Just Paper - Presented by Maitland Regional Art Gallery by Maitland Regional Art Gallery

presented by

MAITLAND REGIONAL ART GALLERY

Maitland Regional Art Gallery

AGAPITOS/WILSON ANNUAL

EXHIBITION DATES: 2 MAY - 21 JUNE 2015

JUST PAPER

Just Paper is a series of exhibitions and events honouring the place of paper in art, the focus of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery’s collection of works on paper. It further celebrates the personality and work of Joe Eisenberg at the time of his retirement and as leadership at MRAG passes into other hands. There are seven exhibitions with work from over 250 artists as well as 127 events, activities and projects to mark this significant milestone in MRAG’s history. A festival.

Just paper

FROM THE MAYOR

On behalf of the Councillors of Maitland City Council it gives me the greatest of pleasure to celebrate the achievements of Maitland Regional Art Gallery through Just Paper – a series of seven exhibitions and multiple events focussed on the gallery’s Collection and achievements over the past decade. The award winning art gallery is one of Maitland’s premier attractions and reflects the aspirations of the city and the community it serves. Just Paper brings together all facets of gallery life and presents an open invitation for the people of, and visitors to, Maitland to appreciate the depth, diversity and significance of the Collection belonging to it. In so doing the suite of exhibitions and events comprising Just Paper breathes life into the city itself. Maitland City Council pays homage to the vision of long serving Cultural Director Joe Eisenberg OAM. He has added vitality and insurmountable value to the cultural fabric of Maitland in multiple ways; he is renowned for building the art gallery and its reputation, but lesser known are his contributions off-site through the Jewish Cemetery, the Maitland and District Historical Society, and most recently to the long term development of a sustainable museum. Just Paper further serves as a farewell to Joe on his retirement, yet this remarkable group of exhibitions creates a legacy, proving it will take generations of Maitland residents to retire of Joe Eisenberg. I warmly encourage you to bring your families, your friends, neighbours and visitors to take part in this unique celebration.

by Councillor Peter Blackmore Mayor, Maitland City Council

Maitland Regional Art Gallery

FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER

There is no question Maitland Regional Art

MRAG plays an indelible role in the community and

Gallery (MRAG) has won the hearts and minds

Just Paper includes many events to add value to this

of the city. It has also won countless awards and

reputation. There are now more than 40 volunteers

received accolades in competition with the most

on a weekly roster, 800+ Members led by a dynamic

significant of art museums nationally. All areas

committee of 7, actively providing creative learning

of Maitland City Council have contributed to this:

events such as Free Art Sunday each week. The

councillors, senior staff, administration teams,

art gallery boasts more than 100 children from 4

caretakers, gardeners and promotions staff – their

months to 16 years booked into weekly art classes,

contributions may be small, but significant. Yet it

not to mention students on excursion from pre-

is the MRAG team itself that has led the success

school to university level. The gallery shop has an

of the art gallery and I credit Joe Eisenberg OAM

annual turnover of more than $170,000, supported

with this. I am proud to acknowledge the personal

by artists nation-wide. Partnerships in health

and indefatigable effort Joe has made – not just

are being developed, through initiatives like

in building the art gallery, but also in creating an

Conversations: Art & Dementia – a respite program

erudite city in the process.

for patients and carers. The Maitland City Library,

The development of the MRAG Collection is one of the art gallery’s more significant achievements. Acquired almost entirely by donation, this unique cultural asset is valued at over $7m and platforms the sophistication of Maitland’s cultural identity.

University of the Third Age and, newly, the Olive Tree Markets are just some of the groups working with, in and from the art gallery on a regular basis. MRAG is part of the life-blood of our great city and Just Paper demonstrates its bright future.

Just Paper pays homage to this. More than 250 artists, galleries, students and philanthropists have generously contributed their time and own art collections to this one project. The Collection is owned by every resident of Maitland and we pledge to Joe and the donors who have come to Maitland through him that we will ensure its future for generations to come.

by David Evans General Manager, Maitland City Council

Just paper

010

THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING (NOT ME) 013

THE FULL MELODY by Joe Eisenberg

017

THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING ( N O T M E ) : LY R I C S

019

T O M W A I T S I N M A I T L A N D

by Anna Waldmann

024 026

136

AN EMPTY CHAIR: 10 YEARS OF PAPER by Cheryl Farrell

THE MAITLAND WONDER 151

THE MAITLAND WONDER: LES DARCY

by Maree Skene

153

154

ARTWORKS: A – Z

AN EMPTY CHAIR 139

148

ARTISTS: A – Z

TAKING ON LES DARCY by Kim Blunt

SHOWCASE No3

157

SHOWCASE No3: ARTWORK BY YEAR 7-12 LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS by Anne McLaughlin & Michelle Maartensz

Contents

158 164 168

176

ON THE MAKE

1 6 1

ON THE MAKE: A COLLECTION STORY

by Maree Skene

ASCENDANCE

166

ASCENDANCE: TREVOR WEEKES

by Kim Blunt

A GALLERY OF PEOPLE

170

A GALLERY OF PEOPLE: LOOKING BACK

by Anna Buxton Soldal

174

CATALOGUES

175

AWARDS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING (NOT ME)

Just paper

THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING (NOT ME)

(above) Tallulah Cunningham, Iron Mountain Joe, 2014 gouache reworked digital print, 30 x 21.5 cm

The piano has been drinking (not me)

THE FULL MELODY

Many years have passed since the late 1970s when

in gratis and they, the artists, responded with

I first worked as an arts public servant, at that time

unbridled and rewarding submissions, willing to

at the Crafts Council of NSW. Now it’s time to take

assist one more time, perhaps hoping that this

an interruption, a rest, because the audience needs

really is the last Eisenberg request. Who knows?

a break from me, my needs and demands, and

I have scribbled that this is the last time, too many

my creations and concepts. For the moment, this

times, too frequently.

is my last idea and adventure accompanied by a catalogue essay.

