Tweed River Art Gallery’s latest exhibition is a stunning display of mezzotints by three of Australia’s masters in the medium.
The exhibition, entitled Corpse, showcases the work of artists Graeme Peebles, Anna Austin and Gregory Harrison.
All three artists specialise in the demanding printmaking technique of mezzotint, a method of limited edition intaglio printmaking which is believed to have originated in Holland in the early 16th century.
The artist works on a sheet of copper plate, initially using a curved tool with many fine teeth called a rocker. The rocker is worked over the surface of the plate, kicking up a mass of very fine metal burrs. This is done in many different directions until the copper plate resembles a piece of metal blotting paper, a process which takes many hours of intensive labour.
The artist then creates an image by using a variety of steel scrapers and burnishers to gradually remove the burrs, so less ink is held where the burrs are scraped. The fragile metal burrs can only create a relatively small number of prints before the plate wears out.
The use of mezzotint to reproduce an image virtually died out after the invention of lithography and, later, photography. In the mid 1950s, a small number of Japanese artists started using mezzotint to create original prints. This gradually led to a small revival of interest in mezzotints around the world.
Graeme Peebles started working in mezzotint in the mid 1970s. He was the first Australian artist to use it as the principal method of art practice and he continues to work in the medium. Greg Harrison began his mezzotint practice in Newcastle in the late 1990s and also still works exclusively in the medium. Anna Austin is a relative newcomer to the field, graduating in Adelaide in 2008.
Four years ago, the artists decided to work on a collaborative piece to mark the first time that three Australian artists had chosen the demanding medium of mezzotint.
The idea for Corpse, a limited edition artists’ book, was born over many meetings. Its images were created as “exquisite corpse” prints, based on the age-old game. Each artist worked blind on four half plates, not knowing what was on the other half and all three collaborated blind in the first image. A single “response” image was then produced as a personal reaction to the project. The resulting images are intriguing and a little spooky!
The exhibition also includes work produced individually, highlighting the diversity of their artistic pursuits with mezzotint and the wide range of effects that can be created through this demanding printmaking method.
Gallery Director Susi Muddiman said Graeme was one of six artists commissioned by the gallery as part of their 20th anniversary print project.
“I have followed Graeme’s fine work for many years and was keen to include his expertise in mezzotint in that project,” Miss Muddiman said.
“Graeme had such a good time here and was so taken with the gallery and the landscape that he contacted me to ask if I was interested in this rather bizarre project. I was keen from the outset because it had never been done before – that we know of – and I knew the prints would all be spectacular.”
The exhibition, floor talk, mezzotint demonstration and Q&A session will be held on Sunday, March 6 at 11am at Tweed River Art Gallery. Entry is free.
