Barbie Kjar Lion Tides 2023 Mokulito drypoint relief print and stencils 380 x 224 cm
Congratulations to Barbie Kjar and Stephanie Monteith, who have both been selected as finalists in the 2023 Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award.
Now in its twelfth year, the biennial Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award is a significant national exhibition that aims to elevate the status of work on paper while supporting and promoting artists working with this medium. With awards totalling $26,000, the Award showcases outstanding art created with, on or about paper, and presents a diverse range of works including drawing, printmaking, collage, photography, sculpture, paper cuts and video.
This year Hazelhurst received entries from 890 artists from across Australia, from which 82 finalists – including Kjar and Monteith – were selected.
Kjar says of her work: “Lion tides occur when the earth, moon and sun are aligned at perigee and perihelion. It is a tide just after a new or full moon, when there is greatest difference between high or low tides, commonly known as big tides.
As an ocean swimmer I am aware of an underworld, a world under the water, a world which is deep, unknown, at times treacherous but also calm and clear. It is abstracted with hues of green, debris, seaweed, creatures, jellyfish, fish, currents, light, dense, choppy, wild, transformative.
Each time I came back to land I feel altered, in awe, and buffeted from a myriad of thoughts.I have delved into a magic zone. I have lived on the island of Tasmania most of my life, almost always next to the sea and have sea faring heritage in my ancestors. My artistic concerns are the rituals of human behaviour, connection to the natural world, identity, mythology and science, historical research and narratives. I am particularly interested in the impact of climate change, stories of the sea, navigation and the deep dark sea itself. Lion Tides is a reflection of my preoccupation with the sea.”
Stephanie Monteith Floral Arrangement 2022 graphite on paper 105 x 75 cm.
Monteith says of her work: “‘Floral Arrangement’ investigates a visual encounter. I find the activity of rendering a lived experience into a picture fulfilling. It is a process of abstraction that strangely enough results in an illusion of representation.
Drawing has always been essential to my art practice. For several years I have been developing drawings in response to observing shadows. ‘Floral Arrangement’ is the largest and most complex attempt at one of these shadow drawings.
These works relate to the tradition of “trompe-l’œil”. Translated from French to English, “trompe-l’œil” means ‘deceive the eye’. This is the name given to artworks or even architecture, where realistic imagery is used to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. This is a playful visual experience that I enjoy interpreting. Whilst the use of the phrase “trompe-l’œil” has fairly recent origins, the desire to create this type of illusion has ancient connections.”
Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award 2023
Hazelhurst Arts Centre
782 Kingsway, Gymea NSW 2227
16 September – 12 November 2023
Image above: Barbie Kjar Scarab 2022 mokulito 56 x 76 cm.
Join Barbie Kjar in a 2-day Mokulito workshop at Baldessin Studio on the 1st and 2nd of July, where she will be offering her artistic expertise on the processes and techniques of Mokulito (wood lithography).
Mokulito utilises and adapts the principles of lithography allowing you to print from a wooden surface rather than a stone or aluminium plate. Mokulito enables you to blend pure litho marks and sharp woodcut marks on the same piece of plywood using a wide range of drawing materials directly on the surface of the wood. No experience is required, just your enthusiasm!
Barbie Kjar is a Tasmanian artist (Masters of Fine Art at RMIT; Bachelor of Fine Arts and Education, University of Tasmania) with a special interest in Mokulito due to its ‘wonderful and spontaneous mark making potential’. In 2016 Kjar delved into Mokulito further learning directly from Ewa Budka at Art Print Residence in Arenys de Munt, Spain. Her interest was first sparked in 2004 when she was introduced to wood lithography at the Tokyo Art School during an Australia Council residency in Tokyo. Kjar is represented in state, regional and private collections and has completed numerous residencies around the world. Since 1986 she has held 36 solo exhibitions in Australia and more recently in Barcelona and Tokyo.
To secure a spot in the workshop, follow this link.
Mokulito (wood lithography) – Beginners – 2 day workshop with Barbie Kjar
The Baldessin Press & Studio
90 Shaftesbury Avenue, St Andrews
Saturday 1 July & Sunday 2 July 2023, 10am – 4pm
Barbie Kjar at Baldessin Studio.
Baldessin Studio.
Image above: Barbie Kjar Kelp Woman/ Cuttlefish with Eyes 2022 drypoint and relief print stencil, diptych edition of 15 76 x 112 cm. Reproduced with permission of the artist. Photography: Heath McKinley.
Barbie Kjar shares her experience completing a two-part artist residency at King Island, Tasmania in April and October 2022 in the article ‘From the wild ocean’, published in the upcoming autumn 2023 issue of Imprint Magazine.
Barbie Kjar: “The ocean is immense, chaotic, known and unknown, powerful, cleansing, enigmatic and dangerous…
Bull Kelp with Eyes 2022 charcoal, ink, salt, watercolour, conte drawing 112 x 76 cm. Reproduced with permission of the artist. Photography: Heath McKinley.
“During the two parts of the residency, I found King Island to be a spirited place, with the studio-house providing a rare space to think and make work without the complexity of urban life. Currie itself has a population of 765 and I found people to be very friendly. No one seems to be in a hurry…
“Inspired by all I saw in the museum and on the island, I began to create drawings with ink and watercolour. I experimented with salted ink which mirrored the effect of salt water. I also cut out stencils of kelp forms and experimented with drawings made of multiple segments. In the second part of the residency, I filmed the sea in its various guises…
Bull kelp drying on wooden racks at Kelp Pty Ltd, Currie, King Island, 2022. Photographer the artist. Reproduced with permission of the artist.
“This residency has been pivotal to the making of a new body of work, in which I am incorporating the images and objects I drew, reflecting different faces of the sea; it gave me time to experiment with techniques and concepts: artistically, I have moved in a new direction.”