My request went out. A steady stream began to more than trickle its way to Maitland in the form

As part of a going away event I approached many,

of art on paper together with an agreement that,

perhaps too many, artists to take part in a final

at the end of the exhibition, the art gallery could

exhibition curated by me in my public role at

keep the works for its permanent works on paper

Maitland. Titled The piano has been drinking (not me),

collection. All this was requested and accepted

it was to be an exhibition constructed from artists’

but the avalanche was not. Little did I expect that

responses on and with paper to the lyrics of

more would arrive and continue to arrive. Very few

this celebrated Tom Waits’ song. The result is

declined, forgot or lost the request.

stupendous and very much more than expected. More artists than I ever possibly anticipated responded to my request and did so in a myriad of very unique and positive artistic styles.

I am lucky and so is the art gallery. I was rewarded and it is a wondrous privilege, one that will not be easily or readily repeated. I was briefly gnawed by vanity: egoism is an easy friend, a ready

Like a bird I went in search of seed to feed on

accomplice, always prepared to chomp a slice let

and my search yielded a bounty of sustenance

alone chew a chunk. However, common sense soon

that was delivered, carried and submitted ready

took over and I realised that the artists were once

to photograph and hang in the art gallery.

again demonstrating their often taken for granted

Nothing was inappropriate or thoughtless: all the

largesse and generosity. I had also forgotten,

participants joined the piano’s tune and played

momentarily, that the exhibition had legs and ones

merrily along with Tom Waits, joining in and

that stood firmly on curatorial correctness and

creating a cacophony of style and colour with

strength. Here was an opportunity to be part of a

paper. I am struck by the exactness, confused by the

unique exhibition.

abstraction, touched by the witticism, and moved in time to the music and the artists’ interactions with sound.

I trust that many of the artists responded positively to my request to make art employing paper because they could see a worthy rationale in The

As curator I was indulgent and not really formulaic

piano has been drinking (not me). Here was a proposal

and they, the artists were exuberant, solicitous and

to join with many fellow contemporary compatriots

created art that is diligently relevant and

and create an exhibition that could demonstrate

all-encompassing in spirit. I had once again gone

paper at its current best. And, indeed, that is what

begging, asking, almost demanding assistance

this exhibition reveals and exhibits: artists showing

Just paper

that given an idea and freedom (bound only by

I thank everyone who has been entangled in The

being a work on paper and size!) they validate their

piano has been drinking (not me) in whatever way

skills, dexterity, creativity and long established

including the menial, the secretarial, the practical,

knowledge by creating art at its paramount.

the cerebral, the artistic, the financial and the more academic. You have all supported and carried

So many artists and such a plethora of uniqueness

me on your shoulders. Again, thank you from the

with very little that can count as similar, analogous

bottom of my heart.

or even akin in process, idea or practice. The exhibition demonstrates that there are many

Finally, none of what I have achieved could have

Australian artists who can think modestly but

been done without Janis, my partner in life. She

deliver with great authority and enjoyment while

has read and corrected and even advised on tracts,

producing novel and intelligent reactions to poetic

essays and catalogues that I have written and

words. Waits’ The piano has been drinking (not me)

planned, and perhaps even thought about, for the

inspiring a drawing, photograph or print becomes a

public to enjoy. Thank you so, so much!

statement that captures the full melody, grittiness and tone in paper, unmatched and in rewarding visual and visionary ways. Some of the artists I have known for a long time, others I have befriended more recently and in the Hunter. All have treated the project with veracity and reacted in genuineness to The piano has been drinking (not me). Perhaps it is time to say good night as it seems I can no longer gauge artists’ reactions to the Eisenberg schemes. Here I knew was a good plan and an intriguing, personal curatorial conceit but the success still astounds and startles me! I began my public service arts career at the Crafts Council of NSW and finish now at Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Over the years many, many fellow staff members and volunteers, as well as artists and benefactors, made it all possible for me, just as The piano has been drinking (not me) demonstrates. I find myself, again, oh so happy, thankful and grateful.

by Joe Eisenberg Cultural Director

The piano has been drinking (not me)

(right) Euan Macleod, Dark figures in smoke, 2014 open-bite etching and aquatint on paper, 100 x 50 cm donated under the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts program by Pat Corrigan AM, 2015

(above) Mitch Storck, Tickle the ivories, 2014 ink on paper, 59.5 x 42 cm gift of the artist

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING (NOT ME) L Y R I C S | by Tom Waits

Gm7

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The piano has been drinking, my necktie is asleep And the combo went back to New York, the jukebox has to take a leak And the carpet needs a haircut, and the spotlight looks like a prison break And the telephone’s out of cigarettes, and the balcony is on the make And the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking...

And the menus are all freezing, and the light man’s blind in one eye And he can’t see out of the other And the piano-tuner’s got a hearing aid, and he showed up with his mother And the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking As the bouncer is a Sumo wrestler cream-puff casper milktoast And the owner is a mental midget with the I.Q. of a fence post ‘Cause the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking...

And you can’t find your waitress with a Geiger counter And she hates you and your friends and you just can’t get served without her And the box-office is drooling, and the bar stools are on fire And the newspapers were fooling, and the ash-trays have retired ‘Cause the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking The piano has been drinking, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me

by Tom Waits Musician

(above) Tanya Crothers, The piano has been drinking, 2014 collagraph, unique state, hand coloured, 76 x 50.5 cm gift of the artist

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

TOM WAITS IN MAITLAND

When we arrived in Australia at the end of the

Although they have not changed their heightened

1970s one of the first things we did was rent a TV

bathos in decades, it seems to me Tom Waits’

set. And one of our first encounters with Australian

songs were the Dadaist anthems of the 1970s

television was the Don Lane Show. The particular

generation, with the music, the lyrics and the

program I have in mind is Lane’s interview with

performance going hand in hand to create the

Tom Waits in late April 1979, in anticipation of

distinctive sound we’ve admired for such a long

his Australian tour. Smoking and spreading ash

time. The final ‘’stanzas’’ in our song go like this -

from his cigarette all over the studio and his host’s trousers, with a gravelly voice, a drunken mumble,

And you can’t find your waitress

a porkpie hat, funny and anarchic, Waits was

With a geiger counter

mesmerising and outrageous.

