METAMORPHOSIS AND TRANSFORMATION: a floor talk

Installation view, Deborah Klein, Homo-insecta watercolours, My Monster: The Human Animal Hybrid,
 RMIT Gallery, Melbourne. Photographer: Mark Ashkanasy © RMIT Gallery.

On Thursday 2 August from 5.30 - 6.30 pm, Jazmina Cininas and I will meet at RMIT Gallery to talk metamorphosis, mythology, fables, fairy tales, folklore and their impact on our artworks in the current exhibition, My Monster: The human animal hybrid.
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It's a ticketed event and I understand we already have a full house. For those who've missed out, you still have time to see the show, which runs until 18 August.  
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There is an informative article about the exhibition in the July issue of Art Almanac: https://www.art-almanac.com.au/monster-human-animal-hybrid/
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9th INTERNATIONAL PRINTMAKING EXHIBITION OF DOURO 2018

Memory 12, 2016, phemograph, edition 20

Memory 14, 2016, phemograph, edition 20

In the current flurry of activity, I completely forgot that Memory 12 and Memory 14, currently on exhibit at Gallery 125 in Perth, WA, are also part of the upcoming 9th INTERNATIONAL PRINTMAKING EXHIBITION OF DOURO 2018 in Portugal. My momentary memory loss stems from sending them over so long ago, back in April 2017, to be more precise. They were printed at Arten, as are all the works in this ongoing series.

The printmaking biennial comprises workshops, conferences, 14 exhibitions, and features a colossal 1,400 works from 700 artists from 70 countries. It runs from 10 August - 31 October.

Work in progress for IMPRESSIONS 2018

Pictured below are progress views of my current linocut, overseen by Alice, who turns as if to ask: “Really? Is this the best you can do?” 

Somehow I found the strength carry on and will deliver the block to Master Printer Simon White at the Australian Print Workshop this week, in ample time for IMPRESSIONS 2018, the APW’s biennial fundraiser.

IMPRESSIONS 2018 is scheduled for later this year. Details will be posted nearer the time.

Cross-continental events

Memory 1, phemograph, 2017, edition: 20, part of
A DARING LOVE AFFAIR WITH HER OWN SHADOW at Gallery 125, York, WA

Several of my works are part of a group show at Gallery 152 in York, Western Australia that opened yesterday, July 21. Curated by Leonie Oakes, it has a deliciously intriguing title: A DARING LOVE AFFAIR WITH HER OWN SHADOW.

Exhibiting artists are: Heather Shimmen, Jill Ansell, Rachel McKenzie, Lana de Jaga, Deborah Klein and Natasha Rowell.

The exhibition runs until Sunday, 26 August. https://www.instagram.com/p/BlecCl9j9l_/

Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, the four Bower artists - Louise Saxton, myself, Carole Wilson and Loris Button - took part in Study Day 2018 at The Johnston Collection. The topic under discussion was PRIVATE COLLECTIONS/PUBLIC SPACES - THE VALUE OF ART & EPHEMERA. (See also yesterday’s post). We’re pictured below in front of our combined collections installation. 

L - R: Louise Saxton, myself, Carole Wilson and Loris Button. Photo credit: Warren Dowley

The Bower artists. Photo credit: Warren Dowley

Directly below, Carole Wilson introduces our visual presentation. Impeccably compiled by Loris Button, it included highlights of the show's previous iterations at Warrnambool Art Gallery and The Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Bower artist and curator Carole Wilson 

Bower artist Loris Button speaks of items from her private collection

The forum was one of numerous events, including an ongoing series of Walks-and-Talks, connected with our current exhibition/intervention PATTERNS OFCOLLECTING/From the Bower at the Johnston Collection, running until 18 September.

STUDY DAY 2018 at THE JOHNSTON COLLECTION

Tomorrow, Saturday 21 July, from 9 am - 4 pm, the Bower Artists - Loris Button, Louise Saxton, Carole Wilson and myself - will be among several presenters taking part in Study Day 2018 at the Johnston Collection. 

Led by Louis Le Vaillant, Director/Curator, The Johnston Collection and Amanda Bede, President, Ephemera Society of Australia, PRIVATE COLLECTIONS/PUBLIC SPACES - THE VALUE OF ART & EPHEMERA takes its cue from our current exhibition, PATTERNS OF COLLECTING/From the Bower at the Johnston Collection.

The Bower Artists will discuss our own collections and how they have directed and influenced our artworks. For example, my collection of mourning and sentimental jewellery, characterised by its incorporation of intricately woven human hair (pictured top, in situ at the museum), was a direct influence on the miniature watercolours made specifically for PATTERNS OF COLLECTING, including the Non-Portrait below. (Photo credit: Tim Gresham). 

For further information, visit the Johnston Collection website HERE.

Last Day of Melbourne Athenaeum Library Residency

At the dawning of my last day as artist-in-residence at Melbourne Athenaeum Library, here is my artist book Progeny in its final stages of completion. (Fortunately the hand-stitching went without a hitch).

Following directly below are ‘shelfies’ of the completed work (aside from binding) and finally, portraits of the women who inspired the work: Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein (1818) and Elsa Lanchester, whose astonishing, all too brief performance in James Whales’s film The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) was the point of departure for my artist book. 

In Shelley’s novel Frankenstein builds a bride for his ‘monster’ but just before giving her life, he destroys her. (Well before this stage, we’re seriously questioning who the real monster is).

