Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 6 March 2016
Artists Exchange Portfolios ’23’ 2003 and ’33’ 2005
One exciting consequence of the Australian Art Collector 2003 article was an invitation by Rona Green to participate in an Artists Exchange Portfolio.
An odd coincidence, Charles Darwin University who were gifted the 33 Portfolio (below) in 2007, contacted me as I was writing this and selected my print from the portfolio for their PriNT@CDU exhibition from 27 February to 22 April 2016. I feel honoured as this exhibition is one of several across Australia to celebrate fifty years of the Print Council of Australia.
23 print artists exchange portfolio
23 consisted of collaborating with 23 other print artists and creating an image of 23 x 23 cm. The whole process was coordinated by Rona Green: a huge task. I worked diligently to create a unique work inspired by the idea and it took me two months to make Harmony & Discord but I found the whole process immensely satisfying and challenging. I was especially pleased with the work I created because it worked best in miniature and didn’t scale up.
Tony Stewart Harmony & Discord, 2003, 23 x 23 cm
My Artist Statement says:
Harmony & Discord was technically challenging. It involved an experiment in imposing squareness on what was inherently unsquare. I explored various approaches and media for the image, including BFK water colour paper, but I eventually came back to the Lambda Print for image quality.
I have used India as a theme in a series of works. Harmony & Discord is a comment on ease and unease in the relationship between Hindus and Moslems and its relevance to Indian culture.
The Artists Exchange Portfolio entitled ’23’ was completed in November 2003 and the artists each received a portfolio in December, which was a wonderful thing. The works were lovely. ’23’ also generated two exhibitions in Melbourne and Bendigo.
| 2003 November | ‘23’, Artists Exhange Portfolio (23 printmakers) 23x23 cm, coordinated by Rona Green, Melbourne |
| 2004 March | ‘23’ Exhibition, Port Jackson Press Australia, Melbourne |
| 2004 August | ‘23’ Exhibition, Phyllis Palmer Gallery, Bendigo |
33 print artists exchange portfolio
Rona Green contacted me again in to participate in another Artists Exchange Portfolio entitled ’33’ involving a collaboration of 33 artists and larger works 33×33 cm.
Tony Stewart Untitled, 2005, 33 x 33 cm
My Artist Statement says:
Untitled links at least two strands of my current work. One is a series of primal breadtags (some quite large) exploring aspects of colour and form, but also trying to make a statement with minimal props. Another is an exploration of ‘hidden worlds’.
All my work is about the interplay of technology and culture, and perhaps the increasingly transitory nature of both.
’33’ was completed in August 2005 and resulted in another wonderful portfolio and another exhibition at Port Jackson Press in Melbourne. One portfolio was gifted to Charles Darwin University in Darwin by Franck Gohler (one of the artists) in 2007 resulting in the ‘Gifted’ Exhibition in October 2007. I was just told the other day that my work in the porfolio has been selected for a new exhibition entitled ‘priNT@CDU’ from 26 February to 22 April, 2016.
| 2005 August | ‘33’, Artist’s Exhange Portfolio (33 printmakers) 33x33 cm, coordinated by Rona Green, Melbourne |
| 2005 September | ‘33’ Exhibition, Port Jackson Press Australia, Melbourne |
| 2007 October | ‘Gifted’ Exhibition, Charles Darwin University, Darwin showcasing the 33 Portfolio |
| 2016 February | priNT@CDU Exhibition Untitled by Tony Stewart from the 33 Portfolio |
Comment
I’m still excited by these works. It has been interesting to contemplate them again. I’d be very interested in comments from people seeing them for the first time. Also, all praise must be given to Rona Green for all the hard work in getting these two portfolios together, because she achieved something very special in showcasing Australian print making in 2003 and 2005 at the beginning of the 21st century.
While employed at the Australian Print Workshop, Green initiated a similar project with APW access artists and staff titled ‘Minutia’. This was exhibited at the APW gallery in 2001.
Key Words: 23 print exchange portfolio, 33 print exchange portfolio, artists exchange portfolio, Rona Green, Tony Stewart
Further Information
The 23 Portfolio
List of Artists: Artists: Ray Arnold, Ken Bull, Jazmina Cininas, Warren Cooke, Marian Crawford, Dianne Fogwell, Belinda Fox, David Gatiss, Rona Green, Heather Hesterman, Martin King, Barbie Kjar, Deborah Klein, Suzanne Knight, Tim Lines, Marion Manifold, Jennifer Marshall, John Marshall, Rebecca Mayo, John Robinson, David Ryan, Tony Stewart and Deborah Williams.
Thanks to Rona Green for this. If you go to Rona Green’s lovely website (see below) News Section and type in 23 in the All News category. You will get a little more information and a view of Rona’s artwork included in the 23 Portfolio.
The 33 Portfolio
The 33 Portfolio
Charles Darwin University, Darwin has kindly put the works from the 33 Portfolio online. Click on each thumbnail for a larger copy of the artwork and the artist statement. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.
Other
Port Jackson Press Australia, Melbourne
Phyllis Palmer Gallery, Latrobe University, Bendigo
(posted in Hyderabad, India)