And she hates you and your friends And you just can’t get served without her

And so, a few decades later, to that child of the 70s, Joe Eisenberg’s swan-song at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery and his equally cheeky request: “I would like to have the biggest, contemporary, best, Tom Waits’ The piano has been drinking (not

And the box-office is drooling And the bar stools are on fire And the newspapers were fooling And the ash-trays have retired

me) work on paper exhibition created in part by

‘Cause the piano has been drinking

you for the greater good of the art world!!” Trust

The piano has been drinking

Joe and his almost 170 artists to turn the song’s

The piano has been drinking

gloomy scenario into something fresh, vital,

Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me.3

humorous even, and into an exhibition that looks like a snapshot of the very best in contemporary

What is the common thread of The piano has been

Australian art.

drinking (not me), a large and unruly exhibition

For the benefit of the very young “The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)” was one of the songs on the Small Change album, released in July 1976 on the Asylum Records label. It’s a skid row travelogue, a song steeped in whiskey and atmosphere in which

inspired by such despondent and chaotic music? It is, I would say, a homage to the creative narrative of two inspired individuals – Tom Waits, the musician and Joe Eisenberg, the curator and director par excellence.

Waits illuminates a dark world of bars and all-night

There are distinct themes that bind groups

diners, an Edward Hopper painting world. On the

of artworks, woven together through visual

All Music website Bill Janovitz quotes Waits telling

association and conceptual threads. What can

interviewer Bill Flanagan about how Small Change

be said in general is that the works are small in

came to be: “I was in Europe for the first time. I felt

scale but powerful in imagination. The deceptively

like a soldier far away from home and drunk on the

simple idea has produced an engagement with

corner with no money, lost. I had a hotel key and I

the song’s content by the direct or oblique

didn’t know where I was.”

representation that has taken a multiplicity of

Just paper

forms, all captivating and all enhanced by the

by GW Bot, pencil and graphite by Mostyn Bramley-

emotional personal link with the music, with Joe,

Moore, sand and pigment by Kate Briscoe, hand-

with the gallery and the local community.

coloured collagraph by Tanya Crothers, digital print

There are works which are delicate like a shivering mirage scribbled on paper by Alexander Arcus, Cressida Goddard, Ian Westacott and Fran Wachtel.

by Vivienne Dadour, pastel by Robert Dickerson, relief print cast by Ruth Faerber, synthetic polymer by Christopher Hodges, watercolour by Annette Iggulden, woodblock by Roslyn Kean, giclée by

There are works full of abstract expressive power by

Mark Kimber, charcoal by Peter Kingston and Vicki

Craig Gough, Adrian Lockhart, Kiera O’Toole, Peter

Varvaressos, gouache by Victor Majzner, tempera

Poulet, Paul Selwood and Dick Watkins.

by Glen Murray and, rather intriguingly, pianola

There are figurative works unfolding like a story by Salvatore Zofrea, Juliet Ackery, George Gittoes, Pamela Griffith, Greg Leong, Euan Macleod, Wendy Sharpe and Rachel Milne. There are enigmatic photographs by Lucy Barker, Carla Feltham, Deborah Pauuwe, Greg Weight and Mark Tedeschi.

roll and LED lighting by Cheryl Farrell, “1080 tiny stones arranged according to the laws of chance’’ by Lezlie Tilley, and discarded library book pages and wool by Ahn Wells. A singer’s sound and an artist’s rejoinder would be a good way to describe this exhibition. With the added dimension of the reason for this synaesthetic exercise: our response to Joe

There are many images of pianos by John

Eisenberg who, as always, swept us in his

Bloomfield, Gail Burrows, Tallulah Cunningham,

embrace. Because of this, the artists’ responses

Paul Connor, Michael Bell, Elisabeth Cummings,

have gone beyond the gift of a work of art into

Robyn Gordon and Debra Luccio.

personal comments, some as touching as the

There are cool works full of mysterious words and

art itself.

musical notes by Heather Ellyard, Nicola Hensel,

Some works are about Joe and the way his

Ron Royes, Joanna Kambourian & Darren Bryant,

friendship touched their life. Suzanne Archer says

Charlotte Drake-Brockman and Richard Tipping.

“for one Sag from another (that’s Sagittarius not

There are weird and wonderful creatures imagined by Dongwang Fan, Marie Hagerty, Helen Hopcroft, Lisa Kirkpatrick, Robyn & Eric Werkhoven and Reg Mombassa.

a reference to our aging selves!) - Time Waits for no Man but Tom Waits for Joe.’’ John Bloomfield remembers “my recollection of exhibiting with Joe in the past includes the celebration that followed the opening…and the next day required the severe

The piano has been drinking (not me) is an

reconstitution of all - over - Coffee and Cigarettes.’’

encyclopaedia of media: conté used by Tony

Robert Dickerson, who presented the art gallery

Ameneiro, acrylic by Suzanne Archer and Vivienne

with a pastel called The last post, offers “What needs

Binns, etching by Bob Baird and Christina Cordero,

to be said about Joe Eisenberg. There will be

ink by Charles Blackman and Helen Eager, linocut

trumpets playing at his swansong, that is for sure.”

The piano has been drinking (not me)

Heather Ellyard wrote a Dithyramb for Joe that goes

Some remarks are about how the art came to

like this:

be. Alexander Arcus explains “in this print I have endeavored to translate into a simple line image

It’s the piano has been drinking while the

a narrative that has no physical form or shape but

player plays goodbye and riffs a heaving last

a strong emotive value for me. I made the paper

hurrah. Not me, not me, not me, he sings the

from the inner bark of the paper mulberry trees that

sunset down. It’s the piano has been drinking

I grow in my garden.’’ Vivienne Binns’ Key space is,

not me he sings with one last Yiddish sigh

she describes, “made on lovely handmade paper

minor key and almost satisfied.

from Japan, fragile and tough, with a favourite long

Col Jordan is inspired to write a little poem as well,

haired liner brush and acrylic.’’ A few artists are contrary, arguing (playfully)

The piano has been drinking

against what they were asked to do. John Bartley

and this the star it saw

was motivated by a different song: “I have gone

it circulates in heaven

down a more melancholy path, inspired by a rather

and has not the slightest flaw.

smoky Frank Sinatra version of ‘One more for my Baby (and one more for the road)’ at the Royal

While Hanna Kay composed an eccentric ditty: my dancing shoes are idle ‘cause the carpet needs a haircut ‘cause the floor has been drinking Not me. There are many heartfelt thank-yous. Annette Iggulden comments “magnanimous, generous to a fault and as Joe Eisenberg himself wrote

Festival Hall in 1962.’’ Michelle Collocott’s Friendship celebration A is “jazz inspired in the placement of colour and surface’’. Also relating to jazz is Craig Gough who says “Block chords and the structures in the work, references the cool jazz sounds of New York to where Combo returned.” A different take on musical taste comes from Alun Leach-Jones who challenges: “this work is for Joe Eisenberg who I hope, much like me prefers Mozart and Handel to Tom Waits.”

