Messages from Artists, Messages from Akiruno: Neilton Clarke

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Neilton Clarke working at Art Studio Itsukaichi, Tokyo, Japan, during the inaugural residency, 1993.

‘Messages from Artists • Messages from Akiruno’ is the Art Studio Itsukaichi (ASI) Exhibition 2021, celebrating the longevity of the dedicated printmaking studio situated on the mountainous westside of the Tokyo metropolis, whose residency program has been running since 1993.

Curated by Jun Shirasu, in cooperation with the Art Studio Itsukaichi Operation Committee (ASIOC) and the Akiruno City Education Board (ACEB), the exhibition highlights artworks by over 80 artists, Japanese and foreign, made while undertaking residencies during the period from inception until 2019. The artworks are now a key part of the Akiruno City Collection.

Sydney Printmakers member Neilton Clarke undertook the inaugural 5-month residency in 1993 as an invitee of the Japan Foundation, subsequently living there, and where (pandemics aside) he still spends time.

Neilton Clarke, The Colloquial Gun (言葉遊び),
woodblock & copperplate relief print with embossing, 1993.

Produced during his residency, the editioned 5-part work entitled The Colloquial Gun (言葉遊び), also acquired by the National Gallery of Australia and Machida Museum of Graphic Arts (Tokyo), figures in the exhibition.

Including statements and related materials by the artists and curator, the exhibition runs 12th to 20th October across two venues, the Chuo Kominkan Gallery (Akigawa, Akiruno, Tokyo), and Itsukaichi Shimin Gallery (Itsukaichi, Akiruno, Tokyo).

More Information (in Japanese) HERE

Burnie Print Prize: Neilton Clarke

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Here’s the next Sydney Printmaker who is a finalist in the Burnie Print Prize.

Ring Reader: Hossawa to the Sea

(Unique-state woodblock & copperplate relief print, collage & embossing, 2020).

Hossawa is a Hinohara-area waterfall on the mountainous Tokyo-Yamanashi border, its waters feeding Akigawa River, in turn Tama River, Tokyo Bay, and finally the sea. The experience of the locale feeds into and informs my studio activity, having spent two-plus decades living there.
Countless hours spent exploring its cedar & pine-clad inclines on scooter and on foot make for indelible impressions, its maple, camelia, azalea & hydrangea groves amplifying the marked seasonal changes with bursts of colour.
The work’s bell-like ovoid forms have been hand-printed directly from prepared cedar log-end offcuts sourced from mountainside outposts. Their pronounced granular striations, carrying a record of the summer-winter growth alternations over many years, make for a kind of logbook in more senses than one.
Seismic-prone, being awoken by tremors & shakes in the early hours is part of the fabric of the everyday there. The collage-aesthetic employed here, with its capacity for fissure, juxtaposition, and also containment, lends itself well to addressing such kinds of dislocation.

The Opening of Borderless at Megalo Print Studio

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Sydney Printmakers who ventured to Canberra for the opening of our exhibition at Megalo had a wonderful time.  Alison Alder, past Director of Megalo, opened the exhibition, and Susan Baran talked about the history of Sydney Printmakers. Here are some photos from the Opening, and from the party afterwards at Mark Lewis and Dianne Fogwell’s place. The pizza oven got a good workout. Thanks to all at Megalo and especially to Dianne for such warm and generous hospitality. We even had a peek inside Dianne’s studio.

Second Workshop with Gary Shinfield and Irena Conomos

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Irena Conomos and Gary Shinfield are holding a second workshop in the Blue Mountains, from Tuesday 16th to Friday the 19th of January. This workshop will be similar to the first.

The basis of this workshop is an immersive experience responding to the environment, climatic conditions and nature in all its manifestations. Your work will be shaped by these experiences and any changes as they unfold.

From this exploration you will work independently developing your own ideas over the period of the workshop, working with two artists with many years experience in their respective fields of printmaking and photography.

Explore the Grose Valley and Blue Mountains National Park through daily excursion and research

Create through printmaking, drawing and photography

Develop your ideas in the studio.

In the workshop you will be working with multiple plates – 3 woodblocks and one piece of lino – to build a composite image or series of images. We will also explore ink painting in the landscape, the transfer of these onto blocks, etching lino, and various methods of multi plate printing.

Printmaker        Gary Shinfield   email: gary@garyshinfield.info

Photographer    Irena Conomos    email: irenaconomos@gmail.com

In this workshop you will be encouraged to explore photographically to move past the preconceived or familiar developing images using the photographs ability to reveal what is often unseen. The resulting work may remain as digital files for you to work on over time, images can be printed onsite or you can combine these with overprinting or as inspiration to draw on plates.

To receive workshop details and registration information please enquire on the above contacts. For accommodation options contact Gary Shinfield directly.

Blue Mountains Summer Workshop with Gary Shinfield and Irena Conomos

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A Site specific creative workshop exploring printmaking and photographyover 4 days and 3 nights from Monday January 8 to Thursday January 11, 2018  10am-4pm daily.

Printmaker        Gary Shinfield   email: gary@garyshinfield.info

Photographer    Irena Conomos    email: irenaconomos@gmail.com

Make connections with the surrounding area environment, and create in a studio in Medlow Bath.

Explorethe Grose Valley and Blue Mountains National Park through daily excursion and research

Create through printmaking, drawing and photography

Develop your ideas in the studio.

Pathways, woodcut and photopolymer print on 4 sheets of paper, UP

Gary Shinfield  2017

My recent work explores the idea of mapping journeys in the surrounding environment, and combining different printmaking techniques.

In the workshop you will be working with multiple plates – 3 woodblocks and one piece of lino – to build a composite image or series of images. We will also explore ink painting in the landscape, the transfer of these onto blocks, etching lino, and various methods of multi plate printing.

www.garyshinfield.info

Coat, Digital print Irena Conomos 2017

This image is based on a single photograph developed into a multiple, mirrored piece morphing into something organic and unknown.

In this workshop you will be encouraged to explore photographically to move past the preconceived or familiar developing images using the photographs ability to reveal what is often unseen. The resulting work may remain as digital files for you to work on over time, images can be printed onsite or you can combine these with overprinting or as inspiration to draw on plates.

The basis of this workshop is an immersive experience responding to the environment, climatic conditions and nature in all its manifestations. Your work will be shaped by these experiences and any changes as they unfold.

From this exploration you will work independently developing your own ideas over the period of the workshop, working with two artists with many years experience in their respective fields of printmaking and photography.

To receive workshop details and registration information please enquire on the above contacts. For accommodation options contact Gary Shinfield directly.