The panel of judges, Mychael Barratt, Stanley Jones, Deborah Orr, Ciara Phillips, Trevor Price and Gill Saunders, selected 155 pieces from the thousands of submissions with no criteria or agenda beyond acknowledging those rare pieces that compelled them to enthusiastically raise their hands and say - yes please, let’s have that one! As an art organisation run by artists, the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers is constantly working to create longer-term opportunities for artists and to promote printmaking to a wider audience.
NATIONAL ORIGINAL PRINT EXHIBITION 2016
The National Original Print Exhibition, established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), is an international open submission exhibition celebrating the best of contemporary printmaking. Now in its second year the show has an exciting and diverse blend of work by emerging young artists and established professional printmakers.
TITLE Nancy Cambell In 1876 the French writer Marcellin Desboutin declared in tones of mock outrage that Edgar Degas was ‘no longer a friend, a man, an artist! He’s a zinc or copper plate blackened with printer’s ink, and plate and man are flattened together by his printing press whose mechanism has swallowed him completely! … He is a real poem! He talks only of metallurgists, lead casters, lithographers, planishers!’ Desboutin’s comments reveal the hard work, knowledge and dedication that is required of the great artist printmaker. Over a century on, Degas’ enthusiasm - one might say, his obsession - is shared by many other artists who have in turn been ‘swallowed’ by the printing press: discovering its possibilities, mastering its technical challenges, and committing their stamina to often physically demanding processes. The resulting artworks are just as thrilling and poetic as any of the experiments that Degas pursued in the workshops of Belle Époque Paris. But what good is all this alchemy with metallurgists and lead casters if the prints remain a wellkept secret in the studio? The National Original Print Exhibition brings original prints - many with ink still fresh from the press - to Bankside Gallery on London’s Southbank to be enjoyed by everyone. In this celebration of the best contemporary printmaking from around the world established names from the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers exhibit alongside enterprising students and other emerging artists. Since its establishment in 2014, the National Original Print Exhibition has become a significant date in the capital’s art calendar. The works on show, selected by prestigious judges from thousands of international entries, provide a fascinating survey of printmaking today. The techniques that Degas experimented with, such as lithography, can now
be seen as classics of a canon that is constantly embracing new forms of reproduction, from screenprint to digital. The extent of mood and scale that can be created using different techniques is dazzling, from the impulsive abstract strokes of Morgan Doyle’s monoprint Orange September to the intricate etching of botanical forms in Bamboo by Lars Nyberg. The original prints on the walls at Bankside Gallery may share a similar gold standard, but they display a wide range of styles and subject matter. Here the viewer can admire landscapes of remote regions hung in close proximity to depictions of the modern city, such as Colonsay-Machrins (towards Jura) by Brian Hindmarch and GD#1 Kanazawa by Laura Rosser. The marks made by an artist on the plate may evoke the layers of experience in a Welsh Miner’s face (Hilary Powell’s portrait of Simon Sam ‘Thomas’) or a fleeting expression of horror, as in Alice Irwin’s Faces of War; Leonie Bradley, meanwhile, depicts personality by what is absent, revealing the paper below the image in her wood engraving Feeling Invisible. Several works comment on global politics and culture, whether providing a satirical glance at the human condition (Hilary Paynter’s The Republican Candidate) or a transcendent vision of architectural achievement, in the Brooklyn Bridge series by Anne Desmet. The National Original Print Exhibition reveals printmaking to be just as exciting and experimental a pursuit today as it was in the time of the Impressionists. Come and discover the latest work from favourite artists and new names alike, and leave with a renewed appreciation for the art of printmaking - an art that enables us to see the world in ways both subtly and strikingly original.
