Mark Graver, 18-30Jan, Kerikeri

An exhibition of Mark Graver's work, Constable Country,

is being shown at Art at Wharepuke from 18-30 January.

Constable Country is an on-going transdisciplinary project involving installation 

of found reproductions, printmaking, video, digital drawing and digital prints.

 "When I was young my grandmother used to take me to Dedham Vale in Suffolk 

where John Constable set some of his most famous paintings. 

 She also used to paint her own copies and sell these to friends 

sometimes changing the colours slightly to match their home décor.

Constable is a quintessentially English artist 

and I am struck by how many reproductions of his work I find in New Zealand. 

 I began collecting these reproductions from charity shops and from on-line auction sites.

Most people know at least some of Constable’s works through these reproductions in books, 

on tea towels and as framed ‘prints’ but few, particularly in New Zealand, 

will have seen the originals and few are aware 

that his major works are 121 x 182 cm in size.

The collected reproductions are displayed in groups 

that make up an area to show the size of these originals.

Also included is a print ‘The Hay Wain’ the same size as the original paintings, 

a digital iPad drawing made over a picture of The Hay Wain, 

 a video of the drawing that shows this process, 

and a commercially produced digital printed postcard of the same drawing arranged as a multiple.

The installation offers a number of different but connected dialogues such as:

My own childhood memories of place and my Grandmother,

The reproduction, assimilation and appropriation of old master works,

The introduction of the English landscape into New Zealand homes, a reminder of home and ancestry 

and/or another facet of the colonisation and anglicising of NZ by Europeans,

The nature of the original compared to the reproduction and the traditional 

versus the digital within contemporary printmaking."

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Sam Broad, 23Jan-23Feb, Wellington

Sam Broad's exhibition, Paper, Scissors, Rock and Roll

is on from 23 January to 23 February at Solander Gallery in Wellington

The opening function is on Wednesday 23 January from 5.30-7pm. 

Sam will be at the opening if you'd like to meet him.

Sam Broad explores the ridiculous in this exhibition of new woodcuts. 

Sam Broad, Buzzbomb, 2011
Woodcut, 21x21cm

"Born less from a populist uprising, more a popular exhaustion, 

these works propose a militarisation of childhood and economics. 

The worker, the queen and the hive have their futures assured in the comfy hierarchy of the colony. 

Pretty pics, ugly themes, c’mon Mum and Dad investors, wherever you are, 

accumulate, accumulate, accumulate (Sam Broad’s Artworks!). 

Photons guaranteed. Provide your own Rods and Cones."

Etch & Drypoint Workshop, 17-19Feb, Dunedin

There will be a 3-day printmaking workshop at the Dunedin School of Art 

with tutors Neil Emmerson and Kiri Mitchell, from 17-19 February.

 Your opportunity to learn the skill of etching and drypoint or add to your existing skill base.

Cost is $150 for 3 days, includes printmaking materials. 

Maximum of 12 students (16+ years old). 

For enquiries phone 4743249 or make a bookings via Customer Services Agency 

(Dunedin City Council, Civic Centre, 50 The Octagon) 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday. 

Payment required upon booking (cash or eftpos). 

James Tissot , Entre les deux mon coeur balance, 1877 
etching, drypoint 

This workshop coincides with the exhibition Géricault to Gauguin - Printmaking in France 1820-1900

which is showing at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery now until 17 March.

Some of the most renowned French artists of the 19th century are represented 

in this exhibition of etchings, drypoints, lithographs, and woodcuts 

from Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand’s permanent collection.

These exquisite prints represent a diverse range of styles and techniques and include works by members of the Barbizon school, and the impressionist and post-impressionist movements. The exhibition offers an opportunity to see work in another medium by artists who are better known as painters, such as Corot, Manet, and Renoir, as well as works by master printmakers such as Legros and Bracquemond.

Click here to see Dunedin Art Gallery's website for more information and opening hours etc. 

Sacred Voices, 12Jan-3Feb, Matakana

Charlotte Graham and Alexis Neal's exhibition Sacred Voices

will open at A Fine Line Gallery in Matakana, at 4:30pm on Saturday 12 January. 

