edition, at Bar El Cairo, Rosario.
7 Apr 2026
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On Tuesday 7 April at 8 pm I will be at El Cairo (@barelcairo) presenting “Xilos Antiquas”, talking specifically about this project and other series. If you are interested in getting to know a little of my work, I look forward to seeing you; the idea is also to create a space for dialogue about the craft and creative processes in such an important place of Rosario's culture.
Bar El Cairo (Sarmiento and Santa Fe), 8 pm
Exhibition: Narrar el hallazgo (Narrating the Find).
13 Feb 2026
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NARRAR EL HALLAZGO. Collection of Emmanuel Pan.
At the Palacio Barolo (Av. de Mayo 1370), 9th floor, office 242. Buenos Aires.
Thursday to Saturday, 6–8 pm.
What happens when the original pieces are destroyed? And when we cannot get them on the market? In collecting there are many unique pieces that do not even have a market value because they are the heritage of great museums and libraries. Others have been lost over time, and all we have of them are accounts, drawings or copies. That is why collectors turn to facsimiles, which are, by the dictionary definition: a perfect imitation or reproduction of a signature, a piece of writing, a drawing or a printed work. Some come from large publishing houses that produce small print runs, and some are handmade. Among the latter are those made by the engraver @koppmarcelo, who in his workshop in Rosario carved an Ars Moriendi (block book) imitating a 15th-century woodcut by Nicholas Gotz, and a Romantic Vignette of a swallow using the technique of the 19th-century British engraver Thomas Bewick.
2nd prize at the 7th International Ex Libris Exhibition Skopje 2025, North Macedonia
11 Jan 2026
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2nd prize at the 7th International Ex Libris Exhibition Skopje 2025, in North Macedonia, with the ex libris of Sandra Szir (Opus 61). It is a great honor to be recognized by an international jury and to be part of such a prestigious catalogue, which you can see on the website: exlibrisskopje.com/winners and exlibrisskopje.com/artists
Talk about Ex Libris at the UNR
5 Nov 2025
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On Wednesday 5 November 2025 I had the pleasure of taking part as a guest in the Typography I course of the Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design at the National University of Rosario (UNR), thanks to the invitation of Professor Darío Bergero.
During the talk, I shared with the students my personal path around the ex libris, showing a selection of my works and reflecting on this practice that combines identity, design and handcraft technique. It was a very enriching session, in which we discussed the meaning of the ex libris, its relationship with typography and with printing on paper through techniques from the evolution of the printing press.
The students asked very relevant questions, which led to a fluid and genuine exchange about creative processes, materials and the expressive possibilities of engraving. To close the meeting, I gave a burin-carving demonstration, showing some of the tools and procedures I habitually use in my workshop.
I deeply thank the course and the students for the invitation and their interest. It was a valuable opportunity to share experiences and knowledge and to keep spreading this graphic tradition, which remains alive and in constant renewal.
Broadside Zafón “The Shadow of the Wind”
19 Sep 2025
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The prints made in London have arrived, from St James Park Press (@st_james_park_press), where I sent some matrices to be printed with a 19th-century Columbian press to illustrate the broadside project by @collectiblebookvault on “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, in its Spanish and English versions. The prints were made on Fabriano Tiepolo paper with Golden Cockerel typeset, and they are truly gorgeous.
Zach spoke a little about the project; I'm leaving the translation and the post here in case you would like to see it:
“I contacted the publisher almost two years ago, who put me in touch with Zafón's agent, who manages his estate, and with his widow, MariCarmen. They supported the project enormously, and we even made a Spanish version of the broadside in a very small print run for MariCarmen. She finally received them just a couple of weeks ago and loved them, which made me very happy. Contributing something (even if small) to the tribute and legacy of this story and its author was an honor.
When I first saw Marcelo Kopp's engraving style, I knew it was perfect to capture the spirit of 1940s Barcelona and the overall tone of the novel. The complications of working with an Argentine engraver were not small, but Marcelo was incredibly generous and his passion for the project was inspiring. He does truly wonderful work, and I even commissioned another personal illustration and a woodblock engraving for a personalized ex libris from him.
For those who haven't read the story and love everything about books, I highly recommend it. Why not read the best-selling Spanish book since Don Quixote? This book is popular for a reason!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNk9iJutCpq/
Session at CIAP, CONICET and UNSAM, Buenos Aires
18 Jul 2025
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On Friday 18 July 2025 I had the honor of bringing my woodblocks, tools and research to CIAP, the Center for Research in Art and Heritage, a reference space coordinated by prestigious researchers of CONICET and UNSAM, in the City of Buenos Aires, where I shared part of my work and my theoretical and practical studies related to end-grain wood engraving and the burin.