EXHIBITION PRIZES
PRINTMAKING TODAY PRIZE An editorial feature in the magazine
ARTS CLUB CHARITABLE TRUST AWARD £1000 cash prize EAST LONDON PRINTMAKERS PRIZE One year’s full membership plus ten free open access sessions
BADGER PRESS AWARD Studio access to the value of £120 INTAGLIO PRINTMAKER PRIZE Materials to the value of £150
birmingham PRINTMAKERS
BIRMINGHAM PRINTMAKERS PRIZE £100 cash prize
DEBORAH ROSLUND HON RE PURCHASE PRIZE Purchase prize to the value of the selected print
GreatArt Price &Choice GREAT ART PRIZE Art materials vouchers to the value of £250 HAWTHORN PRINTMAKER SUPPLIES AWARD Materials to the value of £150
HOT BED PRESS BURSARY A six month’s residency including unlimited access to studio facilities, technical support, one course place, materials stipend - prize value £500
JOHN PURCELL PAPER AWARD £150 worth of paper
GALLERIES MAGAZINE PRIZE Full page colour advert
RK BURT EXHIBITION AWARD A solo show in the RK Burt Gallery
THE REGIONAL PRINT CENTRE WREXHAM AWARD One year’s membership to include free open studio access and two complimentary tickets to the annual Print Symposium
JUDGES
Mychael Barratt | President of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers Julia Beaumont-Jones | Print Historian & Author Bruce McLean | Artist Trevor Price | Vice President of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers Mike Taylor | Director of Paupers Press
SELECTED ARTISTS Ade Adesina Louisa Albani Ruth Ander John Angus Dana Ariel Margaret Ashman Philippe Auriol Michelle Avison Gino Ballantyne Martin Barrett Paul Bawden Sally Beaumont Melanie Bellis Alison Bernal Beata Bialek Lynne Blackburn Giulio Bonatti Elisabeth Bond Neil Bousfield Leonie Bradley Kate Brett Ian Brown John Bryce John Buck Jim Butler António Canau Judy Carpenter Samantha Cary Maria Teresa Peinado Ian Chamberlain Sara Clark Austin Cole Gianluca Craca Emily Crookshank Robert Cunnew Blaze Cyan Olga Danilova Louise Davies Diarmuid Delargy Marcus Delves Anne Desmet Peter Doubleday Grainne Dowling Morgan Doyle
Stephen Edwards Tabitha Fedden Pine Feroda David Ferry Peter Ford Ros Ford Sarah Frances Michele Fuirer Theresa Gadsby-Mourner Ramona Galardi Lavinia Gallie Colin Gillespie Veta Gorner Ken Gowers Terence Gravett Nick Greenglass Emma Gregory Michael Griffiths Rachel Grigor Vanessa Hall-Patch Joanna Ham Dorothy Hanna Brian Hindmarch Paul Hipkiss Wuon-Gean Ho John Hodder Paul Hogg Tessa Holmes Laura Hudson Gwilym Hughes Brian Innes Alice Irwin Lisa Ivory Barbara Jackson Matt Jukes Georgia Keeling John Kelly Anita Klein Emily Lang Martin Langford Peter Lawrence Ursula Leach Lisa Chang Lee Jonathan Lloyd
Ross loveday L LUCE Gail Mallatratt Sonia Martin Derek Mawudoku Astrid McGarrighan Stephen Mumberson Olenna Mokliak Elizabeth Moriarty Mika Murakami Jackie Newell Lars Nyberg Carolyn Oakley Steve Owen Helen Pakeman Hilary Paynter Sumi Perera Hilary Powell Robert Pugh Ian Rawlinson David Robertson Laura Rosser Marielle Schram John Scott Martin Margaret Sellars John Sexton Yoonjung Shim Nana Shiomi Peter S Smith Tim Southall Jane Stobart Julie Sullock Josephine Sumner Despina Symeou Stewart Taylor Paul Thirkell Sebastian Thomas Simon Tozer Edward Twohig Kirsten van Schreven Geri Waddington Jane Walker Roy Willingham Ruby Wright Minami Wrigley