‘who is counting when you are having art fun?’”

David Fairbairn connects his whimsical work with

Giselle Penn and Nathan Keogh observe that

other possibilities: “the lyrics in the Tom Waits

their work represents “a reflection of my feelings

song made it possible to imagine a ‘head’ (rather

towards Joe and the time that I have known him.

than a portrait) that was illuminated from behind

I have been amused and inspired by his extremely

and had a somewhat Jean Genet desperation and

unconventional approach to life. He is one of those

introspective feel to the image.’’ Pamela Griffith’s

special people we meet in life whom we become

California cool recalls her visits to Sebastopol

proud to know.’’ Judith White believes that “the Joe

(California), Tom Waits’ home territory and how

Eisenberg phenomena is like a rock being dropped

for her “if you read David Talbot’s bestselling book

into a still pond, sending out ripples that will

Season of the Witch you will get some idea of the

reverberate for many generations.’’

background to Waits inspiration and culture.’’

Just paper

Dongwang Fan turns his comments into an exotic

The freedom to respond as they wished has

story about “a dancing Chinese dragon [that] is

made artists happy to engage and to experiment

coming to Maitland invited by Joe. The Chinese folk

with manipulated images, deeply saturated

religion believes the dragons are just, benevolent,

colours, glowing sensual marks and graffiti-like

but also fearsome and powerful in battling against

ephemeral syntax.

evil spirits to protect its believers and bring them wealth and good fortune.” Also relating to things Chinese is Greg Leong’s High Tea at the Palace (from The Asian Century) in which, he explains “the main figures in this tableau however are two empresses from a former time taking tea. Born in 1835, Cixi the Empress Dowager ruled the Chinese government for 47 years ‘til she died in 1908. Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901) ascended the British throne in 1837, when Cixi was but 2 years old. The British empress started her long reign when her empire began to reap the benefits of the Opium Wars. The question is, 175 plus years on, whose palace is this High Tea being enjoyed at?’’ Tracy Luff writes a brief Chinese poem:

Many works in this show alter or revisit our view of the world, representing it not as we ‘know’ it to be, but rather as we innately sense or imagine it to be. That is the transformative gift of good art that taps the intersection of personal histories and distant idioms. The magic of a public gallery like Maitland rests on many elements. Some are its intellectual and artistic assets such as the collection, exhibitions, scholarship and public programs. Some are about its capacity to tell stories and reflect the history of the local communities. A significant element in its success is that visitors like being entertained and fed and want to spend money in sophisticated gift shops. Often a gallery is a special place for

梨 (li)

contemplation, separate from day-to-day concerns,

Li is simply the word for pear in Chinese

an oasis in our very busy lives. Most importantly,

It symbolises longevity or immortality.

visitors and communities are likely to drift away

In Chinese, Li also means to leave.

unless an art museum can connect with them

So when the Piano has been drinking

emotionally. Sir Nicholas Serota, director of

And things go pear-shaped,

Britain’s Tate galleries, describes his museum as

It is time to go.

“a forum as much as a treasure box”. How well this

How is it possible that there are so many reactions,

applies to the Maitland Regional Art Gallery!

styles, comments and inspirations? How come

Often it takes many decades for art museums to

everyone felt comfortable to interpret the request

find their place in the community, to belong.

and the music as they wished? How is it that a

Maitland Regional Art Gallery has a long history

plea for a work based on a song by Tom Waits

both as a physical structure and as a collection. The

elicited such divergent responses as the sedate

awe-inspiring design of the government architect,

Teapot and honey by John Bokor, the riotous literary

Colonel W. L. Vernon, served as Maitland Technical

interpretation of local girl Nell and the introspective

College from 1910 to1987. This Federation Gothic

Left-handed self portrait by Tom Carment?

building became Maitland Regional Art Gallery

The piano has been drinking (not me)

in 2003 and was enhanced in 2009 by an award

I guess we might never recover from the culture

winning extension and renovation.

shock of Joe Eisenberg’s departure. His twenty

It’s a much loved local institution with an outstanding collection that started in 1957, and boasts works by many of the best such as William Dobell, Margaret Olley, George Baldessin, Charles Blackman, Brett Whiteley, Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, Sidney Nolan, Tim Storrier, James Gleeson, Martin Sharp, Salvatore Zofrea, John Olsen, Euan Macleod, Ken Whisson, Dennis Nona and Lloyd Rees.

years in Armidale and ten years in Maitland transformed two average cities into hubs of artistic activity. We will miss his irresistible enthusiasm and energy, his vision, his benevolent and civilised dictatorship, his generous embrace and inclusiveness, all echoed in the provocative conversations of this sweeping and eccentric exhibition, The piano has been drinking (not me), that pays tribute to his work.

At 40, this is a grown-up regional gallery, a demonstration of pride, ambition as well as community trust that has found its place in the

ENDNOTES 1

Tom Waits Fan (website), http://www.tomwaitsfan.com/

Bill Flanagan, Written in My Soul, Conversations with Rock’s Great Songwriters,

national art ecology. In the past decade, through Joe Eisenberg’s leadership Maitland Regional Art Gallery has clicked into the unique place of substantial art galleries in NSW.

