Christmas Eve at Moth Woman Press

 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. 

I’m looking forward to sharing more things bookish with you in 2024. At present, however, my prints, artist books and zines are taking a back seat to painting as I resume work for a solo show at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne, that’s booked in for the latter half of next year. All going well, some linocuts (including the work on the press bed above) and an artist book will be part of it too. 

Enjoy the Festive Season, everyone. See you in 2024!

Image on e-card: Deborah Klein, The Heavens Declare 1, 2022, linocut, 20 x 15 cm.

A book launch and an exhibition opening

After a hectic year, during which it was part of some significant exhibitions*, the Moth Woman Press artist book LEAVES OF ABSENCE is finally in one place long enough to be officially launched. The launch, which is less than a week away, will take place in the Melbourne Athenaeum Library on Friday, 24 November, from 6 - 8 pm.
 
The event is a double celebration; the library recently acquired a copy of the book and has invited me to be their artist-in-residence during Melbourne Rare Book Week in June/July 2018. 

Five days later, on Wednesday 29 November, my solo show, FALLEN WOMEN, opens at Tacit Contemporary Art. It will comprise a goodly selection of the work I've made since completing LEAVES OF ABSENCE. 

The exhibition runs until 17 December. I hope you'll have a chance to call in. 

*During 2017 LEAVES OF ABSENCE was included in Between the Sheets, the biennial international artist book exhibition at Gallery East, Perth, WA, which subsequently travelled to Australian Galleries, Melbourne. The book was also part of the touring exhibition, From the Bower, Patterns of Collecting, which had long and successful runs at Warrnambool Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ballarat. From the Bower will continue its run in 2018 - details TBA. LEAVES OF ABSENCE was also shortlisted for the Geelong Print Prize and the Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award. (See previous post).  

PRINTS 1987 - 2016: An ending and a beginning

The end of my solo exhibition, PRINTS 1987 - 2016 at Tacit Contemporary Art on Sunday afternoon, October 2, also marked something of a beginning. During the lead-up to the show, the date of the earliest work alerted Tacit's ever-vigilant Keith Lawrence to the fact that 2017 will mark a Significant Anniversary of my printmaking practice. Accordingly, a far larger exhibition, which will include several Moth Woman Press publications, is planned and already locked in for late next year. Watch for MWP's next post, when further details will be provided.

Meanwhile, warmest gratitude to exhibition curator, TJ Bateson and Tacit director, Keith Lawrence for their unwavering enthusiasm and support before, during and after the recent show, to the many people who came during its run, and to those who took the time and trouble send me their written responses.

The following installation views of PRINTS 1987 - 2016 were taken by Tim Gresham. Click on individual images for a clearer view.

PRINTS 1987 - 2016

 

Thalaina macfarlandi Moth Mask (2009, hand coloured linocut, 15 x 15 cm) 

Thalaina macfarlandi Moth Mask (2009) is one of four Moth Masks linocuts (1) selected by curator TJ Bateson for my solo show, PRINTS 1987 - 2016 at Tacit Contemporary Art. 

The exhibition launch is this evening, 14 September, from 6.30 – 8 pm. 

The Moth Masks series was the inspiration for one of my first fairytales, The Story of the Moth Masks, (2) and several of the moth-masked women appeared in my artist book, Women With Wings (2010). Moreover, the Moth Women were precursors to the dark and dangerous Moth Women Vigilantes, already the subject of numerous Moth Woman Press publications.

Tacit Contemporary Art

312 Johnston Street,

Abbotsford, Vic, 3067

tacitart.com.au

Phone: 0423 323 1888

Hours: Wednesday - Friday 11 am - 6 pm
Saturday - Sunday 11 - 5 pm

PRINTS 1987 – 2016 runs until 2 October.

(1) The other three are:
Cyana mericki Moth Mask (2009)
Birthana cleis Moth Mask (2009) and
Scoliacma biclora Moth Mask (2009).

(2) First published in There was once... the collected fairy tales, Moth Woman Press, 2009