The operative word is "intimate" in describing the Honolulu Printmakers’ 86th Annual Exhibition.

But the small size of the show certainly wasn’t for lack of quality, said juror and visiting artist Liz Chalfin of Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, Mass.

"The work was very diverse and extremely sophisticated," Chalfin said. "But I wanted the work to have the space I felt it needed to really breathe, and to create these visual relationships of one piece to another."

If she had another gallery to fill, Chalfin said, there was enough quality artwork from the more than 200 artist submissions throughout Hawaii to do so.

Seventy-six pieces were chosen for the exhibition this year, which runs through March 21 at the Honolulu Museum of Art School.

Still, the works,ranging from lithographs to woodcuts, linocuts, silkscreens, monoprints and etchings, reflect a wide range of printmaking techniques.

For Chalfin, who was visiting Hawaii for the first time, reviewing the submissions was both a visual and spiritual journey.

While there’s a "universal language of printmaking no matter where you’re from," she found that artwork from Hawaii stood out for its "vibrancy of color" and subject matter reflecting the natural world unique to Hawaii, including its plants, animals and people.

Though this year’s exhibit wasn’t governed by a theme, there was a gravitation toward nontoxic inks, which is Chalfin’s specialty, according to Printmakers executive director Duncan Dempster.

Chalfin’s mission, as founder of Zea Mays Printmaking, a studio, gallery, educational facility and research center, is to find the most sustainable printmaking practices available.

Chalfin said she chose "works that eloquently expressed an idea and used the medium of printmaking to enhance the content of that idea."

An abstract monoprint in bold colors by Honolulu artist Anne Irons, titled "Elegance,"draws viewers to its corner spot at the back of the gallery.

Chalfin noted a combination of techniques, including use of collage, which together made the piece feel like a unified painting.

"It’s very dynamic," she said.

She said another piece an intaglio titled "Collectives" by Ayako Linden was a beautiful drawing demonstrating technique that played with the use of space, letting the viewer feel a sense of isolation.

She found artist Pratisha Budhiraja’s photo intaglio of the ohia lehua on reclaimed cherry highly creative.

In paring down her selections, Chalfin did a first round of eliminations, then created groups among the remaining works. She chose pieces that connected with other works and selected one work per artist.

Certain pieces, such as "Pearl Diver," by Maui artist Tania Arens, drew her back several times.

"If something drew me back over and over again, I said, OK, this should be included,’ because I’m hoping it will do the same for visitors, that they will come back and look deeper."

The intaglio etching has a female pearl diver surrounded by a sea of swirls.

"There’s this wonderful energy that’s happening here," Chalfin said, "and then when you get closer up, you see the details, patterning and little symbolic images embedded in there."

Then there are what Chalfin called "tiny, little gems," including a small, two-plate abstract etching by artist Liv Johnson titled "PODS #2."

This one drew her back to take a closer look at the movements within the detailed lines.

"I kept coming back to this one because it’s this gorgeous rendering," she said. "It shows how printmaking can be so intimate an art form."