Contemporary Books, Chicago 1987, quoted on All Music (website), http://www.allmusic.com/ Lyrics by TOM WAITS © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC

Terrie Sultan, Chuck Close: Prints Process and Collaboration, Prestel, Germany, 2014, p.91

In the many years I’ve known and admired Joe, I felt he has been a subscriber to the view expressed by Chuck Close, the master of print-making who said “problem solving is greatly overvalued in our society. Problem creation is much more interesting’’.4 There are seldom grand narratives or epic tales surrounding Joe’s cultural exertions. There are lots of questions, there are complicated issues, philosophical monologues, a degree of confusion, a general whirlwind of creative problems resolved by creative magic. And, most importantly, there was and is great generosity of spirit. This exhibition, full of life, enthusiasm and talent is a round of applause for Joe the magician from the people he admires and enjoys most – artists. It is, at the same time, a guide and companion to contemporary Australian art, an image bank to

by Anna Waldmann

some of our very best.

Art Advisor

Just paper

ARTISTS

Juliet Ackery

Shirley Cameron-Roberts

Marie Hagerty

Steven Alderton

Tom Carment

Ben Hall

Tony Ameneiro

Sally Clarke

Judy Henry

Suzanne Archer Alexander Arcus

Jacqueline Clayton Paul Davis

Nicola Hensel Christopher Hodges Clare Hodgins

Bob Baird

Michelle Collocott

Lucy Barker

Rodney Holdaway

Paul Connor

John Bartley

Helen Hopcroft

Christina Cordero

Ruth Howard

Carol A. Beane

Tanya Crothers

Annie Hsiao-Wen Wang

Michael B Platt

Elisabeth Cummings

Michael Bell

Tallulah Cunningham

Annette Iggulden Rachael Ireland

Vivienne Binns

Vivienne Dadour

Charles Blackman

Fiona Davies

Liz Jeneid

Janie Bligh

Andy Devine

Nola Jones

John Bloomfield

Robert Dickerson

Shane Jones

John Bokor

Charlotte Drake-Brockman

Col Jordan

GW Bot

Helen Eager

Hanna Kay

Mostyn Bramley-Moore

Martin Edge

Roslyn Kean

Kate Briscoe

Heather Ellyard

Therese Kenyon

Michelle Brodie Michel Brouet Bill Brown

Ruth Faerber

Nathan Keogh

David Fairbairn

Giselle Penn

Dongwang Fan

Darren Bryant

Cheryl Farrell

Joanna Kambourian

Carla Feltham

Gail Burrows Anna Buxton Soldal

Christian Flynn Belinda Fox

Camille Kersley Mark Kimber Peter Kingston Lisa Kirkpatrick Deborah Klein

Michael Garth

Sherrie Knipe

George Gittoes

Graham Kuo

Cressida Goddard Richard Goodwin Robyn Gordon Craig Gough Ian Grant Linda Greedy Pamela Griffith

The piano has been drinking (not me)

Ross Laurie

Simone Paterson

Fran Wachtel

Alun Leach-Jones

Deborah Pauuwe

Ruth Waller

Greg Leong

Amanda Penrose-Hart

Dick Watkins

Kerrie Lester

Michelle Perry

Max Watters

Barbara Licha

Peter Pinson

Trevor Weekes

Victoria Lobregat

Peter Poulet

Clare Weeks

Adrian Lockhart Joanna Logue Debra Luccio Marco Luccio Tracy Luff

Karlee Rawkins Philippe Ribbons

Greg Weight Ahn Wells

Adrienne Richards

Eric Werkhoven

Leo Robba

Robyn Werkhoven

Brian Roberts

Ian Westacott

Michelle Maartensz

Catherine Rogers

Judith White

Euan Macleod

Ron Royes

Arthur Wicks

Tim Maguire

Susan Ryman

Martin Wilson

Victor Majzner

Judith Ryrie

Patricia Wilson-Adams

Paul Selwood

Madeline Winch

Wendy Sharpe

Maeve Woods

Gillean Shaw

Salvatore Zofrea

Claire Martin John Martin Henri Matisse Anne McLaughlin Max Miller Rachel Milne Reg Mombassa Annemarie Murland Glen Murray Nell Denese Oates Peter O’Doherty

Charlie Sheard Gary Shinfield John Smith Braddon Snape Arryn Snowball Ben Soedradjit Wendy Stavrianos Tyza Stewart Mitch Storck

Susan O’Doherty

Mark Tedeschi

Kiera O’Toole

Lezlie Tilley Richard Tipping John Turier Vanessa Turton Vicki Varvaressos

Just paper

(above) Juliet Ackery, Lyrical conversations, 2014 paper clay, earthenware clay, underglaze and oxides dimensions variable, gift of the artist

(right page) Steven Alderton “There’s a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there’s a little Darth Vader in all of us. Thing is, this ain’t no either-or proposition. We’re talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can’t hide. My experience? Face the darkness. Stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol’ dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes!” (Chris Stevens, Northern Exposure), 2015, digital print on archival paper, 75 x 75 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

JULIET ACKERY

STEVEN ALDERTON

Just paper

(left) Alexander Arcus, Letter from a distant friend, 2014 stencil print on handmade paper, 75 x 55 cm, gift of the artist (right) Tony Ameneiro, Floral Head - Borracho, 2015 conte on Kozo paper over collage elements, 52 x 47 cm, gift of the artist

(right page) Suzanne Archer, Time waits for no man but Tom Waits for Joe, 2014 acrylic on paper, 24.5 x 32 cm, gift of the artist (represented by Janet Clayton Gallery Sydney)

The piano has been drinking (not me)

TONY AMENEIRO

[Joe] ...becoming a niggling voice at the back of my head ‘Get on with it Archer’. - Suzanne Archer

SUZANNE ARCHER

ALEXANDER ARCUS

Just paper

(above) Lucy Barker, Treading on Lego #selfiesculpture, 2014 photograph, printed on Fuji Pearl photographic paper, 50.8 x 76.2 cm (photograph of artist’s installation at Sculpture by the Sea, 2014 by Geoff Magee), gift of the artist

(right page - top) John Bartley, One more for my baby, 2015 acrylic on paper, 42.5 x 62.5 cm, gift of the artist (right page - lower) Bob Baird, Terra firma (solid earth), 1977 etching and aquatint on paper, 86.7 x 65 cm gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

BOB BAIRD

LUCY BARKER

JOHN BARTLEY

Joe, if the piano has been drinking, and the carpet needs a haircut, they will no doubt need Terra Firma (solid earth) to support their dilemma! - Bob Baird

