In addition to acquiring work over the years, Brita Prinz has been linked to the world of prints since the late eighties.
Under the guidance of the artist and great friend Jesús Núñez whom they know in Madrid (where they still reside today), Hermann and Brita Prinz began to take an interest in and perceive the value of graphic art. Jesus infects them with his enthusiasm and puts them in contact with artists, initiating them in this way in the knowledge of the different engraving techniques, as well as in learning the terminology or the importance of matrices and editions.
It is in 1987 when, after several years deepening her interest in graphic work, Brita Prinz together with Jesús Núñez created the “Galería Brita Prinz”, situated at Calle Alfonso XII in Madrid. This space represents a new concept of art gallery at that time. Exhibition spaces are combined with workshops and work studios, where artists have the opportunity to investigate engraving techniques and later show their results.
As of 1987, Hermann and Brita Prinz began to collect and acquire work on a regular basis, giving preference to emerging artists as well as other more established and important national and international artists.
In parallel to the acquisition of work and the activity of both workshops and exhibitions in the space at Alfonso XII, throughout the nineties and early two thousand, they aroused an interest in the general public and generated great visibility of the world of prints. Important exhibitions are organized that will mark an era, participating in valuable exchanges and collaborations in New York, Vienna, La Concepción (Chile), Canada, France and Italy among others.
In 2000, the Cabildo Insular de La Palma contacted them to start taking charge of the oldest printmaking prize in the country, the Carmen Arozena International Prize for Graphic Art. This award is consolidated with the publication of an additional catalog that will, from that moment, accompany the annual exhibitions with the award winners and selected ones. Every year two exhibitions are held, one in Madrid and the other at La Casa Principal de Salazar in La Palma. In Madrid these exhibitions are held in different locations over the years; among them in the gallery on Calle Alfonso XII, the International Exhibition of Engraving and Editions of Contemporary Art (ESTAMPA) or the old Espacio Canarias de Creation y Cultura. It is from 2014 when the exhibition in Madrid begins to be housed in the Museo Casa de la Moneda, where it takes place today.
After fifteen years of gallery / workshop, a new period begins. In 2002, the gallery changed its location to calle Gravina and, among other functions, such as the Carmen Arozena organization, its profile focuses on the representation of artists specialized in graphic work. As of mid-2019, Brita Prinz maintains certain activities, such as the high-value commitment to the Arozena Award, as well as participation in different international fairs and an annual program in the showroom. But fundamentally, it is from this moment that her work focuses mainly on the dissemination of her excellent collection acquired over the years, through different exhibition and loan methods.
The Prinz Collection aims to share knowledge and appreciation for graphic art, so that it reaches new audiences, as well as inspiring new learnings.