Franklin Arts Festival, 1-9 Sept, Pukekohe

Franklin Arts Festival is an annual celebration of visual arts held in Pukekohe,

showcasing the work of talented artists from not only the Franklin District,

but from all over New Zealand.

The Festival opens on Saturday 1 September at the Pukekohe Town Hall

and it is open to the public til the following Sunday.

Esther Hansen, 2nd prize in 2011 for Painting Mixed Media

This is the first year they have included a section for Printmaking & Works on Paper,

so it will be interesting to see what is entered. 

There is a $5 entry fee. All works of art are for sale.

Pressed Letters, til 23Sept, Christchurch

Pressed Letters: Fine Printing in New Zealand Since 1975 opened yesterday at the Central Library Peterborough

and it will be exhibited until 23 September 2012

During the 1970s traditional techniques of letterpress printing

were replaced with modern digital technologies.

However, many printers worldwide have continued to use 'obsolete' methods of printing,

establishing private presses and producing high-quality, hand-made books.

This exhibition highlights the collaborative ethic that often exists between poets, artists and printers.

Featuring titles from Joanna Margaret Paul, Ian Wedde, Bill Manhire, Ralph Hotere,

Jenny Bornholdt, Alan Loney, Max Gimblett, Leo Bensemann, Bill Sutton, Michelle Leggot,

Gretchen Albrecht, Gregory O'Brien, Tara McLeod and Brendan O'Brien.

So if you are in Christchurch it would be worth a visit

or check out Christchurch Art Gallery website for more information.

Biblia Abiblia, til 3Sept, Christchurch



This exhibition is part of The Press Christchurch Writers' Festival 2012

and can be viewed until 3 September in the Atrium and Library.

Biblia Abiblia (books that are not books) provokes and challenges us in our perceptions

of what makes a book, by introducing people to non-traditional techniques of book making.

Art and altered books may be unfamiliar to some, and the challenge of this format

coupled with the challenge to the viewer of where to for the book from here

will inform some stimulating thought and debate.

You have the opportunity to learn about the techniques of art books.

The Altered Books exhibited have been specifically created

from books that are no longer in use by the CPIT Library for Biblia Abiblia by invited artists

Bing Dawe, Graham Bennett, Maureen Lander, Wayne Youle and Tony Bond, Katharina Jaeger,

Kiri Te Wake, Phil Aitken, Carol King Dorothee Pauli and Ying Hua Jiang.

Biblia Abiblia exhibition showcases a selection of student work

from the Book Art and Printmaking programme that is part of the Bachelor of Design at CPIT,

taught by Michael Reed Printmaker and Senior Academic Staff Member

and Ying Hua Jiang who has extensive knowledge and experience

in the art of bookmaking in both European and Asian traditions.

Jiang is a well-regarded local practitioner of bookbinding/making.

Visitors to the exhibition maybe surprised to discover the breadth of the CPIT Artwork Collection

which includes several artists’ books with works from British artist Ron King

and the 12 Laments and One by Hone Tuwhare and 12 New Zealand printmakers

on show alongside works loaned from private collections, by national and international artists.

Completing the show is photographic and filmed footage

of the processes involved in the making of a handmade book,

and showing the complete contents of the books on display.

Géricult to Gauguin, to 30Sept, Oamaru

Géricult to Gauguin: Printmaking in France 1820-1900,

a Te Papa touring exhibition is open at Forrester Gallery in Oamaru

and includes work by Géricult, Gauguin, Manet, Pissarro, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Forrester Gallery exhibitions curator Alice Lake-Hammond said

the exhibition illustrated the revival of printmaking that occurred in France

in the second half of the 19th century

and highlighted the rediscovery of printmaking as a medium for creative expression.

"Géricult to Gauguin illustrates an exciting time for the medium of printmaking

between the years 1820-1900," Ms Lake-Hammond said.

"Before this period, printmaking was not considered an art form but rather a means of communication.

It wasn't until the 18th century that art prints began to be considered as originals

and not until the 19th century, with the invention of steam-powered printing presses,

that artists began to embrace the more traditional printing techniques,

such as etching, woodcuts and lithographs, and produce limited edition works."

In addition to the French masters, the Forrester Gallery will be showing a selection of prints

from the Gallery's permanent collection, demonstrating the continued use of printmaking

for creative expression and fine art in Otago.

Prints have been selected for display from the gallery's permanent collection

to demonstrate its continued popularity as a means of artistic expression.

These include work by artists such as Graham Sydney, Barry Cleavin, and John Mitchell.

"It has been a pleasure to delve into our own collection

to select an equally as inspiring group of works from the Otago region,

which hold their own quite comfortably alongside the masters."

Géricult to Gauguin: Printmaking in France 1820-1900 opens in the Basement Gallery

while Impressions of Otago: Prints from the Forrester Collection

will be on display in the Side Gallery from September 1.

NZ Painting and Printmaking Award 2013

New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award 2013 will be judged by Blair French,

well known as a curator, writer and teacher, and currently executive director of Artspace in Sydney.

Click here to see the winners and other finalists for the 2012 NZPPA.

This lithograph by Paul Woodruffe
'Rahopara to Memorial Avenue'
won a Merit Prize in the 2012 NZPPA

Entries, including a photograph of the work,

must be submitted no later than 16 October 2012.

Download conditions of entry and entry form.

Cost $40 per entry. Prize of $20,000.