During the session we looked through some woodcut books, viewed images, and talked about woods, tools and different printing methods; we also reflected on paper and ex libris. Above all I took the chance to talk about my work, and it was very moving for me to be speaking in front of such important professionals who were indirectly part of my education.
We also tried our hand at carving and printing.
Very grateful for opening the door to such an important space.
Talk at the Museo de la Cárcova UNA, Buenos Aires
26 Mar 2025
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As part of “Los trabajos y los días” (The Works and the Days), an open laboratory in the archive and library of the Museo de la Cárcova, an approach to the world of ex libris will be offered by the artist Marcelo Kopp, in conversation with Sergio Artola of the Museum's Conservation area.
Saturday 29 March at 3 pm
Ex libris, small prints placed in books, are stamps with a personalized design that reflect the spirit and identity of a library.
Marcelo Kopp makes ex libris using the wood engraving technique and will share his work, the process and the meaning of his pieces. He makes his matrices in palo blanco wood, engraves them with a burin and prints them on papers that he makes himself, using a vertical flat screw press. Matrices will be on display and there will be live printing, showing how this tradition is still alive.
A unique opportunity to discover the art of personalizing books with an original and exclusive stamp.
Open to the general public, no prior registration. Museo de la Cárcova - UNA. Av. España 1701, Buenos Aires.
More info | museodelacarcova.una.edu.ar
Sobre lo negro (On Blackness) at CCContraviento, Rosario
4 Sep 2024
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As part of his second show on THE BLACK (LO NEGRO), the new theme of the Centro Cultural Contraviento, the Rosario artist Marcelo Kopp (1986) exhibited a broad body of woodcut work, with a large turnout of visitors in the small room of the space. In total, fourteen pieces were hung, between woodcuts and engravings of different images. They reflect contemporary problems such as poverty, pollution and inequality, to name a few examples.
The artist laid out his search: “The idea is to express The Black with all the metaphors it represents. The simplest are darkness, the bad, the negative. My work in general deals with these themes, such as monitored cities, today's problems on the street, nature affected by toxins.”
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in which, starting from a solid black, each cut in the wood subtly represents its opposite, white. Based on that figure and by means of black ink, the prints are made under pressure.
“Unlike other branches of art, prints democratize, through their mass reproduction and direct language. They were widely used in pamphlets and have a political tradition that lends itself to denunciation and demand. That tradition is in the work,” said Kopp.
There is a whole definition in the technique. He builds everything in his workshop, a space that reflects the atmosphere of a medieval craftsman. His artistic sensibility seems to contrast with the iron presses and giant screws that abound in the space, but they are really one more extension of the work.
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in which, starting from a solid black, each cut in the wood subtly represents its opposite, white. This creates a method of representation that ranges from the tiniest spores of light to the most intense darkness.
Marcelo's workshop is a space that reflects the atmosphere of a craftsman, an extension of his sensibility. A black cat lives there, walking around the workshop careful not to step on the prints or disturb the boards, tables or shelves. It is equipped with an intaglio copperplate press and vertical flat screw presses for relief printing, in the style of the ancients.
Marcelo Kopp starts from black to create his woodcuts carved in wood. The word “xilografía” (woodcut) comes from the Greek xylo, meaning wood, and grafía, meaning drawing, line or incision. Although it may seem redundant in this era after the “anything goes”, the conceptual expansion and the discourse of artificiality, paying attention to technical terminology has become an act of logical honesty. The choice of raw material is a political act; it reflects the artist's commitment to the context. In a superficial world, working with genuine materials is a declaration of principles, an ideological position toward the world. Choosing wood, then, is a gesture of resistance against the instant, against the immediate plastic, a reaffirmation of the intrinsic value of what is true, the origin and the root.
The black was already there, like the words. But it is a black that is contaminated with grain and drawings. It is reconfigured into images beyond our eyes.
5th Triennial of the Wood Engravers' Network, USA
17 Jun 2024
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My print at the Stockton University gallery in New Jersey, on the first stop of the traveling 5th triennial of the @woodengraversnetwork. Photo courtesy of Paul Constance @woodcutwords.
It is a huge joy that this remote wood from our southern soils is traveling through the northernmost places of the continent.
Workshop at the Casa Museu da Xilogravura, Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil
24 Feb 2024
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Last 24 February we held an exclusive end-grain wood engraving (X2) workshop at the Museu Casa da Xilogravura (@museucasadaxilogravura) in Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil.
