Your invitation to UNSOLVED HISTORIES

Attached is your very own invitation to UNSOLVED HISTORIES, my upcoming solo exhibition at The Old Butchers Shop Gallery, Ballarat.

Opening reception: Saturday, 4 May from 2-4 pm

UNSOLVED HISTORIES
Old Butcher’s Shop Gallery 
112 Seymour Street
Soldiers Hill
Ballarat Vic 3350

I’d love to see you at the opening celebration. But if you can’t join us, I’ll be sitting the exhibition throughout its run and do hope you’ll stop by and say hello. 

The gallery is open weekends from 12-4 pm; otherwise by appointment.

UNSOLVED HISTORIES continues to Sunday, 26 May.

Opening of ONE HUNDRED FACES 2024

Some snippets of yesterday afternoon’s delightful opening of One Hundred Faces at Playing in the Attic in Talbot, snapped later in the day when the crowd had thinned out. 

That’s me directly above, second from right, along with participating artists Loris Button, Shane Jones and Tiffany Titshall. 

The views below include Libby Drew, Scott Bain, fellow exhibiting artist, Christine Hickson, Trudy McLauchlan (Proprietor of Playing in the Attic and One Hundred Faces Curator), artist Shane Jones and canines Zelda and Iris.

The weather was perfect and, as always, the show looked great. Thanks for having us, Trudy, and for all your hard work. 

Now, what to make for next year’s One Hundred Faces?

Cat Woman

There’s a new Super Hero in town. Meet Cat Woman, 2024, acrylic on canvas board, 10.3 x 10.3 cm, my second contribution to the fifth annual One Hundred Faces exhibition at Playing in the Attic. (See previous post).

Recently I posted some progress views of the painting, but Alice B. Cat, its primary inspiration, was, as always, a major distraction, so here’s the completed work, sans that inveterate scene-stealer.

Looking forward to the exhibition opening and to meeting some of the other artists. Hoping to see you there too. From the previews I’ve seen so far, it’s going to be a ripper! 

One Hundred Faces opens tomorrow, Saturday 27 April, at 2 pm and runs until the end of May.

Playing in the Attic

13 Ballaarat Street, 

Talbot, VIC, Australia

Phone: 0428 580 309

Instagram: instagram.com/playingintheattic

Hours:

Monday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Tuesday CLOSED

WednesdayCLOSED

Thursday CLOSED

Friday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Saturday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Sunday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

One Hundred Faces 2024

Pictured top: Masked Australian Painted Lady, acrylic on canvas on board, 10.3 x 10.3 cm, part of the annual One Hundred Faces exhibition at Playing in the Attic in Talbot. The mask is based on the Australian painted lady butterfly (Vanessa kershawi). 

Masks seem to have emerged as a central theme in my works for this year’s One Hundred Faces, although it wasn’t intentional. Masked Australian Painted Lady is pictured above on the easel with its companion work, Cat Woman.  

The exhibition opens on Saturday 27 April at 2pm and runs to the end of May.

Photo credit for first image: Tim Gresham.

2024 NEWS

Coming events:

UNSOLVED HISTORIES

Solo exhibition

The Old Butchers Shop Gallery, Ballarat

Deborah Klein’s emblematic ‘rear view portraits’ allude to the countless women who have fallen through the cracks of history. Her latest solo exhibition marks the first time this body of paintings and works on paper, created over the last 6 years, has been exhibited in Ballarat. 

 

Presented in conjunction with Ballarat Heritage Festival.

 

The Old Butchers Shop Gallery

112 Seymour Street 

Soldiers Hill 

Ballarat VIC 3350

Gallery hours: Saturday and Sunday 12-4 pm 

Weekdays by appointment

I: @theoldbutchersshopgallery

E: theoldbutchersshopgallery@gmail.com

The exhibition runs from 4 - 26 May

DECORATED WOMEN

Animated Projection

White Night Ballarat

Deborah is one of the featured artists in White Night Ballarat, the city’s acclaimed festival of projections, illuminations, music and interactive works.

Deborah Klein’s enigmatic tattooed and masked women are the stuff of fairy tales. Adopting adornments drawn from nature, they metamorphose before our eyes, reclaiming the night in a veritable enchanted forest right in the heart of Ballarat. 

Ballarat CBD

https://whitenight.com.au/ballarat/program/

Saturday 1 June, 6 pm – midnight

 

SELF-PUBLISHING ARTISTS

Panel Conversation

CAM ART BOOK FAIR

Castlemaine Art Museum, Castlemaine

The CAM Art Book Fair returns in June 2024, in connection with NGV Melbourne Art Book Fair. 

Melbourne Art Book Fair is part of Melbourne Design Week 2024, an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV.  

Deborah will take part in the panel discussion Self-Publishing Artists Reaching Across and Beyond the Region at Castlemaine Art Gallery.

 

Links to all Art Book Fair events are below:

NGV: https://www.artbookfair.melbourne/events/panel-conversation-self-publishing-artists-reaching-across-and-beyond-the-region/ 

CAM: https://castlemaineartmuseum.org.au/news

 

Castlemaine Art Museum 
14 Lyttleton Street (PO Box 248)
Castlemaine VIC 3450
03 5472 2292
castlemaineartmuseum.org.au

 

Sunday 2 June, 10 – 11 am

 

DECORATED WOMEN

Solo exhibition

Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne

Tattooing has variously been described as the oldest profession after prostitution and tax collection, an act of bravery and a specialized art form that marks its wearer as the member of a tribe. The tattoo publicizes and politicizes through its permanence and visibility.

