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Getting to know our members: Carmen Ky

October 14, 2021 by Anthea Boesenberg Leave a Comment

Dawn – Glasshouse Mountains, 2016, watercolour and linocut, each panel 21 x 21cm

As a student at the National Art School in the 1960’s I was introduced to Taoist philosophy and discovered Indian tantric art. At that time, I didn’t realize the influence this would have on me.

After graduation I exhibited paintings and taught at TAFE for many years. Then I studied and professionally practiced Traditional Chinese Acupuncture for ten years alongside my art practice. Working with subtle energy systems of Five Element Acupuncture, naturally influenced my artwork.


Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s I worked as a stills photographer on documentary film and book projects with Aboriginal elders and began to see expression of that elemental energy in their stories, song-lines and country, this changed the way I viewed landscape.


Some photographic projects that personally influenced me were the documentary “Flight of the Windhorse” about the first Australian Himalayan hot-air ballooning expedition in Nepal in 1985 (my introduction to Tibetan Buddhism). Photo research and photography for the book “Burnum Burnum’s Aboriginal Australia – A Traveller’s Guide” produced for the Bi-Centenary in 1988. The documentary “Kakadu Man” about Bill Neidjie, of the Bunitj clan Gagudju language group of northern Kakadu in 1990. (he invited me back to draw and paint his country).

In 1992, two favourite assignments as photographer were for the Sydney visit of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and photographing the handover ceremony for the remains of Mungo Lady at Lake Mungo, both in 1992.


Lake Mungo, like Kakadu, became a place that draws me back and I have produced and exhibited paintings, drawings, etchings and photographs from these places over the years. I always took a sketch pad, pencils, inks and crayons with me to sketch during breaks from photographing. Back home in the studio, many paintings, works on paper, experiments with etching and chine-colle came about because of these projects and journeys. Initially I worked with painting, printmaking and photography as individual practices, now I equally enjoy mixed media.

Desert Dreaming, 1988, two colour plate etching, 39.5 x 50cm, edition 25


In 2000, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory included me in their exhibition “Artists in the Field: A Retrospective’ and bought one of my drawings for their collection.

In 2001, the Manly Art Gallery and Museum presented a survey show of my work based on 13 years of desert journeys called “Alchemic Wilderness: a survey 1988 – 2001- Lake Mungo, Desert and Kakadu”. It included photographs, drawings, etchings and paintings. They acquired an etching for their collection.


I decided to investigate Tibetan Buddhist ideas of the Five Elements as a portal into concepts of landscape, (including Australian Indigenous) for the Master of Philosophy, Visual Arts Graduate Program at ANU. I completed five bodies of work from landscapes as diverse as Lake Mungo (earth) Mystery Bay (water) Central Western Desert (fire,) Glasshouse Mountains (air) and Space as the fundamental basis of all the elements … inner space, outer space, the bardo, pictorial space, mind space. Chinese, Indian and Tibetan cultures have variations in their philosophical and visual traditions of the Five Elements. This was an opportunity to examine the diverse knowledge systems and spiritual practices I have engaged in over many years and explore how my Buddhist practice interfaces with the methodology of my art practice. I actively reviewed my painting practice as a contemplative art practice and investigated traditional and contemporary Australian, European and Tibetan artists. This research became part of my exegesis titled “Contemplation and Immersion: Exploring the Five Elements and Australian Landscape” awarded in 2020. My work is suffused with Buddhist philosophy and overlaid with environmental concern.


Carmen Ky, 2019, Graduate exhibition SOAD Gallery, ANU Canberra.

To see more of Carmen’s work go HERE.


Filed Under: Artist's Talk Tagged With: Buddhist philosophy, Carmen Ky, chine colle, Dalai Lama, Etching, Kakadu, Lake Mungo., Manly Art Gallery and Museum, mixed media, National Art School, painting, Photography, printmaking, The Five Elements, Tibetan Buddhism, Traditional Chinese Acupuncture

Getting to know our members: Denise Scholz-Wulfing

October 4, 2021 by Anthea Boesenberg Leave a Comment

Denise Scholz-Wulfing in her home studio.

Denise has lived and worked in Europe and has travelled extensively throughout Asia, but she has always returned to her home in Sydney. After completing a B.A. in Visual Art from COFA in 1983, she continued her art practice, moving from painting and drawing to printmaking, (specifically etching) over the last 15 years. 

Her work is figurative and narrative in style and draws inspiration from her travels and the art that she had seen during those travels. She has taken particular delight in, and has been inspired by, the work of artists such as Pieter Bruegel and William Hogarth. She finds further inspiration in the world around her and uses various narratives to explore ideas, feelings and emotions. 

Her most recent etchings are strongly influenced by the purchase of land in the country and, while still populated by people, the images explore the bush, its landscape, iconography and symbolism.

