For Auld Lang Syne

As another bittersweet year hurtles to a close, step inside my studio for auld lang syne.

We may be more than halfway through the twelve days of Christmas with a new year fast approaching, but in the studio, time stands still.  

Christmas 2023

 

Merry Christmas for tomorrow. I hope you enjoy every minute of your day, no matter how you celebrate it (or not) and that the last few days of 2023 will pass equally agreeably. 

My own year was capped off by a visit to London in September/October that was life-changing in unforeseen, seemingly endless ways. Fuelled by my trip, I’m now working with renewed vigour and a more assured sense of direction towards a solo show at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, scheduled for the latter part of next year. I can’t wait to see where the work takes me and what ever else the new year will bring.

My thanks and gratitude to those who have offered their friendship, support and encouragement throughout the past momentous year. I’m very lucky to have you in my life, and it’s a privilege to be a part of yours. 

Image on e-card: Deborah Klein, The Heavens Declare 2, 2022, linocut, 20 x 15 cm. For background information on this print and its companion work, The Heavens Declare 1, click HERE.

Seasonal Salutations

A special memory is attached to every decoration on our Christmas tree, and every year we collect new ones. There is always room for more! 

Thinking of friends and family near and far this Christmastide. May it bring all you could wish for, and more. 

Swan Lake (Special Edition)

It seems that swans have always been connected to the places I’ve called home, from the black swans of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne to the white swans of Regents Park in London. 

Nowadays my Whereabouts (the title of the exhibition for which my linocut Swan Lake was initially created) is hereabouts. Ballarat is home, and for me, Lake Wendouree and its beloved black swans are where the heart is. 

At the invitation of the splendid Art Gallery of Ballarat shop, I’ve created a special limited edition of Swan Lake to coincide with the current exhibition. Numbered I - XXX (1- 30), the work is available exclusively through the gallery shop. It’s pictured below alongside a striking inkjet pigment print (open edition) by fellow Whereabouts artist, Miranda Costa.

Whereabouts, an exhibition of 56 Victorian-based printmakers was curated by Rona Green. But before making your way to Whereabouts, don’t forget to pick up a free, fully illustrated exhibition catalogue at the front desk of the AGB. 

Pictured from top: Swan Lake, 2023, (Special Edition), linocut with collage and hand-colouring, Edition: 30. Photo credit: Tim Gresham;
Images 2-4: Black swans in the wetlands area across from Lake Wendouree;

Images 5-6: Special edition of Swan Lake on display in the AGB shop, along with an archival pigment print by fellow Whereabouts artist Miranda Costa;

Images 7–8: Front and back views of the fold-out poster-sized Whereabouts catalogue, an essential exhibition guide;

Image 9 below: Whereabouts installation view. Pictured L-R: Rona Green, Petal, 2023, hand-coloured linocut, Deborah Klein, Swan Lake, 2023, hand-coloured linocut, printed by Bill Young, Miranda Costa, Thinking, 2023, inkjet pigment print, Gillian Kline, Inward Goods, 2023, linocut. 

Click on images to enlarge.

Whereabouts opened on 18 November, 2023 and runs to 4 February, 2024.

Opening celebration of BLUE PERIOD

Here are a few snapshots of the joyous opening celebration of BLUE PERIOD at One Star Gallery, Melbourne, on the evening of Friday 1 December. It was terrific to meet up with fellow artists, among them, Tiffany Titshall, (pictured below), and reunite with others I haven’t seen for far too long, in particular, Ann Holt, who I’ve known since my long ago and far away St Kilda days. (Ann, who’s pictured in the third view with Shane Jones) reckons this is the first time we’ve ever exhibited together, and I’m pretty sure she’s right).

The works of artists who couldn’t be there, including Lisa Barmby, Deborah Walker, and Linda Gibbs, whose stunning landscape is hanging next-but-one to mine in the installation view below, also made an impact. (That’s Jane Burton’s photograph in between my works and Linda’s). It was also great to see another old friend, film maker Donna McRae (pictured above right).

