Contemporary and Collectable Australian Printmakers
17 – 31 July
Contemporary + Collectable Australian Printmakers is a comprehensive exhibition
of works by eighteen exceptional printmakers showing at Metropolis Gallery
from Saturday 17 – 31 July. Included are etchings, lithographs, digital
prints and linocuts by some of Australia’s most prominent printmakers
including Tony Ameneiro, Graham Fransella, David Frazer, Rona Green, Greg
Harrison, Robyn Hassall, Kate Hudson, Anita Iacovella, Deborah Klein, Debra
Luccio, Marco Luccio, Marion Manifold, Jenny Peterson, Margie Sheppard,
Heather Shimmen, Sally Smart, Sophia Szilagyi and Joel Wolter, together
with selected works from the Metropolis collection including Rick Amor and
Lewis Miller.
Gallery director Robert Avitabile says that this exhibition has been driven
by his passion for drawing and the print mediums of etching, lithography
and linocut. “Artists’ prints on paper have intrinsic qualities
that are quite different to paintings or drawings and I know artists who
are absolutely addicted to their medium: the satisfying process of beginning
work on either a metal plate, stone, piece of lino or other surface, right
through to the exciting revelation of the beautiful image printed under
the heavy, cold steel of the printing press.”
Australia has a rich history of major artists producing prints in limited
editions, making exceptional images like these more available to a wider
market. The importance of printmaking in Australian art is reflected by
the massive archive of works from colonial to contemporary held in the National
Gallery of Australia Print Collection.