ARARAT - A special exhibition celebrating the achievements of legendary Grampians artist Nanette Bourke continues at the Ararat Regional Art Gallery.
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The exhibition will continue until June 29, 2014.
An accomplished printmaker for over thirty years, this exhibition highlights Nanette's achievement in the challenging medium of linocut printmaking.
Born in Plymouth, England in 1927, Nanette migrated to New Zealand with her parents in 1929.
In the early 1950s she moved from New Zealand to Sydney.
She joined a bushwalking club and her appreciation of the 'great outdoors' changed from the purely physical enjoyment of walking and camping in the bush to an awareness of the more subtle pleasures of the flowers, birds and animals, and a recognition of how many of them were threatened by man's activities.
From 1961 to 1971 Nanette attended classes at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney, but a move to Melbourne in 1972 consolidated her desire to become a professional artist.
She joined a printmaking class at CAE, hoping to add to her basic knowledge of linocuts as part of her wider practice.
However, her interest in linocuts was strengthened by a 1981 exhibition of Melbourne woodcuts and linocuts of the 1920s and 1930s.
The work of Napier Walter, Murray Griffin, but especially Eric Thake, opened her eyes to what a sophisticated medium this could be.
Since that time she has worked mostly in linocuts, both black and white and in colour, while still occasionally finding time to paint abstract landscapes.
Her Linocuts exhibition features works which capture the flora of the Grampians region together with works which comment on the impact of industrialisation on the natural world.
Prints from her Linocuts exhibition and from her extensive portfolio are available for purchase from MOCO Gallery, Halls Gap. Contact Monique on 03 5356 4664 or email advgolf@bigpond.com
Anthony Camm
Director
Ararat Regional Art Gallery