“Drawing is candid—like the news on the TV at night, printmaking is more like a movie-making, so many takes and reloads, clapper boards all the time” Brett Whiteley, 1.

Brett Whiteley’s great gift was his articulation of form through the drawn line. For Whiteley, drawing and painting, collage, printmaking all morphed—his vision was paramount. The process of making was the conduit that allowed it all to happen as he saw it in his mind. Whiteley’s print oeuvre was broad and varied—it extended from 1961 -1992, across some of the great print studios and printmakers around the world. He extracted what he desired from the individual mediums—the fine line of the etching plate for his Van Gogh inspired landscapes, the soft pastel on a lithography stone for the sensual line of the nude, and the screen print that accentuates the flattening of perspective he so admired.

Brett Whiteley brought the visual arts into the consciousness of Australia. He was more than an artist of his time—his vision has stayed in the DNA of Australian artists since, giving them license to explore their practice beyond formal restrictions. There is no doubt his spirit will continue to subliminally influence us for decades to come. This exhibition brings together 23 works on paper giving the audience a comprehensive feel for an artist deeply loved and collected. 

1.     Deutscher, Chris- The Complete Graphics 1961,1992 p.9

Ralph Hobbs
June 2020