For this activity I prepared three matrices per participant: two different cuts of my favorite wood, palo blanco, and some maple slices. The maple matrices had a special meaning for me: they had been seasoning for more than a year and I had prepared them from a tree that fell during a storm in my city of Rosario. I did not know that Campos do Jordão was full of maples (there they call them “plátano”), and, by chance, its specimens were imported from Argentina.
The workshop was exclusive for seven artists from São Paulo state, also from Taubaté, São José dos Campos and São Bento do Sapucaí. It was more of a cultural exchange than a classic workshop, since great artists who knew more than I did took part, such as Edgard Bittencourt, Leda Campestrin, Fernanda Gabner, Claudia Mattos, Marcia Do Rosa de Faria and Fabio Sapede.
There are no words in Rosarino, Portuguese or Portuñol to explain the eternal gratitude I feel for having shared this art with colleagues from the biggest and most beautiful country in South America.
Talk and closing of the exhibition at the Casa Museu da Xilogravura, Brazil
23 Feb 2024
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I took the chance to share, in basic Portuñol, a brief review of my relationship with wood, burin engraving and woodcut printing. We also talked about my work and its context. Eternally grateful.
Some snapshots of the closing of the exhibition “Uma melhor que outra” at the Museu Casa da Xilogravura (@museucasadaxilogravura) in Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil.
A museum dedicated exclusively to woodcut, one of the oldest and most universal graphic reproduction techniques of humanity. Many of my ex libris and some works are exhibited there. It is in a beautiful city of Brazil called Campos do Jordão, and it has an amazing collection.
Engraving workshop at Villa Mecenas: The Rooster of Morón (Morón, Buenos Aires)
7 Oct 2023
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Last Saturday 7 October we had the pleasure of taking part in an enriching engraving day at the Villa Mecenas workshop run by Lorena Bianco (@biancolorenzaypunto). Morón is a national reference for lovers of the art and technique of engraving, offering an environment suited to creativity and cultural resistance.
During this day we immersed ourselves in the fascinating world of symbology, taking as inspiration the emblematic rooster of Morón. This symbol, loaded with history and meaning, served as a starting point to explore our own artistic interpretations.
The rooster of Morón is a figure loaded with tradition and symbolism, especially in Spanish culture, where it was used for cockfights. It represents, among other things, vigilance, courage and awakening. The weathervane looks to the West. Working with this image allowed us not only to explore its various connotations, but also to reflect on how symbols can be reinterpreted and reinvented through the art of engraving.
The day was a perfect combination of learning, creativity and camaraderie. Working in a collaborative environment allowed us to exchange ideas and techniques, enriching one another. The atmosphere at the Villa Mecenas workshop is always welcoming and stimulating, a true refuge for artists.
We invite everyone interested in the art of engraving to join future sessions at Villa Mecenas. Whatever your level of experience, here you will find a space to learn, create and share.
Engraving workshop at the Universidad Nacional de Lanús, Buenos Aires
18 Sep 2023
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Last Monday 18 September, I had the honor of giving a wood engraving workshop as part of the activities held during the Humanities and Arts week, organized by the Bachelor's Degree in Design and Visual Communication (@dycvisual.unla) of the Universidad Nacional de Lanús (@unlaoficial).
The workshop consisted of burin-carving small cubes of palo blanco wood that I prepared (3.5 cm both in height and width) to create woodcut matrices for drop-cap typography. The activity was carried out in collaboration with the Typographic Space course led by Professor Diana Corvalán (@dianagcorvalan).
I am especially grateful to Juan Lo Bianco (@juanlobianco) and Andrea Gergich (@andreagergich), who decided to bring the “Pura Gráfica” experience into the classrooms, where I could not miss the chance to write in chalk on the blackboard of one of the largest universities in the country.
Engraving workshop at the Recoleta, Buenos Aires
11 Jul 2023
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One of the activities held during the Pura Gráfica exhibition was the “Burin wood engraving workshop” by Marcelo Kopp on Tuesday 11 July.
In this workshop the participants went through three stages to create a woodcut piece. First, drawing drop caps and transferring the design to a wooden matrix. In the second stage they focused on carving: participants explored a variety of tools, including gouges and burins, and the carving techniques needed to reproduce the design precisely on a wood block. Finally, the printing stage, where participants discovered the different ways of making a woodcut impression, with a spoon or a flatbed press.
