Endings and Beginnings

The Last Leaf was the last work completed for my solo show, FALLEN WOMEN, and appropriately so. This is a time of endings, of a show, of a gallery, of a body of work, of another year and much else besides. 

The exhibition finishes its run at Tacit Contemporary Art today, 17 December, at 5 pm. In its wake will come new beginnings and a great many changes. Bring it on, I say. 

Pictured top: An unframed copy of The Last Leaf (2017, phemograph, 36.7 x 30 cm, edition: 20) freshly numbered, titled, signed and shortly to be dispatched to its new owner. 

EPHEMERA

Ephemeral - adjective: lasting only a short time. Synonyms: brief, deciduous, momentary, evanescent, flash, fleeting, fugacious, fugitive, impermanent, passing, short-lived, temporary, transient, transitory.

Similarly, FALLEN WOMEN, my solo show at Tacit Contemporary Art is destined to last but a short while longer. Catch it if you can before it closes on Sunday, 17 December.

Pictured top L - R: Ephemera (13) and Ephemera (2) 
Below L - R: Ephemera (1) Ephemera (10)  Ephemera (3) and Ephemera (14)
Bottom L - R: Ephemera (11) Ephemera (9) and Ephemera (17)

(Each work: 2017, Phemograph, edition 20).

Tacit Contemporary Art

312 Johnston St, Abbotsford, Vic 3067

T: 0423 323 188

E: keith@tacitart.com.au

Wednesday – Friday 11am–6pm

Saturday – Sunday 11am–5pm

FALLEN WOMEN: Opening Night

Sending warm thanks on this cold, wet Ballarat evening to the many valiant souls who endured last Wednesday's scorcher to attend the opening night of FALLEN WOMEN at Tacit Contemporary Art in Melbourne. We only remembered to take some snaps towards the end, after the crowd had abated somewhat (although unfortunately the heat hadn't).

Photographer Tim Gresham will shortly be taking some detailed installation views of the show. Meanwhile, here are a few to be going on with.

DK with Shane Jones. Photo credit: Priscilla Ambrosini

Gaye Britt and Tim Gresham

Among those in this group, L - R: Miranda Costa, Priscilla Ambrosini, Shane Jones, Tim Gresham, Gaye Britt,
Angie Black and Paul Compton.

With Paul Compton. Photo credit: Priscilla Ambrosini

Installation view: four more works from the Ephemera suite 

L - R: Priscilla Ambrosini, Paul Compton, myself and Shane Jones. Photo credit: Julie Keating

EDITIONS 17 Opening Night

 Opening night of EDITIONS 17. I'm pictured with James Pasakos, fellow exhibiting artist and founder of
Goldfields Printmakers. Photo credit: Shane Jones.

An oppressively hot night didn't deter the huge, lively and enthusiastic crowd at the opening night of EDITIONS 17 at Tacit Contemporary Art. It's a great show, a must for lovers of print. Pictured below is Rose Tattoo, one of three works I have in the show.

Deborah Klein, Rose Tattoo, 2016, linocut, hand coloured
(unique state) 46.5 x 36.5 cm. Photo credit: Tim Gresham.

The exhibition runs until 26 February.

Tacit Contemporary Art,
312 Johnston Street,
Abbotsford, Vic. 3067
Phone: 0423 323 188
Hours:
Wednesday - Friday 11 am - 6 pm
Sat - Sun 11 - 5 pm

EDITIONS 17

What finer way to kick off the printmaking year than with EDITIONS 17, Tacit Contemporary Art’s annual print exhibition? Bigger and better than ever, it will showcase over 150 works by 45 Victorian printmakers

I have three linocuts in the show, including Dainty Paperwing Woman (pictured on the above invitation).

Artists include: Elizabeth Banfield, T J Bateson, Louise Blyton, Peter Brown, Craig Daniels, Kevin Foley, Peter Garnick, Janet Goldman, Jackie Gorring, Carolyn Hawkins, Jodi Heffernan, Kate Hudson, Clare Humphries, Hyun Ju Kim, Kyoko Imazu, Lana de Jager, Shane Jones, Myra Kaufman, Marita Kelly, Michele Kershaw, Deborah Klein, Damon Kowarsky, Marion Manifold, Jane Marriott, Marie Mason, Malini Maunsell, Paula McLoughlin, Karen Neal, Marte Newcombe, Sharron Okines, Helen Oliver-Skuse, Diana Orinda Burns, James Pasakos, Catherine Pilgrim, Stephanie Jane Rampton, Libby Schreiber, Gwen Scott, Lisa Sewards, Beata Slifierz, Jennifer Smyth, Jan Stickland, Anne-Maree Taylor, Steven Tester, Yvonne Torrico and Joel Wolter.

Opening night: Wednesday 8 February 6.30 – 8 pm

The exhibition continues until 26 February.

