LACE FACE at QAGOMA and EYES EVERYWHERE at AGB

Deborah Klein, Lace Face, 1996, Linocut, 46 x 30 cm.

QAGOMA and other collections.

In recent happy news, thanks to the incredible generosity of a private collector, my linocut, Lace Face, 1996,  is now part of the permanent collection of QAGOMA (Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art).

A pivotal work in the Tattooed Faces and Figures series of the mid-late 1990s, Lace Face is a direct descendant of the Decorated Women, my current series of paintings.

Deborah Klein, Eyes Everywhere, 1996, Linocut, 46 x 30 cm.

Art Gallery of Ballarat and other collections.

It seems the Tattooed Faces and Figures are currently having a moment (well, anyway, two of them are). In other recent news, at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Queer Views: New perspectives on the collection has been extended to October 4, due to popular demand. The exhibition includes my linocut, Eyes Everywhere, 1996. 

For more about Queer Views, go HERE.

A trip to Geelong with Ballarat Arts Alive

Last Saturday’s bus trip to Geelong, organised by local group Ballarat Arts Alive, was so engrossing, I completely forgot to take any photos. These shots of me talking about two of my early linocuts in the permanent collection of Geelong Gallery* were snapped by Shane Jones towards the end of a jam-packed day.

L-R: Deborah Klein, Jazz Age Memories and Sunny Sunday Afternoon, 1985, linocuts. 

Collection: Geelong Gallery.

As I mentioned to the group, the 1920s wind-up gramophone, record cabinet, Art Deco clock and vase depicted in Jazz Age Memories (LHS above), are still in my possession. They are an important part of my history and are therefore much treasured. All were purchased very cheaply at various London antique markets when I lived there in the 1970s. For the purpose of this post, the original position of the ceramic pieces is recreated below. Nowadays, however, they reside in a locked display cabinet, safe from any unwanted attention - and inevitable carnage - from our resident feline, the notorious Alice.

Saturday’s extensive tour also included visits to the new premises of Boom Gallery, with terrifically informative artist talks by current exhibiting artists Anita Iocovella and Ellie Malin, and, directly after our lunch break, to the headquarters of internationally renowned company, Back to Back Theatre.  

Warmest thanks to the Ballarat Arts Alive team for a truly memorable day.

*The linocuts are part of the current exhibition, The O’Donohue and Kiss Gift, which finishes on 28 July. For further information about these and other works in the exhibition, visit my Blog Post of 26 June, The past made present, HERE.

TENDER GRAPES, a work in progress

Pictured above, from top: a new studio pinboard (carefully curated, as it holds a mere fraction of my huge postcard collection) and on the worktable, L-R: Tender Grapes, 2023, acrylic on canvas panel, 10 x 10 cm (study) and Tender Grapes, 2024, acrylic on canvas panel, 30.5 x 30.5 cm (work in progress).

Pictured below: a closer view of the works. For more about the study for Tender Grapes (a finished work in its own right, as are all the studies in this series), go HERE.

The face tattoo is based on the following detail from Autumn and Winter, c 1895-1900, an embroidered panel designed by May Morris. 

Both paintings will be included in Decorated Women, my solo exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, opening on December 4.

HORNED POPPY (study)

Pictured above and below: selected developmental stages of the study for Horned Poppy, 2024, acrylic on canvas laid on board, 10 x 10 cm. The face tattoo is based on Horn Poppy (1885), a wallpaper designed by May Morris.

The study, a resolved work in its own right, is among several paintings currently in the works for my upcoming solo exhibition, Decorated Women, at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne, opening on December 4. This may seem to be a long way off, but the way this year is racing by, it’s really and truly not. So do save the date!