Walking and Talking at The Johnston Collection

Pictured above: A corner of the Natural History Room created for PATTERNS OF COLLECTING/From the Bower at the Johnston Collection. In colonial times the 'picturesque pursuit' of natural history illustration was considered a respectable pastime for amateur women artists much like those imagined here. In fact, numerous women, among them Elizabeth Gould, Margaret Flockton, Harriet and Helena Scott, Sarah Stone, Louisa Anne Meredith and Rosa Fiveash were invaluable contributors to the field.

The European Butterflies and Moths book is a treasured gift from recently retired Art Gallery of Ballarat Director, Gordon Morrison. In fact, the Natural History Room was essentially built around it. Gordon has just reminded me (and I quote):  'Don't forget Margaret Stockton who apart from being an exceptional artist, managed the unthinkable and became the first salaried artist at the Sydney Botanical Gardens'. 

This morning between 10 am - 12 pm fellow Bower artist Loris Button and I are leading an informal Walk-and-Talk through the treasure-laden rooms of of Fairhall Exhibition House at The Johnston Collection House Museum. We’d love to see you there.

Extension of Melbourne Athenaeum Library Residency

 At work in Melbourne Athenaeum Library amidst an array of Moth Woman Press publications. Photo credit: Shane Jones

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been invited to extend my residency at Melbourne Athenaeum Library, so am back in the library for the remainder of this week. Because of a couple of other commitments, however, my hours are slightly different.

Monday and Tuesday: 10.30 am - 5.00 pm

Wednesday: 3 pm - 6 pm 

Thursday: 1 - 5 pm 

Friday: 10.30 am - 4pm 

Saturday: 10.30 - 2 pm.

If you come outside of those times, it’s likely I won’t be there, but my work will be. 

Library hours:
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday: 10 am - 6 pm
Wednesday: 10 am - 8 pm
Friday: 10 am - 4 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 2 pm

For selected highlights from the first part of the residency, visit Moth Woman Press HERE.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY ART MAKING, an artist talk for Melbourne Rare Book Week

Melbourne Athenaeum Library, my principal place of work during Melbourne Rare Book Week 2018

My residency at Melbourne Athenaeum Library is well and truly up and running. I've already met some terrific people, had many lively conversations and been gratified by the positive response to the work. At present I'm working on an artist book titled Progeny, one of two projects inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: a Modern Prometheus.

On Wednesday, July 4, from 6 - 7 pm I'm presenting an informal talk. My artist book, Leaves of Absence (2017) acquired last year by the library, will take centre stage, alongside Fallen Women, a small companion volume published early this year. (To preview Fallen Women, go HERE).

Tomorrow evening I'll discuss these and other Moth Woman Press publications, past, present and future. The event is part of Melbourne Rare Book Week. Attendance is free, but due to space restrictions, bookings are essential. For more about the talk, go HERE.

Wednesday, July 4, 6 - 7 pm
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ART MAKING
Speaker: Deborah Klein
Presented by Melbourne Athenaeum Library
Level 1
188 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
Phone (03) 9650 3100
Or book online HERE.

Farewell, Exquisite Palette Show

Shane and I with our respective palettes. Photo credit: Louise Blyton

Yesterday afternoon Shane Jones and I called into Tacit Galleries for a last look at the St Luke Artist Colourmen Exquisite Palette Show during its final hours. (It was virtually impossible to see the works on the lively, but jam-packed opening night). I also wanted to bid a fond farewell to my palette, which I’ll very likely never see again. 

My Reflection, 2018, acrylic on wooden palette

It was great bumping into St Luke's Co-founder and Co-director, artist Louise Blyton, who took the photo of us with our palettes. Shane’s “ink drawing” of our cat Alice on a sketchbook page that’s apparently taped to his palette is an illusionistic work which fooled the majority of viewers, even in extreme closeup. Aside from the natural wood of the palette, the entire work, including the masking tape and slightly creased overhanging corner of the “paper,” is an oil painting. 

Shane with Sketch of Alice, 2018, oil on wooden palette

Directly below, the lovely Louise stands alongside the St Luke Artist Colourmen Exquisite Palette Manifesto, while her elegant wrap-around palette What's Arp? hovers above it. 

Louise Blyton with her palette What's Arp? 2018 (detail), one of my favourite works in the show

My Monsters at RMIT Gallery

Shortly before My Monster: the Human-Animal Hybrid officially opened its doors (to a queue of 1,400 people, I'm reliably informed!) we were invited to a special curator's talk. During that relatively quiet time we seized the moment to take these photos. That's me above, pictured with two of my monstrous creations. (Photo credit: Shane Jones).

I'm delighted with the way my works are presented. Ordinarily I'm not a huge admirer of patterned walls in contemporary art exhibitions - they have a tendency to overpower the work - but in this case, I think it works brilliantly.

Actinus imperialis Beetle Woman, watercolour (installation view at RMIT Gallery)

Ladybird Woman, watercolour (installation view at RMIT Gallery)

There is a substantial article about the show in yesterday's Age newspaper (Saturday, June 30). My watercolour Actinus imperialis Beetle Woman (also pictured above, third from top) is reproduced, along with works by Kate Clark, Peter Ellis, Rona Green and a photographic portrait of My Monster curator Evelyn Tsitas.