Making their mark: Australian artist prints from the collection

3 September 2021 - 5 June 2022

Making their mark

Michael Kempson
Presents with presence (detail) 2013
etching on paper, 66.5 x 50cm
Tweed Regional Gallery collection
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM, 2013
© The artist

"When you consider what’s involved in the production of an original artist print, it’s genuinely fascinating. Look closely at any of these works and you can’t help but be impressed with the artists’ technical skills. Apart from the inherent draughtsmanship abilities required to realise their images, consider the engraving, the knowledge of the alchemy of chemicals, the expertise in engraving, and the precision in printing an edition of works.

There’s a physicality involved in printmaking too – the very idea of considering the size of the plate and printing an edition suggests an endurance and strength, often juxtaposed with the fragility of the paper the prints are transferred to. The artist’s judgement of the amount of ink required in creating those necessary tensions between positive and negative spaces in the resulting images is intriguing in itself. Too much or too little could ruin the work and transform the subtleties intrinsic to the artist’s message.

These artists have each made their mark on the landscape of Australian printmaking, and I am thrilled that so many fine works have made their way into the Gallery’s collection. This exhibition celebrates the astonishing and powerful medium of printmaking. Look closely at the marks, the scrapes and the scratches involved in these artists’ prints and discover and marvel in the beauty of the multiple.”

Susi Muddiman OAM
Gallery Director

A Tweed Regional Gallery initiative.