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

CAROL A. BEANE & MICHAEL B PLATT

(above) Michael Bell, Two friends in a bar, 2007-2014 gouache, ink, pencil, collage on paper, 39.3 x 29.3 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Carol A Beane and Michael B Platt, Past closing time, 2014 pigment print on Epson textured fine art paper, 76.2 x 63.5 cm, gift of the artists

MICHAEL BELL

Just paper

(above) Vivienne Binns, Key space, 2015 acrylic on handmade Japanese paper, 40.6 x 50 cm, gift of the artist (right page - top left) Janie Bligh, Music for Joe I, 2014, pastel on paper, 31.5 x 31.5 cm gift of the artist, encouragement from Max Miller and Simon Chan, Art Atrium Gallery

(right page - lower left) Janie Bligh, Music for Joe II, 2014, pastel on paper, 31.5 x 31 cm gift of the artist, encouragement from Max Miller and Simon Chan, Art Atrium Gallery (right page - right) Charles Blackman, Adagio for musical cats (detail), 2009 ink on paper, 42 x 30 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

VIVIENNE BINNS

CHARLES BLACKMAN

JANIE BLIGH

Just paper

My recollection of exhibiting with Joe in the past

On retiring, the musical notes of the evening

includes the celebration that followed the opening,

had blurred considerably - I was drunk as a

with great food, music and great company

piano drinking!

and friends.

- John Bloomfield

The piano has been drinking (not me)

JOHN BLOOMFIELD

JOHN BOKOR

(above) John Bokor, Teapot & honey, 2013, pencil and gesso on oil paper, 51 x 65 cm gift of the artist and Randi Linnegar, King Street Gallery (left page) John Bloomfield, Untitled – Rhapsody, 2014 UltraChrome pigment on Hahnemühle rag paper, 50 x 60 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

GW BOT

MOSTYN BRAMLEY-MOORE

I bump against a grand piano in our living room every day and I am often amazed at how a big, dark, handsome object can project such an incredible range of noises. It can whisper, converse, sing like a bird and howl at the sky... - Mostyn Bramley-Moore

(above) Mostyn Bramley-Moore, Birdsong, 2014 pencil, graphite and collage on paper, 38.5 x 28.5 cm, gift of the artist and Watters Gallery (left page) GW Bot, Eagle Glyph: Detail, 2014 linocut on paper, 68 x 53 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

KATE BRISCOE

MICHELLE BRODIE

MICHEL BROUET

(above) Michel Brouet, …and the piano tuner’s got a hearing aid…2015 gelatin silver print on paper (from handmade pinhole camera), 45.5 x 58 cm, gift of the artist

(left page - left) Kate Briscoe, Cliff face with piano, 2014 sand, pigments, acrylic on Arches paper, 52 x 47 cm, gift of the artist (left page - right) Michelle Brodie, Counterpoint, 2013 mixed media, collage, coloured pencil, pencil on paper, 42 x 29.5 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

(top left) Darren Bryant and Joanna Kambourian, “I’d rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy!”, 2015 relief print on Hahnemühle paper, 32.5 x 23 cm, gift of the artists (right) Anna Buxton Soldal, My necktie has been dancing, 2015 mixed media collage on paper, 42 x 29.5 cm, gift of the artist

(lower left) Gail Burrows, Final notes for the odd shod, 2014 chalk pastel on paper, 65 x 45 cm, gift of the artist (right page) Bill Brown, The piano has been drinking, 2014 graphite and coloured pencil on coloured Canson paper, 55 x 37.3 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

BILL BROWN

DARREN BRYANT & JOANNA KAMBOURIAN

Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He’s a mile away and you’ve got his shoes. - Billy Connolly recalled by Gail Burrows

GAIL BURROWS

ANNA BUXTON SOLDAL

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

SHIRLEY CAMERON-ROBERTS

TOM CARMENT

(above) Shirley Cameron-Roberts, Like a prison break, 2015 conte, charcoal and pastel on Aquarelle Canson Montval, 58 x 38 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Tom Carment, Left-handed self portrait, 2011 charcoal on paper, 43 x 35 cm, gift of the artist and Randi Linnegar, King Street Gallery

Just paper

(above) Jaqueline Clayton and Paul Davis The Piano[la] has been drinking, 2015 paper and Japanese Sumi ink 50 x 50 x 6 cm, gift of the artists

(right page - top) Sally Clarke, The leak, 2004 graphite and gouache on paper, 17.5 x 17.5 cm, gift of the artist (right page - lower) Michelle Collocott, Friendship celebration A, 2014-2015 paper and mixed media on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

SALLY CLARKE

JACQUELINE CLAYTON & PAUL DAVIS

MICHELLE COLLOCOTT

Departures and legacies, laughter and tears, ends are beginnings and, along the way, we can be as messy as hell. - Sally Clarke

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

PAUL CONNOR

CHRISTINA CORDERO

TANYA CROTHERS

A conventional printmaker responds to an idiosyncratic request! - Tanya Crothers

(left) Tanya Crothers, The spotlight looks like a prison break, 2014 collagraph, unique state, hand coloured, 76 x 50.5 cm, gift of the artist (right) Christina Cordero, Tonada, 2014 etching, aquatint, ink on paper, 10 x 12.3 cm, gift of the artist

(left page) Paul Connor, The piano’s new friends aren’t allowed in, 2014 lumentype, 86.4 x 64.8 cm, printed by Darkstar Pty Ltd gift of the artist

Just paper

C/D

(above) Vivienne Dadour, Ha! Ha! Ha! What a song and dance, 2014 digital print on archival paper, 40 x 50 cm, gift of the artist

(right page - top) Tallulah Cunningham, Lock, stock and whiskey barrel, 2014 watercolour and pencil on paper, 31 x 45 cm, gift of the artist (right page - lower) Elisabeth Cummings, The drunken piano, 2015 charcoal on paper, 30 x 42 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

ELISABETH CUMMINGS

TALLULAH CUNNINGHAM

VIVIENNE DADOUR

Just paper

The seediness of addiction in The piano has been

Of course you and the piano may well be, but the

drinking, rubs up against attempts to control

reading of blood properties and the generalised

these behaviours through the law as if on one side

conclusions drawn from those figures as a pass or

of 0.05g/100ml you are fine and on the other

fail can be problematic.

you’re drunk and out of control.