The King Island Arts and Cultural Centre was established by Council in 2006. The Artist Residency is a key part of the centre’s activities, offering artists two or six weeks of unhindered creative time and space. Located in the picturesque Currie Wharf precinct, the centre includes workshop space and gallery and offers a glimpse into the uniqueness of the Island’s environment and cultural life.
Barbie Kjar is a Melbourne-based artist and educator working in printmaking, drawing and sculpture. Her work is focused on the rituals of human behaviour, the connection between human, animal, the natural world and stories of the sea. Her work is held in significant collections and Kjar has held thirty-eight solo exhibitions in Australia and international residencies in Rome, Tokyo, Barcelona, Mexico City, San Francisco and Skopelos.
Eel with Eyes 2022 drypoint and mokulito 56 x 76 cm edition of 10. Reproduced with permission of the artist. Photography: Heath McKinley.
Barbie Kjar will also be shown in two upcoming exhibitions in 2023: From the wild ocean at Tasmanian Maritime Museum, and Seven + Seven: printmaking across unknown terrain at Perc Tucker Gallery in Townsville.
From the wild ocean
Maritime Museum of Tasmania
16 Argyle Street, Hobart TAS 7000
22 April – 30 August 2023
Seven + Seven: printmaking across unknown terrain
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
253 Flinders Street, Townsville Qld 4810
9 June – 3 September 2023
Opening night: Friday 9 June 2023, 6pm for 6:30pm speeches.
Combining the work of Canadian and Australian printmakers, Seven + Seven: printmaking across unknown terrain explores the visual dialogue and ideas that manifest in contemporary printmaking. Curator Derek Besant (Canada) and Jo Lankester (Australia) exchanged views and notions about the vast and harsh environments on different continents situated in different hemispheres that have similarities with the country’s vastness and the treatment of First Nations peoples by British colonialism. They also discussed the difference between extreme weather in the locations where they choose to live and how this influences their art practice.
Artists include G.W. Bot, Janet Parker Smith, Barbie Kjar, Judy Watson, Wendy Murray, Timika Grant-Iramu, Rebecca Beardmore, John Dean, Liz Ingram + Bernd Hildebrandt, Jewel Shaw, Walter Jule, Alexandra Haeseker, Sean Caulfield, Derek Besant.
Barbie Kjar Eel with Eyes 2022 drypoint and mokulito 56 x 76 cm
About the residency
The King Island Artist Residency offers Tasmanian, national and international professional artists working in any artform between two to six weeks of creative time on King Island. Successful applicants will be provided with free accommodation and access to a vehicle and studio while on the Island. They are also invited to participate in the cultural life of King Island through informal exchanges with local artists and the community.
King Island has deserted pristine beaches, four lighthouses, migratory birds, multiple shipwrecks, lush green pastures and lots of kelp and cows. There’s an abundance of native flora and fauna and introduced exotic birds. Look out for bush turkey, peacock, pheasant and other wildlife, particularly early morning and at dusk.
The climate is mild but the weather is changeable and can get very windy with wild storms as the island is in the path of the Roaring 40’s. Locals are relaxed and friendly. There’s a sense of close-knit community and a refreshing feeling of safety.
King Island Council established the King Island Arts and Cultural Centre in 2006. The King Island Artist Residency is part of the centre’s activities, and as well as offering visiting artists unhindered creative time and space, it plays an important role in encouraging and inspiring artists in the local community. Located in the picturesque Currie Wharf precinct, the centre includes workshop space and a newly refurbished gallery and offers a glimpse into the uniqueness of the island’s environment and its cultural life.
Barbie Kjar – Artist’s Proposal
My proposal involves researching stories of the sea and maritime histories on King Island in preparation for a solo exhibition at the Maritime Museum in Hobart in December 2023.
The ideas for this exhibition revolve around maritime navigation and will have three components:
1. Oar compass installation with projections of moving images of the sea on the oar head
2. Frieze of the deep water, what lies beneath the waterline
On one of the walls of the gallery I intend to create a large frieze of prints relating to creatures in the deep sea. This would be constructed of panels of prints, 90 x 76 cm in size. The techniques involved would include drypoint, wood lithography, relief print and monoprints.
3. Navigation by the night sky – the stars have been called the eyes of the sky. Stories of cosmology, constellations from north and south hemisphere. Using sky maps of stars I will create a large drawing representing idea of navigating by the stars.
The sky maps served many people; the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and indigenous people with a way of navigation. Hipparchus 9-190 BC to 120 BC created a catalogue of nearly 1,000 stars. In the scientific journal, ‘Cosmos’,Winter, 2021, Kirsten Banks writes about the history of Australia’s first people of reading the stars which dates 65,000 years and she refers to the planets making the pathway.
I plan to have a map of the South sky and North sky with significant stars used for sea navigation, overlaid with symbols sourced form historical/personal sources. My plan is to create drawings and prints during the residency.
I plan to do research at the King Island Historical Museum and do drawings on site of the maritime artefacts. I am interested in fragments of the shipwrecks in the museum and want to find out more about the boats shipwrecked off the coast of King Island. I also intend to travel to Cape Wickham lighthouse and do drawings on site. I would like to translate initial drawings into prints, drypoints and wood lithographs.
I will travel around King Island and to make short films of the sea. The residency on King Island would allow me visit various beaches, film the wild action of the sea and this footage will then be put on a loop and projected on the oar heads of the oar compass for the Maritime Museum exhibition in Hobart. I wish to engage with community by talking to fishermen/women and ask people who I meet about their stories of the sea.
We look forward to seeing the body of work Barbie creates during this residency. To read more about Barbie Kjar and view a selection of available works, visit our website here.