Pictured above are my three paintings Recollections, Waiting and Idyll and directly below, BLUE PERIOD curators Mariella Del Conte and Katrina Beale introduce writer and performer Clare Larman (final view). Clare, who memorably launched the exhibition with an evocative blue-themed poem written especially for the event, writes like a painter. 

Scroll down to my last post for a complete list of BLUE PERIOD artists. 

The exhibition runs to 17 December. 

Opening tomorrow: BLUE PERIOD

 

BLUE PERIOD,
One Star Gallery,
301-303 Victoria Street,
West Melbourne Vic.

OPENING EVENT: Friday, December 1, 6-9 pm

“Of the colors, blue and green have the greatest emotional range. Sad reds and melancholy yellows are difficult to turn up. Among the ancient elements, blue occurs everywhere: in ice and water, in the flame as purely as in the flower, overhead and inside caves, covering fruit and oozing out of clay. Although green enlivens the earth and mixes in the ocean, and we find it, copperish, in fire; green air, green skies, are rare. Gray and brown are widely distributed, but there are no joyful swatches of either, or any of exuberant black, sullen pink, or acquiescent orange. Blue is therefore most suitable as the color of interior life. Whether slick light sharp high bright thin quick sour new and cool or low deep sweet dark soft slow smooth heavy old and warm: blue moves easily among them all, and all profoundly qualify our states of feeling.”

- William H. Gass, On Being Blue, 1975

Artists: Amanda Florence, Andrée Van Schaik, Ann Holt, Anne Algar, Astrid Munday, Camilla Gold, Camille Hannah, Clare Larman, Deborah Amon-Cotter, Deborah Klein, Deborah Walker, Jane Burton, Jaqui Stockdale, Jessica Kritzer, Katrina Beale, Linda Gibbs, Lisa Barmby, Lisa Walker, Marion Harper, Melody Woodnutt, Mimi Kelly, Mina Young, Moya Delany, Rhonda Dredge, Sarah Faulkner, Sonia Payes, Tina Douglas, Tiffany Titshall, Victoria Hartcup, Wendy Morrissey and Xanthe Waite

Exhibition dates: November 30 - December 17

Hours: Th-Fri 3-7 pm, Sat 1-7pm, Sun 1-5 pm, or by appointment: 0432 357537

Pictured top: Deborah Klein, Idyll, 2021, diptych, acrylic on canvas, 35 x 12.5 cm

A busy weekend

Shane Jones and I covered quite a lot of ground over the past weekend. On Saturday afternoon we drove to Melbourne to attend a screening of The Lesson at The Kino, part of the current Cunard British Film Festival. Still resonating to this terrific film, we dropped off my three paintings to One Star Gallery in readiness for Blue Period, an exhibition of diverse works by 33 women artists, the second of its kind to be curated by Katy Beale and Mariella Del Conte. 

Pictured top, L-R: Idyll, Waiting, and Recollection, all 2021, acrylic on canvas, freshly unpacked at One Star Gallery. I’m excited to see everyone’s work at the opening night this Friday, 1 December, 6-9 pm. 

Scroll down to my previous post for further information.

Pictured above: On the following afternoon Shane and I attended day 2 of the weekend-long launch of Milk Shed Gallery at Weerite near Camperdown. Huge congratulations to Harley Manifold for bringing this extraordinary project to fruition, and to all 26 exhibiting artists, including Kathryn Ryan, pictured third from left, and Julie Keating, pictured far right.

BLUE PERIOD

Three of my paintings, including Recollection, 2021, have been selected for BLUE PERIOD, an upcoming exhibition at One Star Gallery curated by Katy Beale and Mariella Del Conte. 

Scroll down for your invitation to BLUE PERIOD. Click on the invitation for a clearer view..