Exhibition “Pura gráfica”. Curators: Juan Lo Bianco and Andrea Gergich, DyCV UNLa. Marcelo Kopp @koppmarcelo. Centro Cultural Recoleta @elrecoleta. Universidad Nacional de Lanús @unlaoficial. Department of Humanities and Arts, UNLa @humanidadesyartes_un. Bachelor's Degree in Design and Visual Communication, UNLa @dycvisual.unla
Talk at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario
30 Jun 2023
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Talk at the Escuela Provincial de Artes Visuales, Rosario, Argentina
7 Jun 2023
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Last 7 June I had the honor of being invited to give a talk at the Escuela Provincial de Artes Visuales in the city of Rosario, in commemoration of its 82nd anniversary. It was a great joy for me, as I am a graduate of the school, where I first obtained my technician degree and learned the wood engraving technique, back in second year in 2005, and where I also had the chance to graduate as a Professor. Remembering my years of training at this institution, talking about my works and being able to share them with the new students make me feel fortunate. I'm sharing some snapshots.
Golden Burin at the Museu da Xilogravura, Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil
13 Apr 2023
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On Thursday 13 April 2023, I got a call from Brazil to tell me I had been awarded the “Buril de Ouro” (Golden Burin) for the ex libris I made for my mother. Paradoxically, that day we were saying goodbye to her forever.
Exactly six months later, I have the honor of sharing an exhibition at the prestigious Museu Casa da Xilogravura, in Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil.
And it is an honor to open on 12 October, a very significant date in the memory of all the peoples of Latin America. The exhibition consists of 24 wood-engraved ex libris, 5 woodcuts and 3 objects. It is worth noting that the Museum of Xilogravura is a unique place in the world; as far as I know it is dedicated exclusively to woodcut, that is, to the art of printing engravings and carvings in wood.
“Uma melhor que a outra”
“We repeated this statement over and over again when we selected Marcelo Kopp's prints for this exhibition.”
I have dedicated myself to working with a national wood, on the recommendation of a book of engraving techniques I found while studying, almost twenty years ago. It is the same wood we use to sweep or to open drawers, known as “palo blanco”. You can visit this exhibition, which they have named “one better than the other”, until 29 January at the @museucasadaxilogravura
The Museum is open: 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm. Thursday to Monday (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays). (12) 3662 1832
Opening at @casadelaculturaer
Award at the First Miniprint of Río Cuarto, Córdoba
28 Mar 2023
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Grateful to be among the winners out of 450 small-format prints from all over the world that took part in the call for the International Miniprint organized by the Escuela de Bellas Artes “Libero Pierini” and the Museo de Bellas Artes of Río Cuarto. The jury was made up of the engraving artists Nestor Goyanes and Silvia Rocca, the school's director Mónica Tosco, Jimena Mateo on behalf of the Museum, and Fabián Martinetto for the organization.
“Pura Gráfica” at the Centro Cultural Recoleta
18 Mar 2023
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I am pleased to take part in the exhibition “Pura Gráfica”, which opens next Thursday 23 at 7 pm at the Centro Cultural Recoleta (@elrecoleta, Junín 1930, Buenos Aires), and I would like you to be there. Some of my matrices carved with a burin in palo blanco or pear wood will be on display, along with canceled ex libris blocks, woodcut editions printed with a flatbed press, drop caps and vignettes, and facsimile attempts, or re-significations, of woodcut incunabula that fostered the reproduction and multiplicity of words and images centuries ago.
The show is organized by the Bachelor's Degree in Design and Visual Communication of UNLa and curated by Andrea Gergich (@andreagergich) and Juan Lo Bianco (@juanlobianco).
And I am very grateful to take part.
Honorable mention at the international Xilo Ex Libris competition in Brazil
15 Mar 2023
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I received an honorable mention at the international Xilo Ex Libris Brasil 2022 competition organized by @museucasadaxilogravura.
I took part with the ex libris I made for my mother (opus LII) and for María Julia Blanco (opus LIV). Very grateful, a Brazilian joy!
Block & Burin and the WEN
30 Jan 2023
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A few days ago the beautiful “Block & Burin” of the WEN (@woodengraversnetwork) arrived from the United States. The WEN is a community of artists, enthusiasts and researchers of #woodengraving, that is, of pure burin wood engraving. I am very happy: the interview, text and editing were by Paul Constance (@woodcutwords), a dear and admired colleague who lives in the northern hemisphere but with whom we share the roots of the same soil.
All my contacts who are interested in this peculiar art can become members of the WEN and enjoy these publications: covers with analog printing, woodcut with letterpress, luxury paper and prints that are hard to believe, truly wild. Membership also gives access to videos and nerdy data that is not to be missed. Big joy. I'm leaving some photos of the publication.
Salón de Premiados SMB at the Museo Sivori
15 Dec 2022
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On Saturday 10 December the 64th, 65th and 66th editions of the salon that awards Argentine artists and residents from across the country in various disciplines open.
buenosaires.gob.ar/museosivori/salon-de-artes-plasticas-manuel-belgrano-smb-2019-2020-y-2021