Previous Exhibitions
The Art of Hall Thorpe & Ethleen Palmer
Woodcuts and Linoprints by two Australian master printmakers who expressed their personal artistic vision in works of timeless beauty.
A new show in association with Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney
Friday 13 November to Monday 21 December 2009
Hall Thorpe (1874–1947), the expatriate who lived most of his life in England, determined his woodcuts should be "wholesome in subject, cheerful in colour and decorative in design". His masterpiece, "the Country Bunch", c.1922, is the largest print of his career. Reputed to have taken Thorpe a year to make and using 15 blocks to separate its colours, it is the keystone work of this exhibition. Similarly, "Triptych: Kookaburra, Kangaroo, Koalas", 1940, anchors the works on exhibition by Ethleen Palmer (1906–1958). Palmer, whose childhood in the Far East influenced her aesthetic to such an extent that she was described in 1939 as ''...an Australian Hokusai", made Australian flora and fauna her special project. In a generation of astounding Australian women printmakers—think Preston, Spowers, Proctor and Teague, Ethleen Palmer was the undisputed virtuoso of the linocut. Using as many as 12 blocks to complete one print she was unstinting in her efforts to make prints of exceptional vibrancy, depth of colour and decorative appeal.
Both Thorpe and Palmer transcend any suggestion of their art being mired in 1920s conservatism through the sheer force of their talent; the phrase 'pretty with an edge' gets closer to the truth.
fYREGallery Director, Cheryl Hannah, is delighted to present her 10th show in association with Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney. View the pricelist.
