“CLASS ACTION” 14 October – 2 November 2012
A tribute exhibition by past and present students of Ruth Faerber is being held in celebration of her 90th Birthday .
14 artists who over the years have been creatively guided by Ruth in her class at the Willoughby Art Centre have joined together to exhibit works including painting, printmaking, drawing and mixed media.
Exhibiting artists include Sue Alexander, Jan Cumming, Kath Giovanelli, John Allen, Chick Gordon, Kay Yates, Hanna Lichti, Tony Meiusi, Gerald Christmas, Leyla Spencer, Christine Tasker, John Sweetensen , Gill Selig and Ewa Henner.

Since the early sixties , Ruth has devoted her energy and time as a mentor to encourage, educate and critique. Her popular lectures bring to her students an awareness of the importance of the formal principles of art , but she also fostered the use of the creative imagination rather than just realistic imitation.

Ruth has always led by example, beginning her long and varied art career in the 1930’s , working as a junior commercial artist in a Sydney printing firm. She married in 1946 and between domestic responsibilities and child rearing began studying painting in the studio of recently immigrated Hungarian artist Desiderius Orban , then later at the National Art School , and in 1970’s she enrolled in a Fine Arts History course at the University of Sydney , writing an arts review column for 10 years in the Australian Jewish Times.
But already in 1963 her artistic practice had taken a new and important path when she became a foundation student in the Lithography printmaking class established by Joy Ewart at the Workshop Arts Centre in Willoughby . She also joined as a founding member of the newly launched Sydney Printmakers group and the Melbourne based Print Council of Australia, acting as their NSW representative.
In 1967 Ruth was awarded a scholarship to the Pratt Centre for Contemporary Printmaking in New York and over subsequent years expanded her reputation in international exhibitions and Artist in Residence Workshops.
In 1984, with a small group of other papermaking enthusiasts, she established Primrose Park Paperworks as a centre for the age-old craft of hand papermaking, the first open-access teaching workshop of its kind in Sydney.
Ruth’s cast paper works are unique in Australia.
However in 2004, in her advancing years when she found the physical strain of creating them too physically demanding she began experimenting with computer graphics, and since then has been successfully exhibiting her Archival Inkjet prints.
With more than 40 solo exhibitions to her credit , Ruth’s works are held in international art museums and in many Australian national, state and regional galleries, and corporate and private collections.

The exhibition will be opened By Stephen Wilson (MFA Cofa NSW)
Principal Balmain Art School
On Sunday 14th October 4pm -6pm
At the Lane Cove Music & Cultural Centre
Opening Hours:
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Friday 10am-4pm,
Saturday 1pm-4pm.