Whereabouts: the journey continues

 

As recently reported, Whereabouts: Printmakers Respond, concluded its run at the Art Gallery of Ballarat on Sunday, 4 February. Curated by Rona Green, the exhibition comprised print-based works by 56 Victorian-based artists, many of whom were in attendance at the exhibition’s closing event.

It was subsequently my honour to place Edition no. 57/57 of the handsome Whereabouts folio in the hands of Art Gallery of Ballarat Curator Julie McLaren (pictured above, far right) on behalf of Rona Green and fellow Whereabouts artists. (See below). The folio will shortly become part of the gallery’s permanent collection.

But the journey didn’t end there. In recent exciting news, the exhibition is heading to New Zealand.

On March 22, with a slightly different title, it will open at Solander Gallery, with all 56 of the original Whereabouts artists on board: 

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.

My sincere thanks to Rona Green, whose phenomenal vision, persistence and organisational skills made this project happen. It has been a privilege to be part of the exhibition and print exchange and I will treasure my own Whereabouts folio. 

Whereabouts: Artists Respond – An Exhibition of Printmaking

Exhibition dates: 22 March – 4 May 2024

Solander Gallery

218 Willis Street, Wellington 6011 NZ

Open Friday – Saturday 11am – 3pm or by appointment

Tel +644 920 0913

Email info@solandergallery.co.nz

Web solandergallery.co.nz

UNSOLVED HISTORIES (Save the date)

It was a lovely surprise to discover this listing in the Autumn Issue of Best of Ballarat in our local cafe this afternoon. Do save the date:

4-26 MAY
DEBORAH KLEIN
UNSOLVED HISTORIES

Deborah Klein’s iconic ‘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. 

Old Butchers Shop Gallery 
112 Seymour Street
Open weekends 12-4 pm or by appointment. 

The exhibition runs in conjunction with Ballarat Heritage Festival 2024.

Late summer in the studio

 

Above: Current works in progress, all acrylic on canvas board, under the eye of Eustixis caminaea Moth Mask, an oil pastel from 2007. 

Below: Earlier developmental views of the painting (as yet untitled) on the drawing board.

The work has undergone a considerable transformation since its inception, and continues to evolve. 

Further progress views will follow shortly.

Spring and Summer

The small painting, Maid of Honour (final image below) made for last year’s 100 Faces exhibition at Playing in the Attic, was originally intended to serve as a study for Spring and Summer, the work-in-progress featured here. The study was sold during the run of the exhibition, but fortunately I had documented the work and was able to use the photograph for reference. The tattoo in the original work is based on selected motifs in Maids of Honour, an embroidery designed by May Morris. 

The scaled up painting allowed for the incorporation of considerably more detail and so I turned to Spring and Summer, 1900-95, May Morris’s larger, more complex embroidery panel (reproduced below), as the point of departure for the tattooed face. The completed work will be part of Decorated Women, a solo exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne, in December 2024. 

Tattoos have been a recurring theme in my work since the mid-1990s, beginning with the Tattooed Faces and Figures series of linocuts and drawings. In the coming weeks, I’ll share some news about some of those too. Suffice it to say at this point, it’s beginning to feel as if I’ve come full circle. 

Images from top: 

Spring and Summer (progress view), 2024, acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 30 cm;

Work in progress with primary references;

Spring and Summer 1900-95, embroidered panel by May Morris;

Maid of Honour, 2023, acrylic on canvas board, 10 x 10 cm.

Whereabouts - Closing Event

Here are few shots from yesterday afternoon’s delightful closing event for Whereabouts - Printmakers Respond at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. (See previous post).

Pictured top, L-R: myself with fellow Goldfields Printmakers and Whereabouts artists, Dianne Longley and Jimmy Pasakos. There was a terrific opening address by Cathy Leahy, Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Victoria, acknowledging the long history and significance of exhibition curator Rona Green’s print portfolios. (Pictured below). 

It was great to catch up with the Whereabouts artists en masse - so many of them are old friends. There was a message from Rona Green, who wasn’t able to join us, in which she declared ‘Printmakers are the best!’ She has it the wrong way round - I reckon that’s what printmakers feel about Rona. 

As an added treat, Shane Jones and I spent some quality time afterwards with Whereabouts artists, Warrnambool-based Glenn Morgan and Matthew Clarke. I hope we can do it again soon.

Whereabouts - Final Days

Where has the time gone? Whereabouts: Printmakers Respond finishes its long and successful run at the Art Gallery of Ballarat this Sunday, 4 February. The exhibition was curated by Australian printmaking legend, Rona Green, who invited 56 established and emerging Victorian artists to create a print edition relating to their “whereabouts - the place where someone or something is”.

Whereabouts

Art Gallery of Ballarat

40 Lydiard Street North,

Wadawurrung Country, Ballarat VIC 3350

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 is best experienced up close and personal. Do pay it a visit, if you haven’t already - or even if you have. Sunday will be your last chance.  

Pictured top on the opening day of the exhibition, Saturday 18 November, 2023: selected Whereabouts artists with Art Gallery of Ballarat Director Louise Tegart. L-R back row and L-R front row: Louise Tegart, Deborah Klein, Sue Anderson, Jackie Gorring, Michael Reynolds, Kevin Foley, Neale Stratford, Miranda Costa, Silvi Glattauer, Rona Green, James Pasakos, Cathy Ronalds.

Directly following it are a series of installation views. Pictured below: works by Rona Green, myself, Miranda Costa and Gillian Kline.

Photo credit for first and final views: Cathy Ronalds.