Both artists will be at the Gallery for the opening if you'd like to meet them.

For those from Auckland or Northland, you may want to make a day of it, 

enjoying the Matakana Farmers' Markets (which run from 8am-1pm), 

have a leisurely lunch then visit the gallery at 4.30pm for the opening. 

Or stop in to see it any day 10am-5pm until 3 February

See www.afineline.co.nz for more information or directions etc.

Matiu Somes: On The Island, 19-21Jan, Wellington

Thought I'd pass on this info about some print events on Matiu Somes Island (Wellington Harbour)

over the Wellington Anniversary Weekend (19-21 January).

So if you are in the Wellington area you may want to check out these events:

"Matiu Somes: On The Island" Exhibition 

A selection of 14 works will be exhibited in the Caretakers Cottage on Matiu/Somes Island  

and will be open to the public from 10:30am-4pm each day over the weekend.

The exhibition provides an opportunity for visitors to the Island 

to experience the artist’s works in the direct context of the Island environment. 

The public will be able to gain valuable insight into the artist’s motivations and creative processes 

and more importantly reflect on their own experiences and thoughts 

on the Island’s stories, historical places, and environment. 

Workshop Experiences

Public printmaking workshops will also be conducted over the weekend 

and is an important opportunity for people of all ages to understand and appreciate the exhibition 

and the Island’s history and environment in a multi sensory way.

The workshop experience is not only an enjoyable process but provides a platform on which to 

explore, examine and discuss the significant historical places and stories surrounding Matiu Somes Island. 

By making a small piece of art to take away, visitors have a momento of their visit 

which potentially could generate conversations to a broad audience.

 Both workshop venues will operate from 10.30am until 3.30pm

and are suitable for adults and children as young as 8 with supervision by a parent.

Workshop 1: Screenprinting Workshop – Caretakers Cottage

This workshop will be run by Lynn Taylor who is a very experienced art tutor from Dunedin 

and one of the artists included in the Matiu Somes: The Next Chapter exhibition. 

Lynn will provide a number of silkscreens with prepared images from the Island for the public to print from 

using non toxic and environmentally friendly materials. 

There will also be opportunities for older participants to create their own paper cut stencils 

to screenprint their designs onto paper and fabric.

Workshop 2: Monoprint Workshop – Barracks Building

This workshop will be run by Basia Smolnicki and Vincent Drane 

who are both practicing printmaking artists and experienced art tutors. 

This workshop will introduce relief and monoprints on paper created 

from the surface of a variety of found objects such as feathers, leaves and grasses 

as well as prepared woodcuts that illustrate the diversity of wildlife on the Island. 

All materials will be nontoxic and environmentally friendly.

For more information, click here to see Solander Gallery's website.

Multi-Layered Print Workshop, 26-27Jan, Auckland

Artsight are offering a Multi-Layered Print Workshop (relief, intaglio and monoprint)
on 26-27 January, 10am-4pm at Artsight's Auckland Studio (5a Flower St, Eden Terrace)
It will be taught by Alexis Neal and is limited to 10 places. Cost $295.

Alexis Neal, Nga Rakau a Tu
Multi-Layered Print

This two day workshop is designed to develop new technical skills in the medium of print

from a traditional understanding to a contemporary art practice.

It is an opportunity for students to work through a number of ideas and conceptual frame works

to create their own artist language within this medium.

Students will explore multi layered printing from relief surfaces and dry point

using plexi plate, stencil cutting and other techniques to enhance their work.

It aims are to look at a variety of materials and mark making

through basic print processes to create a rich woven image.

‘It’s about introducing new ideas and skills that students can adopt and extend on, in their own practice’.

The studio day will be broken down by demonstrations in the morning to print preparation

and followed by good experimentation working towards a good understanding of the print processes

and to achieve a strong body of prints.

Also, there is another workshop on 2-3 February covering "The Business of Art".

For more information, or to register your interest, see Artsight's website:

http://www.artsight.co.nz/artist-workshops-auckland.html