Please visit the Artist’s page to see the range of her work: https://sydneyprintmakers.com.au/portfolio/denise-scholz-wulfing/

Denise Scholz-Wulfing - Paddocks with Gum Trees. Taylors Flat
Denise Scholz-Wulfing, Paddocks with Gum Trees, Taylors Flat, 2017 etching, 29x42cm

Denise describes her Practice:

My printmaking practice has developed over the years as I have refined my etching technique. My approach to etching is traditional, working with copper and zinc plates, and acid or ferric chloride. After applying a hard ground to the plate I then scratch the image onto the plate, I do this many times to develop the line work and in doing so the tonal contrast of my images. I then refine the image by adding aquatint to increase the tonal value. Generally, I work in black and white or sepia on a cream paper for the drama, contrast and clarity that this brings to my prints.


For me etching is the ideal tool to develop my drawn ideas. I have long admired the work of figurative artists who are moral or social and commentators. These artist/printmakers such a Pieter Bruegel, William Hogarth, William Blake and Francisco Goya, use drawing as a central part of their practice creating ‘stages’ on which their characters play. Often inspired directly by these artists I reference Biblical or mythological stories and combine them with personal imagery to give my etched images an extra dimension. 

Over the past few years I have increasingly used the landscape and natural environment as a metaphor for issues which are foremost in society, such as climate change and environmental degradation.


I continue the search for the ideal combination of subject and form, experimenting lately with collaging and reworking old prints into mixed media constructions.

Denise Scholz-Wulfing, Bird &, mixed media, etching, collage, wood, 20 x 40cm.

Filed Under: Artist Portfolio, Artist's Talk, Artists Profiles Tagged With: collage, Denise Scholtz Wulfing, Etching, iconography, Landscape, mixed media, Pieter Bruegel, William Hogarth

Artists in Conversation with the exhibition curator, Katherine Roberts, Manly Art Gallery and Museum: Angus Fisher

August 23, 2021 by Anthea Boesenberg Leave a Comment

Angus Fisher, Fish Trap, etching, edition of 10, 56 x 76cm Courtesy of Australian Galleries

How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?

The work is representational but is made reductively, focusing on the shapes, spaces and atmosphere connecting the subjects. The edges are only created through a removal of what’s between. Broadly, the print explores how we interconnect with our surroundings and the veil that exists between what we perceive as ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’. At a time where the world is on the edge of a precipice, an awareness of this divide, leading to a more holistic vision of ‘nature’ is perhaps our only salvation.

Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?

Recently I’ve made a few works burnishing aquatints and working reductively. I heavily darken the entirety of my plates with an aquatint then work back into them with scrapers and burnishers smoothing the surface texture of the plate like a traditional mezzotint. Previously I’ve taken care with the technique and aimed to achieve a softness a finesse but for this image I worked quickly using only large scraping tools hoping to achieve a sense of physicality and movement in the final marks and a sense of tactility in the removed areas of the plate. 

Tools and plate in the process of burnishing the aquatint.

What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?

Sydney printmakers has an important role bringing together printmakers and continuing to provide opportunity for connection and discussion amongst members and the printmaking community. The organisation provides a distinguished platform for printmakers to present themselves as a united front and grants access to unique and exciting exhibiting possibilities. The role of the Sydney Printmakers in disseminating printmaking into the public sphere continues to be of vital importance.  

How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?

Printmaking is an art practice inherently linked to technologies. From the most primitive forms of mark making to the utilisation of cutting edge technology, under its skin printmaking is a rolling commentary on the progression of how we communicate and how we make marks on each other. The role of printmaking in contemporary art practice is strong and I believe it really can only get stronger as it’s horizons widen and it’s playing field naturally becomes larger.  

Filed Under: Artist's Talk, Exhibitions Tagged With: 60th Anniversary of Sydney Printmakers, Angus Fisher, aquatint, Etching, Katherine Roberts, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, mezzotint, reductive printmaking, scraping, To The Edges

Artists in Conversation with the Exhibition Curator, Katherine Roberts, Manly Art Gallery and Museum: Carmen Ky.

August 18, 2021 by Anthea Boesenberg 2 Comments

Rainforest Meets the Sea, Collagraph, etching, watercolour, encaustic wax on Hahnemuhle paper, 74.5 x 59cm each panel.

How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?

Consisting of six connecting panels, each one complete also in its own right, this work is thematically concerned with edges. Titled Rainforest Meets the Sea connects my current environment: a narrow coastal strip at the edge of the Royal National Park, nestled under the Illawarra Escarpment to the South Coast of NSW. My home and studio adjoin remains of subtropical rainforest with a short walk to the ocean. Here the edges of the land meet the sea, feeding into the concept of To the Edges.          

Always living next to large bodies of water and in bushland, I inhabit and respond to natural elemental environments. The ambience of the natural elements reaffirms my research into the philosophy of the Five Elements as interpreted in Tibetan Buddhism and takes my work to the edges of Eastern philosophy and Western art. This was further explored in my Master of Philosophy degree completed at ANU in 2020.

Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?

For this project I pushed my printmaking to the edges of becoming a painting by including a few of the mediums that I employ when painting: watercolour, collage and encaustic wax. Starting with washes of watercolour, I then printed collograph shapes reminiscent of sea weeds or tree trunks, next I tore my etchings into evocative shapes suggestive of deep-sea creatures or rainforest forms and collaged them into the work. This was followed by painting a series of white spheres and ovals to add connecting sparks of light in each panel. 