Tacit Contemporary Art
312 Johnston St
Abbotsford Vic 3067

Gallery Hours:

Wednesday - Friday 11 am -  6 pm
Saturday and Sunday 11 am - 5 pm

SAVE THE DATE

The modestly scaled solo show, PRINTS 1987 - 2016, which has just finished its run at Tacit Contemporary Art (see previous post) was a prelude to a larger, more extensive exhibition scheduled for 29 November - 17 December next year. Spanning four of Tacit's gallery spaces, it will focus on thirty years of my printmaking practice. The gallery has already produced these Keep the Date flyers.

Left - right: Keith Lawrence and Shane Jones showing off the newly printed Keep the Date flyers
prior to the opening of PRINTS 1987 - 2016

Something for your 2017 diaries

PRINTS 1987 - 2016: Installation views

PRINTS 1987 - 2016, my solo show at Tacit Contemporary Art, closed on Sunday afternoon, October 2. Thanks to the curator, TJ Bateson, Tacit's director, Keith Lawrence and all who came during the show's run, it was a fantastic experience. It was heartening to learn that the show's penultimate day, which coincided with the AFL Grand Final (to the initiated, an Australian Rules football match on which most inhabitants of the State of Victoria appear to be fixated, and which even rates a public holiday) was one of the gallery's busiest! 

The following installation views were taken by Tim Gresham. Click on individual images for a clearer view.

PRINTS 1987 - 2016: Opening Night

Thank you so very much to everyone who came to the opening night of PRINTS 1987 - 2016 at Tacit Contemporary Art, including those who travelled long distances in less than perfect weather! It was a wonderful turnout and the presence of so many friends, both old and new, made my evening complete. 

Huge thanks also to curator TJ Bateson and Keith Lawrence, director of Tacit Contemporary Art, for making this show possible.

For those who couldn't make it, and don't live in another state, territory or country, all is not lost. The exhibition continues until 2 October. Full details are in my previous post.

L - R: Shane Jones, Tim Gresham, Julie Keating myself and Louise Blyton

L - R, foreground: Beverley and Robert Clinch, Julia Boros and Tim Gresham. (Photo: Shane Jones).

Tess Baldessin, Angie Black, myself and Caroline Durre. (Photo credit: Shane Jones).

One of the Paparazzi caught at his own game! Second from left (with camera): Shane Jones.
Also in this shot: Tess Baldessin, Nora Sumberg, Peter Lancaster, Irene Wellm and far right, Bill Reid.
(Photo credit: Deborah Bradbury)

Shane Jones photographs an unseen Deborah Bradbury, as she photographs him. (Photo credit: Deborah Bradbury)

With Loris Button. (Photo credit: Deborah Bradbury)

With Lisa Sassella and Bill Reid. (Photo credit: Shane Jones). 

Bill Reid and Deborah Bradbury. Deborah owns a portrait of Bill, which my partner Shane painted in 1995 and which
was a finalist in the 1998 Doug Moran Portrait Prize. (Photo credit: Shane Jones).

Speaking of the Doug Moran, pictured above are two subjects of works that were recently selected for this
year's semi-finals. On the left is writer Lucy Sussex, the subject of Lucy by Trudi Canavan,
and Shane Jones, whose Self Portrait in a Blue Sweater has also made the first round of judging.
My works have appeared on the front covers of three of Lucy's books: She's Fantastical (1995, an anthology
she co-edited with Judith Buckrich) A Tour Guide in Utopia (2005)
and Matilda Told Such Dreadful Lies: The Essential Lucy Sussex (2011)

It was a very lively opening. Among the crowd in this photograph are Marguerite Brown, General Manager of the
Print Council of Australia, Peter Lancaster, Tess Baldessin, Loris Button, Heather Shimmen and Nora Sumberg.
Photo credit: Shane Jones

Left - right: Nora Sumberg, Irene Wellm and Louise Blyton. (Photo credit: Shane Jones).

With my partner, Shane Jones. The daphne I'm carrying was grown and presented to me by Nora Sumberg.
It's aroma was intoxicating. Nora was one of several artists present at the opening who are also talented
gardeners. Would that I could number myself among them! (Photo credit: Deborah Bradbury).

Opening tonight: PRINTS 1987 - 2016

Great eggfly winged woman, 2011, hand coloured linocut, 32 x 32 cm. Photo credit: Tim Gresham.

Great eggfly winged woman, 2011 (pictured above) is one of seventeen works selected by curator TJ Bateson for my solo exhibition, PRINTS 1987 - 2016, which opens this evening.

Join us for a celebratory beverage from 6.30 - 8 pm at:

Tacit Contemporary Art

312 Johnston Street,

Abbotsford, Vic, 3067

tacitart.com.au

Phone: 0423 323 1888

Hours: Wednesday - Friday 11 am - 6 pm
Saturday - Sunday 11 - 5 pm

For those who can't make it tonight, PRINTS 1987 - 2016 runs until 2 October.

