Campbelltown City Bicentenial Art Gallery

International Prints

27 July – 2 September 2001

The Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery is privileged to be showing an extraordinary exhibition of twentieth century prints and artists’ books, from a private collection from 27 July to 2 September 2001.

The works in the show encompass the entire 20th century and range from the Dada movement of the 1920s, the Fauves movement of the early and mid century, the American Abstract Expressionists and Pop artists of the 1950s and 60s as well as recent works from Japanese artists.

The Dada movement, which came from the disillusionment in Europe following World War 1, claimed to be anti-art. The positive attributes of which art is usually associated, are absent from their art as they saw its status as irrelevant following the universal destruction of the war. "Destruction is also creation" was their creed and this led to an art that was full of protest and abstracted forms. Their ideas inspired many great names, such as Marcel Duchamp.

Dada artists whose work is featured in this show include Schwitters, Marinetti, Alechunsky, and especially Buchholz, who refused to be classified as a member of any movement, but who pioneered art that had no relationship to anything existing

One of the two most famous artists of the century, Matisse, is represented by two books and six screen prints. These works show the simplicity of line that Matisse is renown for and are beautiful black and white images.

Masters from the New York School, Motherwell, Dine and Albers are represented by significant works that show the rise of Abstract Expressionism and the Colour Field movements of the mid century.

Japanese artists have long been renown for their wood block prints but the works in this exhibition are from the 1980s and show how artists such as Tanaka and Hamaguchi have updated the techniques of screen-printing. These are beautiful still lifes that are faintly coloured on black paper.

Other major artists featured in this show include Francis, Nicholson, Tilson and van Doesburg.

This is a rare opportunity to see major works on paper by some of the century’s most famous artists and should not be missed.

The exhibition will be opened by Mr Lou Klepac, art historian and publisher of The Beagle Press on Thursday 2 August at 6.30 pm.

For further information contact the Gallery’s Curator on 02 4645 4333.

Phone: (02) 4645 4333 Fax: (02) 4645 4385 email: art.gallery@campbelltown.nsw.gov.au

Gallery hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10am–4pm, Sundays and Public Holidays 12noon–4pm. Mondays by appointment only. Admission is FREE.