Exhibiting artists:

Amanda Florence, Andrée Van Schaik, Ann Holt, Anne Algar, Astrid Munday, Camilla Gold, Camille Hannah, Clare Larman, Deborah Amon-Cotter, Deborah Klein, Deborah Walker, Jane Burton, Jaqui Stockdale, Jessica Kritzer, Katrina Beale, Linda Gibbs, Lisa Barmby, Lisa Walker, Marion Harper, Melody Woodnutt, Mimi Kelly, Mina Young, Moya Delany, Rhonda Dredge, Sarah Faulkner, Sonia Payes, Tina Douglas, Tiffany Titshall, Victoria Hartcup, Wendy Morrissey, Xanthe Waite. 

BLUE PERIOD

OPENING FRIDAY DEC 1st 6-9 pm

One Star Gallery

301-303 Victoria Street

West Melbourne 3003

Exhibition dates:

November 30 - December 17

Hours: Th-Fri 3-7 pm, Sat 1-7pm, Sun 1-5 pm

Or by appointment ph. 0432 357537

Pictured top: Recollection, 2021, diptych, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 15 cm (top panel); 17.5 x 12.5 cm (bottom panel).

Interview at ABC Ballarat and WHEREABOUTS Curator’s Talk

At ABC Ballarat early this morning I chatted with morning presenter Matt Tribe about books, film, the visual arts, travel and numerous other interests and influences on my work - in particular on my linocut Swan Lake, part of the new exhibition Whereabouts: Printmakers Respond at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. 

Thanks to the warm welcome I received from Matt and his technical assistant, Gav, I had such a good time, I completely forgot to feel nervous. 

The link to the program is here:

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/saturday-breakfast/deborah-klein/103121864

Whereabouts, an exhibition comprising works by 56 Victorian printmakers, opened today. 

In the afternoon from 2 - 3 pm we attended Whereabouts curator Rona Green’s engaging and informative talk about the background to the exhibition, the artists involved and the various techniques employed in their works. 

The exhibition is superb, a celebration of printmaking in all its forms. 

Installation views will follow shortly. 

Pictured above L-R: Whereabouts artists Miranda Costa, Rona Green and myself. The works behind us from L-R are Rona’s, mine and Miranda’s.

Whereabouts: Printmakers Respond runs from 18 November 2023 - 4 February 2024. 

See my previous post for further details, including a complete list of artists.

WHEREABOUTS: Printmakers Respond

I’m delighted to be part of the much anticipated group exhibition Whereabouts: Printmakers Respond at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, opening to the public tomorrow, Saturday 18 November.

From 2pm – 3pm on the same day, curator and participating artist Rona Green will present a talk about the show. It is a ticketed event; booking information is on the AGB website:

https://www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au/event/curator-talk-rona-green-on-whereabouts

The lead-up to an exhibition of this scale is necessarily a long one. Work on my own contribution, the linocut Swan Lake, was begun in May 2022 when I was artist-in-residence at Geelong Grammar School. A couple of early progress views, snapped in the Corio Campus studio, are pictured top and directly below. The completed work will be discussed more fully in a forthcoming post, along with some exciting news.

It’s a privilege to be exhibiting with such a stellar lineup of artists. Warmest thanks to Rona for inviting me to join them and for her tireless work in bringing the exhibition together. 

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: Printmakers Respond

18 November 2023 - 4 February 2024

Art Gallery of Ballarat

40 Lydiard Street North,

Wadawurrung Country, Ballarat VIC 3350

Halloween 2023

Remembering London this All Hallows Eve

Photos 1-2 above: Louise Bourgeois, Spider V, 1999, bronze and steel; 

Photos 3-4 below: Louise Bourgeois, Spider Home, 2002, bronze spiders and fly, welded bronze wire web, wood base. 

Installation views from The Mother and the Weaver, Art from the Ursula Hauser Collection at the Foundling Museum, London, current to 18 February 2024. 

Photos 5-7 below: Spooktacular views of a house in Hampstead, a few doors down from where I stayed during my recent trip.

Happy Halloween, boys and ghouls. 🎃🕷️🕸️