Martin King now and then Exhibition

Master printmaker, draftsman and painter Martin King was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1957. Martin graduated with a diploma in Fine Art and Design from Caulfield Institute of Technology, Melbourne in 1978 and then again with a post-graduate Diploma in Fine Art from Sydney College of the Arts in 1982. In 2002, Martin graduated from Monash University with a Master of Fine Arts.

Martin King has been awarded numerous Artist Residencies both in Australia and Internationally. In 1983, he was awarded the Artist in Residence program with the M. Karolyi Foundation in Vence, France, from which he decided to live and work in France, Spain and London from 1984. In 2006 was awarded the artist in residence with the Australis Expedition in South Georgia and Sub-Antarctica. Again in 2015 King was awarded an artist in residence program with Amazigh Artist Tour in Morocco.

In 1996, King was invited to work with Aboriginal artists on printmaking projects in Jilamara, Melville Island in the NT. Again, in 2000, he worked with Aboriginal communities in Millijidee, WA.

From 1990 onwards King has frequently lectured in Printmaking at the Victorian College of the Arts. From 1994 to 2017, Martin was the senior Printmaker at the Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne.

Martin King has had over 50 solo exhibitions throughout Australia and has featured in numerous group exhibitions both in Australia and internationally. Martin’s work also features in many prominent collections including the British Museum, Carleton College Library, Minnesota, USA, Bahrat Bhavan India, Bihar Museum, India, M. Karolyi Foundation, France, the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery Victoria, Art Gallery NSW, State Library of Victoria, and the Parliament House Collection, Canberra.

Martin King won the 2023 WAMA Art Prize with his work tree of life, journey of lost souls in twenty volumes No.2. In 2022 Martin won the National Print and Drawing Prize, Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery and he also won the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award 2022. In 2019 King was awarded both the Muswellbrook Drawing Prize and the Gallipoli Art Prize.

From 1994-2023 Martin worked as a Senior Printmaker at the Australian Print Workshop in Melbourne.

Martin currently lives and works in Melbourne.

Bundadjaany-galang Exhibition

To celebrate NAIDOC week this exhibition features three First People’s artists Amy Daniel, Bernard Higgins and Claudia Haines.

Amy Daniel is a proud Nukunu and Wilyakali woman. She was born and raised in Queanbeyan on the New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory border, with her ancestors being from Nukunu and Wilyakali country near Broken Hill and Port Augusta.

Amy grew up facing constant questions about her heritage and culture, partly from the negative comments of others in her community because she looked different. Whilst this made her angry, she now uses this experience to educate and help others.

When Amy was in year 2 there was an Aboriginal man named Uncle Duncan who came to her school to teach art and mentor. Amy immediately fell in love with painting and used it as an outlet for her creativity and to overcome the challenges she had when she was younger. She credits this experience with Uncle Duncan as her inspiration for creating art still today.

Since living on Wiradjuri country in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Amy has discovered the importance of being on and caring for Country. It’s this connection to Country, along with the lessons she learnt growing up about her heritage and culture, that are the main focuses of the art she creates today.

Wagga Wagga based animator, Bernard Higgins, is a proud Wiradyuri man who has graduated from the Charles Sturt University (CSU) with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Animation and Visual Effects), a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours, and a Graduate Certificate in Wiradyuri Language, Culture, and Heritage. His animations and films have been displayed in art galleries, and museums, across New South Wales. A collection of Bernard’s digital prints are celebrated in this exhibition.

Claudia Haines is developing her style as an artist with this being her first exhibition. Claudia is inspired by her family and the stories told to her by her grandmother.

Wagga’s Multicultural Youth Arts Group presents The World Around - an exhibition of works created in Wagga Wagga about the big, beautiful messy world that surrounds us.

Wagga’s Multicultural Youth Arts Group is a partnership between Create Hub Riverina and STARTTS Wagga Wagga facilitated by Claire Harris. This program is made possible through funding by Riverina Water.

Friends of the Gallery Art Auction Exhibition

Join us to celebrate the diverse, talented and generous artists of the Riverina with an exhibition of works that will go under the hammer as a fundraiser for Friends of the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery on 26th March.

The exhibition will feature works by Joel Markham, Juanita Maclaughlan, Juju Roche, Craig Couzens, Greg Carosi, Angela Champ, James Farley and Christina Reid among others.

Exhibition opening 9 March.

Dinner and Auction on the final day of the Archibald Exhibition in the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery on the 26th featuring Blak Douglas March 6pm tickets available here.

Bruno Leti Exhibition

In celebration of the launch of the book Bruno Leti Series A Life of Images by Thomas Middlemost, we are featuring a exhibition of selected works by Bruno.

Bruno Leti (born 1941), is a painter, printmaker, photographer and publisher of artists’ books. His semi-abstract etchings, woodcuts, aquatints, monoprints and collagraphs are well known in Australia through exhibitions and numerous publications. Leti’s paintings are closely related to his graphics, featuring elegant abstractions with restrained use of colour and balanced compositional aspect. Leti is also recognised as a leading figure in the genre of artists’ books, having published these regularly since the 1980s. Leti has been exhibiting regularly since the late 1960s in Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide as well as abroad, most notably in Chicago, Cologne, Kyoto, Milan, New York, and Washington DC.B

Thomas Middlemost is art curator at Charles Sturt University and has a PhD in art history from Australian National University. He was foundation chair of the Arts Advisory Committee City of Wagga Wagga from 2001 to 2009 a board member of the Council of Australian University Museums and Collections from 2007 to 2012 and interned at the Tate Modern in 2001. He is an irregular contributor to IMPRINT, the journal of the Print Council of Australia, and a printmaking friendly curator.

Comfort Binge

Comfort Binge - The Revenge brings together Liam’s bright and bold portrait style with favourite characters from popular culture.

Join us to celebrate art and life at the Art Auction Fundraiser for Chris Campbell. 

Chris Campbell's life was turned upside down when he dived over a wave while bodysurfing at Surf Beach at the tender age of 19 when he struck the sandbar and shattered his C5 and C6 vertebrae which severed his spinal cord and resulted in him being a quadriplegic. To pass the time he bought a kid painting kit and did his first painting of a volcano. Painting kept his mind busy giving less time to think.

By thinking outside the square, Chris invented some ways that he could get certain effects my canvases after watching a lot of YouTube video on the basics of painting he picked up some tips and methods on how to paint objects like trees, water and things like that. After around 250 paintings he started understanding the terms contrast lighting sources the use of colours and siding.

Chris has had two exhibitions in Tuross Heads, this will be his first in Wagga - his birthplace. There will be 22 works up for auction. You will receive a catalogue prior to the auction.

All money raised in the auction will go towards a new wheelchair for Chris so he can get on the beach.

Arthur Wicks Painted Sketches (1991-92).

The bones of these sketches were laid down on location. Maintaining the spirit and essence of place, at a particular point in time, requires speed of execution. From this there develops a sense of urgency which is characteristic of many of the sketches in this body of work. These fleeting images are a reimagining of that site; relying on the visual memory to sustain that first impression.

Check out the video - Four Seasons. A 12 month diary record from 27 December 1979 to 26 December 1980 at 18 Lampe Avenue Wagga Wagga here

Slides of some of the works can be viewed here