I love using encaustic wax when painting, however a challenge in applying it to paper is that it becomes partly absorbed while using a heat gun to spread the wax and thus changes the tone of the paper. Firstly, I stabilized the paper by gluing it to well-sealed boards and defined the shapes that I wanted to remain white by applying white paint to those areas. eg: the white spheres. This incurs another small challenge: painting white on white paper, makes it hard to evaluate the spatial depth of the work … until the wax is burned in. The whole process is labour intensive and the encaustic wax is toxic, so it involves wearing a protective mask. However, the resulting smooth protective coating produces a beautiful luminous quality to the work.

What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?

I see the Sydney Printmakers continuing as a platform for members to exhibit and embracing new members and methods of print and supporting change. 

How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?

Printmaking will always be a part of contemporary art practice as an embedded tradition constantly changing to accommodate new approaches and media.

Filed Under: Artist's Talk, Exhibitions Tagged With: 60th Anniversary of Sydney Printmakers, Carmen Ky, collagraph, encaustic, Etching, Katherine Roberts, MAG&M, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, rainforest meets the sea, Sydney Printmakers, To The Edges, watercolour

Peebles Print Prize: Call for Entries

June 17, 2021 by Anthea Boesenberg Leave a Comment

  • It is an intaglio focused prize (techniques include drypoint, engraving, etching, mezzotint, aquatint, lino etching)
  • Hand colouring and further print applications acceptable in combination with the intaglio process

Not long left to get your entries in!

Go here for further information.

Dates

Submission call for entries begins Mar 25, 2021
Deadline for entries Jun 30, 2021
Finalists announced mid-Jul, 2021
Delivery of framed works Aug 10 – 14, 2021
Private opening & celebrations 11am Aug 28, 2021
Sponsor, artist & guest lunch 1pm Aug 28, 2021 at 360Q
Official public opening  August 29, 2021
Exhibition Aug 29th – Sep 27, 2021
PPP21 Peoples’ Choice draw announced Sun Sep 26, 2021 at 4pm

 

Filed Under: Call for Entries, Print Prizes, Prizes Tagged With: aquatint, drypoint, engraving, Etching, Graham Peebles, intaglio, Lino Etching, mezzotint, Peebles Print Prize, Queenscliff Gallery Victoria

Megalo Intaglio Online Exhibition Call for Entries

June 4, 2021 by Anthea Boesenberg Leave a Comment

INTAGLIO ONLINE EXHIBITION 2021: SUBMISSIONS CLOSE MONDAY 28 JUNE

Megalo is now taking submissions for our fourth online exhibition for 2021 celebrating the art of intaglio.  To be eligible works must incorporate intaglio processes, such as drypoint, etching or aquatint. 

This exhibition is free to enter and now open to national and international artists.  Artists may submit one work with a high-res image through the Megalo Print Studio website portal before 5pm Monday 28 June.

For terms and conditions and to submit your work, head to the Megalo website.

Filed Under: Call for Entries, Exhibitions, Online Exhibitions Tagged With: aquatint, call for entries., dry point, Etching, intaglio, Megalo Print Studio, Online Exhibition

Michael Kempson @ Flinders Street Gallery

July 28, 2019 by Anthea Boesenberg Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Exhibitions Tagged With: aquatint, Etching, Flinders Street Gallery, Michael Kempson, Tree Making

‘A Poetry of Ideas in Print’ at Art Space on The Concourse

March 19, 2019 by Anthea Boesenberg Leave a Comment

Angus Fisher’s Pied Cormorant will be shown at the Sydney Printmakers show at The Concourse along with works from 40 other artists. Come and have a look!

The show is open  from the 20th of March to the 7th April, with the Official Opening on Saturday 23rd from 3pm to 5pm by Dr Therese Kenyon.

Hours: Wednesday to Friday 11am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4pm.

Filed Under: Art Month in Sydney, Exhibitions Tagged With: A Poetry of Ideas in Print, Angus Fisher, Art Space on the concourse, copper etching, Etching, etching process, Hand coloured, Pied Cormorant, Sydney Art Month, Sydney Printmakers

New Members 2018: Maximilian Gosling

October 30, 2018 by sydprint 1 Comment

Max graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) and a Studio Masters in Printmaking from UNSW Art and Design. He spent 2013 co-running Varietê Gallery in Guadalajara, Mexico and presently lives and works in Sydney. He is currently working on a fictional narrative based in a world ruled by badgers set 3000 years in our future.

Max’s website is http://www.maximiliangosling.com

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: aquatint, Etching, Maximilian Gosling, Mexico, Sydney College of the Arts

Open Bite Printmakers

June 6, 2017 by sydprint Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Exhibitions Tagged With: Bondi Pavilion Gallery, collagraph, Endless Summer, Etching, Exhibition, Linocut, lithograph, mono Print, Open Bite Printmakers, screenprint., woodblock

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