Comprising recent paintings and works on paper, Decorated Women revisits the Tattooed Faces and Figures, a key theme in the artist’s oeuvre, taking it in entirely new directions.

 

Stephen McLaughlan Gallery
Level 8, Room 16

The Nicholas Building

37 Swanston Street

Melbourne, 3000 (Cnr. Flinders Lane)

 

The exhibition runs from 4 - 21 December

Upcoming exhibition: UNSOLVED HISTORIES

 

UNSOLVED HISTORIES
A Ballarat Heritage Festival exhibition

Opening event: Saturday, 4 May, from 2-4 pm 

Old Butchers Shop Gallery
112 Seymour Street
Soldiers Hill
Ballarat, VIC 3350

Open weekends, 12-4 pm, or by appointment

Pictured top, L-R: Streaked Bowerbird and Green Catbird, both 2018, watercolours in found frames

UNSOLVED HISTORIES runs until 26 May, 2024

Tudor Rose (Part 2)

Pictured top, far right: a further progress view of Tudor Rose (acrylic on canvas board, 30.5 x 30.5 cm). To its left is the study for the work and a reproduction of the eponymous needlework panel designed by May Morris, from which the tattoo iconography is drawn.

Additional developmental views are below:

The work is from the current series, Decorated Women, to be exhibited at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne in December 2024. 

For earlier views of the work in progress, go HERE.

Progress views of CAT WOMAN with artist’s model

Pictured above and below: snapshots from a recent working session on Cat Woman (acrylic on canvas board, 10.16 x 10.16 cm), with model and muse, Alice B. Cat.

A fine set of whiskers was subsequently added, and, with Alice’s seal of approval, the work is now ready for the 5th annual One Hundred Faces exhibition at Playing in the Attic in Talbot, Vic.

One Hundred Faces opens on Saturday 27 April (Anzac Day long weekend) and continues until the end of May.

Coming event: UNSOLVED HISTORIES at Ballarat Heritage Festival 2024

Delighted to see UNSOLVED HISTORIES, my upcoming solo exhibition at the Old Butchers Shop Gallery, listed on the Ballarat Heritage Festival website. I’m always excited for this time of year in Ballarat and doubly so to be part of it.

The link to the Ballarat Heritage Festival 2024 program is here: https://ballaratheritagefestival.com.au

To preview selected works and learn more about UNSOLVED HISTORIES, go here: https://ballaratheritagefestival.com.au/explore/exhibition-by-deborah-klein

Pictured top, L-R: 

Primavera ll, 2021, diptych, acrylic on canvas, 37.5 x 15 cm and Wayfarer, 2021, diptych, acrylic on canvas, 37.5 x 15 cm. Part of UNSOLVED HISTORIES at the Old Butchers Shop Gallery, 112 Seymour Street, Soldiers Hill, Ballarat, VIC, 3350, 4-26 May 2024.

Whereabouts continues at Solander Gallery

On more than one occasion during the run of Whereabouts: Printmakers Respond at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, curated by the indefatigable Rona Green, I remember thinking it was such a shame the exhibition wasn’t travelling further.

For those not already aware of the news, it has. With a slightly different title: Whereabouts: Artists Respond, but the same lineup of artists, Whereabouts is currently on exhibit at Solander Gallery in Wellington, New Zealand.

At 1pm on Saturday, 6 April, you can join Solander Gallery Director Vincent Drane for a walk through the exhibition to learn more about the 56 Victorian-based Whereabouts artists and their work. The event is free but RSVPs will be appreciated.

Artists: Sue Anderson, Elizabeth Banfield, Matthew Clarke, Paul Compton, Miranda Costa, Fiona Davey, Rachel Derum, Mark Dustin, Grace Eve, Philip Faulks, Kevin Foley, Eleanor Franks, David Frazer, Tyronne Gietzmann, Silvi Glattauer, Jackie Gorring, Rona Green, Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison, Greg Harrison, Bill Hay, Judy Horacek, Anita Iacovella, Kyoko Imazu, Deborah Klein, Gillian Kline, Anita Laurence, Dianne Longley, Michael Lye, Marion Manifold, Cassie May, Aaron McLoughlin, Glenn Morgan, Carnegie Muir, Angela Nagel, Billy Nye, James Pasakos, Jim Pavlidis, Catherine Pilgrim, Michael Reynolds, Cathy Ronalds, David Rosengrave, John Ryrie, Libby Schreiber, Gwen Scott, Heather Shimmen, Glen Smith, Ruth Stanton, Neale Stratford, Sophia Szilagyi, Helen Timbury, Clayton Tremlett, Peter Ward, Deborah Williams, Joel Wolter and Jessi Wong.

Whereabouts opened on 22 March and runs to 4 May.

A selection of installation views, courtesy of Solander Gallery, is pictured above.

Tudor Rose: a work in progress

Pictured above and below: developmental stages of Tudor Rose, acrylic on canvas on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cm.

The face decorations on the small study, soon to be recreated on the larger work, are based loosely on selected motifs in Tudor Rose, c. 1890, an embroidery panel designed by May Morris. An article on the significance of the Tudor Rose and its application in embroidery is HERE. 

Tudor Rose is part of my ongoing series, Decorated Women, scheduled for exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery in early December 2024.