Painters as Printmakers

Many of New Zealand’s most significant painters have excelled at the less prestigious medium of printmaking, as the selection of modernist prints in the Painters as Printmakers exhibition will show.

Opening at the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu later this month, Painters as Printmakers is a group exhibition of prints produced by leading New Zealand painters over the past 50 years.

Using a selection of prints from the Gallery’s Collection, Painters as Printmakers will illustrate the importance of prints in many painters’ careers, focussing in particular on their collaborations with printmakers, says Gallery curator Peter Vangioni.

“Painters often work with print media that reflect their approach to painting,” he says.

“The precise nature of screen prints provided an ideal medium for Gordon Walters’ interest in the geometric abstraction found in his paintings, while Ralph Hotere’s lithographs reflect the same spontaneous manner as his paintings.”

Artists represented in the exhibition include Gordon Walters, Gretchen Albrecht, Patrick Hanly, Colin McCahon, Robin White, Shane Cotton, Philip Trusttum, Louise Henderson, Tony Fomison, Ralph Hotere, Tony de Lautour and Philippa Blair.

“For many New Zealand painters printmaking forms an important part of their oeuvre, providing opportunities to explore and develop themes and subjects in their paintings with a variety of different print-based mediums,” Mr Vangioni says.

“Many of the artists selected for Painters as Printmakers have worked closely with skilled printmakers and print workshops to produce their prints, and developed ongoing collaborative partnerships.

“These relationships allow the painter to fully develop and explore the possibilities involved in producing prints without the burden of having to master complex printmaking processes. Other painters, however, opt to explore and develop their knowledge and skills in printmaking on their own.”

“While prints are generally viewed as being less prestigious than paintings, they still attract many painters who enjoy the opportunity to use printmaking to explore themes found in their paintings.”



Painters as Printmakers opens at the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu on 19 October 2007 and runs till 20 January 2008. Admission free.