- Fiona Davies

(above) Fiona Davies, Blood on Silk: Blood Alcohol Content, 2014 digital print, 20 x 30 cm, gift of the artist (right page - top left) Andy Devine, Mapping with T.W., 2014 ink on litho paper, 70 x 70 cm, gift of the artist

(right page - top right) Charlotte Drake-Brockman, Piano/candle/keyboard, 2014 ink on paper, 42 x 60 cm, gift of the artist (right page - lower) Robert Dickerson, The last post, 2008 pastel on paper, 28 x 38 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

FIONA DAVIES

ANDY DEVINE

ROBERT DICKERSON

CHARLOTTE DRAKE-BROCKMAN

Just paper

E/F

(left top) Ruth Faerber, Detail self portrait, 1986, relief print cast in hand made paper, hand coloured in archival paper made from recycled white mount board, 19 x 29.5 cm, gift of the artist (left lower) Martin Edge, Me, 2013, acrylic on canvas board, 21 x 15 cm, gift of Bruce Heiser, Heiser Gallery

(right) Heather Ellyard, Dithyramb for Joe, 2014 pencil on paper, 76 x 56.5 cm, gift of the artist (right page) Helen Eager, The wrong note!, 2014 ink on paper, 42 x 29.7 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

HELEN EAGER

MARTIN EDGE

HEATHER ELLYARD

RUTH FAERBER

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

DAVID FAIRBAIRN

DONGWANG FAN

CHERYL FARRELL

(above) Carla Feltham, Shadow boot, 2015, archival print, 66.7 x 50 cm, gift of the artist (top right) Dongwang Fan, Dragon, 2014, acrylic on paper, 57 x 56.5 cm, gift of the artist (This artist’s work has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.)

(lower right) Cheryl Farrell, I had the craziest dream, 2015, pianola roll, LED lighting, timber, glass 43 x 33 x 6 cm, gift of the artist. (left page) David Fairbairn, And the light man’s blind in one eye and he can’t see out of the other, 2014, acrylic, gouache, pen and ink on paper on canvas, 40 x 40 cm gift of the artist (represented by Stella Downer Fine Art Sydney)

CARLA FELTHAM

Just paper

F/G

The piano has been drinking (not me)

CHRISTIAN FLYNN

BELINDA FOX

MICHAEL GARTH

GEORGE GITTOES

The subject matter was conceived whilst drunk and seemed like a good idea at the time. - Michael Garth

(above) Belinda Fox, Let up, 2009 lithography and hard stain on paper, 80 x 120 cm, gift of the artist (left page - top) George Gittoes, The clown, 2013 etching and aquatint with hand colouring, 63.5 x 76.5 cm, gift of the artist

(left page - lower left) Christian Flynn, Crystalline morphology, 2010 mixed media on paper, 21 x 15 cm, gift of Bruce Heiser, Heiser Gallery (left page - lower right) Michael Garth, I’m late, 2014 pencil on paper, 35 x 30 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

I started working at MRAG in 2004, a few months before the ‘little big man’ from Armidale showed up. Our little team had no idea what we were in for. Soon enough his presence was felt and heard. Let’s just say he presented us with a challenge! - Cressida Goddard

(above) Cressida Goddard, It wasn’t me (detail), 2014 paper and ink on paper, 21 x 14.8 cm (each), gift of the artist (right page) Richard Goodwin, Bi-polar extension formula, 2013, charcoal on Arches vellum paper, 55.4 x 74.4 cm gift of the artist (represented by Australian Galleries, Sydney and Melbourne)

The piano has been drinking (not me)

CRESSIDA GODDARD

RICHARD GOODWIN

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

ROBYN GORDON

CRAIG GOUGH

(above) Craigh Gough, Block Chords… ‘and the combo went back to New York’, 2014 acrylic on canvas, 56 x 76 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Robyn Gordon, Stirring up the big drink, down under, 2014 paint, ink, pencil on Fabriano paper, 75 x 70 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

G/H

The piano has been drinking (not me)

IAN GRANT

LINDA GREEDY

...Joe’s soy chai latte is spilled on the desk with a

PAMELA GRIFFITH

MARIE HAGERTY

(left) Linda Greedy, Joe’s office, 2014 graphite and pastel on paper, 75 x 50 cm, gift of the artist (right) Ian Grant, The piano…, 2015 pencil on paper, 45 x 45 cm, gift of the artist

cup and saucer tumbling through the air... - Linda Greedy

(left page - top) Marie Hagerty, Sumo, 2014 charcoal and collage on paper, 56 x 76 cm, gift of the artist (left page - lower) Pamela Griffith, California cool, 2014 mixed media, ink, pencil and wash on paper board, 50 x 70 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

BEN HALL

JUDY HENRY

NICOLA HENSEL

The Maestro plays on. - Judy Henry

(top) Judy Henry, Pied Piper’s last dance, 2014 acrylic, mulberry paper, ink, oil crayon on cotton rag paper, 28 x 76 cm, gift of the artist (lower) Nicola Hensel, Clover, 2015 mixed media on sheet music, 22 x 22 cm, gift of the artist

(left page) Ben Hall, Song lines, 2015 acrylic on paper, 33 x 30 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

(above) Christopher Hodges, The upright drunk, 2014 synthetic polymer on paper, 56 x 76 cm, gift of the artist (right page) Clare Hodgins, The telephone’s out of cigarettes, 2015 giclée print on paper, 42 x 29.7 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

CHRISTOPHER HODGES

Joe is my #2 dad - Clare Hodgins

CLARE HODGINS

Just paper

(above) Ruth Howard, The drunk piano, 2015 pencil on paper 46 x 64 cm, gift of the artist (right page - top) Rodney Holdaway, Chaotic street scene, seven figures, 2014 iPad drawing and ink pen on paper, 21 x 30 cm, gift of Stella Downer, Stella Downer Fine Art

(right page - lower) Helen Hopcroft, Powerbird 1, 2 & 3 (detail), 2014 handprinted linocut on handmade paper, 31 x 65 cm (variable), gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