TJ Bateson installing the first prints on Sunday, 11 September. Works left - right: Dorothy Parker, 1991, woodcut with
chine colle, Snake Charmer, 1996, linocut and Mirror Mirror, 1996, linocut. Photo credit: Keith Lawrence. 

Going Solo

I have a small solo show opening soon. You are warmly invited to:

Prints 1987 - 2016

Deborah Klein

14 September- 2 October

OPENING NIGHT:

Wednesday 14 September 6.30 - 8 pm

A mini-survey show curated by TJ Bateson, the exhibition spans almost three decades of my relief prints, including some rarely seen early works.

Tacit Contemporary Art

312 Johnston Street,

Abbotsford, Vic, 3067

tacitart.com.au

Phone: 0423 323 1888

Hours: Wednesday - Friday 11 am - 6 pm
Saturday - Sunday 11 - 5 pm

Below: Selecting work for an exhibition is a serious business, as the faces of my two companions bear witness. TJ Bateson (centre) curator of the show and Tacit Contemporary Art's director, Keith Lawrence (right) and I snapped by Shane Jones during their recent visit to the Ballarat studio.

Below: TJ Bateson and Keith Lawrence, still deep in thought as the selection process continues. Shane Jones is on the left lending moral support.

Below: The smiles on our faces reflect what a pleasant and productive visit it was. Photo by Shane Jones.

The Year That Was - A View from the Studio

2014 marked the first year our Ballarat studio was up and running. One of the first projects I developed there was an edition of linocuts for Beastarium, a print exchange folio curated by Rona Green. (My print edition is pictured bottom row centre in the montage below. I collected my folio recently, and it’s a beauty).

Top row: Jewel Beetle Woman lino block, Catoxantha opulenta Beetle Woman 
watercolour, centre left: Goliath Beetle Woman, watercolour in progress, centre right:
Cotton Harlequin Bug Woman linocut edition; below it, left: DK and Shane Jones at the
Melbourne opening of Near Neighbours, bottom row, left: installation view of
Show Time, Arts Centre Melbourne, featuring (left) my linocut See the Lady Sawn in Half!
bottom centre: three Homo-insecta linocuts. Below it, centre: Damias elegans Moth Mask
print editionfor Beastarium and bottom left: work in progress, Studio 10 at the Art Vault,

An early highlight of the year was back in January, when I was invited by the Australian Print Workshop to be one of the special Guest Artists at their Summer School. The linocut I made, Jewel Beetle Woman, was editioned by APW Master Printer Simon White.

At the APW signing the completed edition of Jewel Beetle Woman

In the latter part of the year I completed a small print edition for Editions 2014, the Australian Print Workshop’s biennial fundraiser (My linocut Cotton Harlequin Bug Woman is pictured in the top montage, righthand side, second from top). My partner Shane Jones also made an edition for the show. We were both delighted to learn that our prints were recently acquired by the City of Whitehorse for their permanent collection.

The aforementioned Homo-insecta relief prints were exhibited in the eponymous solo exhibition at the Art Vault in Mildura from late November - mid December, where I also undertook a short but extremely productive residency.

Although it’s fair to say that a substantial amount of time was devoted to print-based projects this year, equally as many hours have been spent honing my watercolour skills via the ongoing insect women series, the evolution of which has been documented faithfully on this blog.

In the interim, other exhibitions I had work in during the year included: Show Time, The Arts Centre Melbourne; Seventh Skin, Hatch Contemporary Art Space, Vic; Corporeal (continuing) Switchback Gallery, Monash University, Gippsland,Vic; Prints 25, Print Council of Australia Prints, Whitehorse Artspace, Box Hill, Vic; We were only Wainting, I.D.E.A. Museum, Mesa, Arizona, US; Near Neighbours, St Heliers Street Gallery, Abbotsford and Solander Gallery Works on Paper, New Zealand. Goldfields Printmakers, Firestation Print Workshop, Melbourne, Vic; The 2014 Silk Cut Award for Linocut Printmaking, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Vic; 2014 Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award, Fremantle Arts Centre, WA, PAGE.PRINT.POST., Post Office Gallery, Federation University, Ballarat, Vic; Contemporary Print, Australian Print Workshop, Vic; APW Print Fair, Melbourne, Vic; Biblio-Artist Books, Clunes, Booktown, Clunes, Vic. 

Looking ahead, in February 2015 eight of the Homo-insecta linocuts will be part of Editions 2015, a group exhibition at Tacit Contemporary Art in Abbotsford, Vic. In April/June the exhibition The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) at Maitland Regional Gallery, NSW will include a drawing of mine made especially for the show. The Beastarium portfolio will be exhibited at Dubbo Regional Art Gallery in August 2015. Later in the year I'll be participating in a group exhibition titled Parallel Prints NZ/Aus 2015. It's curated by Mark Graver, Director, Wharepuke Print Studio, Kerikeri, New Zealand. Full details of these will be posted nearer the times.

Until then, I wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year.