RODNEY HOLDAWAY

HELEN HOPCROFT

RUTH HOWARD

Just paper

H/I/J

The piano has been drinking (not me)

ANNIE HSIAO-WEN WANG

ANNETTE IGGULDEN

(top) Liz Jeneid, Remembering Tom Waits, 2014 black ink, gesso and wine on paper, 37.5 x 53 cm, gift of the artist (lower left) Annette Iggulden, Joee’s swan song, 2014 watercolour, ink and gouache on Bockingford watercolour paper, 21 x 29 cm, gift of the artist

(lower right) Rachel Ireland, Intimate oblivion, 2014 archival pigment print on Hahnemühle photo rag paper, 35 x 35 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Annie Hsiao-Wen Wang, Seek (xxiii), 2014 ink and pigment on Arches paper, 68 x 49 cm, gift of the artist

RACHAEL IRELAND

LIZ JENEID

Just paper

J/K

The piano has been drinking (not me)

NOLA JONES

SHANE JONES

COL JORDAN

HANNA KAY

(top) Shane Jones, Dance in delirium, 2014 ink, pencil and dry pastel on paper, 26 x 71 cm, gift of the artist (lower left) Nola Jones, Oh, those Krazy Keys!, 2014 paper, cardboard, papier mâché, acrylic paint, gold leaf, 58 x 24 cm, gift of the artist

(lower right) Hanna Kay, Dancing shoes, 2014 pen and ink on paper, 27 x 30 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Col Jordan, The piano has been drinking and this the star it saw, 2014 acrylic on canvas board, 50 x 50 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

(above) Therese Kenyon, Entering the circular lock, 2004 graphite, watercolour and gouache on paper, 60 x 80 cm, gift of the artist (right page - top left) Camille Kersley, The little beg trying, 2015 ink, gold gouache on paper, 21 x 25.5 cm, gift of the artist

(right page - lower left) Nathan Keogh and Giselle Penn, And the elder berries leave their mark, 2015 piano key, handmade plant fibre paper, thread and collected materials, 21 x 29 cm, gift of the artists (right page - right) Roslyn Kean, Simpson’s scales, 2015 woodblock print and chine collé on paper, 76 x 56 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

ROSLYN KEAN

THERESE KENYON

NATHAN KEOGH & GISELLE PENN

CAMILLE KERSLEY

...I don’t use the word love often but I unashamedly state that I love MRAG and I would wear a bumper sticker on my car saying so... - Camille Kersley

Just paper

(above) Mark Kimber, Moonrise over airport, 2008 giclée print 30.2 x 30.2 cm, gift of the artist (represented by Stills Gallery, Sydney) (right page - top) Lisa Kirkpatrick, Foggy/fuzzy, 2015 collagraph, collage on paper, 56 x 116 cm, gift of the artist

(right page - lower) Peter Kingston, Devil’s drop, 2000 charcoal on paper, 66 x 113 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

MARK KIMBER

PETER KINGSTON

LISA KIRKPATRICK

Just paper

K/L

Joe has supported me and other artists and for that we thank him, a friend, a brother. - Graham Kuo (above) Sherrie Knipe, On the verge (photographic state), 2014 (photograph of sculpture by Andrew Barchan), photograph, 58 x 41 cm gift of the artist (right page - top) Ross Laurie, Eulo II, 2014 charcoal on paper, 57 x 76 cm, gift of the artist and Randi Linnegar, King Street Gallery

(right page - lower left) Graham Kuo, Music & light, 2014 oil and acrylic on paper, 28 x 30 cm, gift of the artist (lower right) Deborah Klein, The piano has been drinking – not me, 2014 ink and gouache on Khadi paper, 29.5 x 21 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

DEBORAH KLEIN

SHERRIE KNIPE

GRAHAM KUO

ROSS LAURIE

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

ALUN LEACH-JONES

GREG LEONG

(above) Greg Leong, High Tea at the Palace (from The Asian Century), 2012 digital print on canvas paper, 59.4 x 84.1 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Alun Leach-Jones, Rainbow keys – the music of colours, 2014 acrylic on paper board, 52 x 75 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

The piano has been drinking (not me)

KERRIE LESTER

BARBARA LICHA

...I decided to stay in my studio all night with some alcohol and some music of his. - Barbara Licha (above) Barbara Licha, With Tom at 3:00am, 2014 mixed media on paper, 61 x 82 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Kerrie Lester, Not me, 2014, watercolour on paper, 57 x 74 cm gift of the artist (represented by Australian Galleries, Sydney and Melbourne)

Just paper

Dancing to Joe’s tune. I’ve enjoyed it and hope I haven’t missed too many steps along the way. - Adrian Lockhart

The piano has been drinking (not me)

VICTORIA LOBREGAT

ADRIAN LOCKHART

JOANNA LOGUE

(top) Joanna Logue, Poplar – Essington, 2014 acrylic on Fabriano paper, 39 x 53 cm, gift of the artist (lower) Victoria Lobregat, Some plants from geometry’s garden, 2015 coloured inks and gouache on heavy watercolour paper, 50.5 x 58 cm, gift of the artist

(left page) Adrian Lockhart, The piano has a drinking problem, 2014 acrylic, pencil, crayon and collage on paper, 124.5 x 60 cm, gift of the artist

Just paper

When we first met Joe Eisenberg a few years ago we (left) Tracy Luff, 梨 (li), 2014 cardboard, 32 x 18 x 18 cm, gift of the artist (right) Debra Luccio, The piano has been drinking 2015, c-type wet process print, 75 x 50 cm (with special thanks to Amanda Collins), gift of the artist

(right page) Marco Luccio and Debra Luccio, Not me. Not me.,2015 mixed media on paper, 76 x 56.6 cm, gift of the artists

were hooked, by his energy, passion for art, and his love of Maitland. We immersed ourselves in the Tom Waits song, taking it literally, using every part of it. - Marco Luccio and Debra Luccio

The piano has been drinking (not me)

DEBRA LUCCIO

MARCO LUCCIO

TRACY LUFF

Just paper

(above) Euan Macleod, Bouncer, 2014 acrylic on paper, 75 x 58 cm, gift of the artist (right page - top left) Victor Majzner, Drunk piano, 2014 gouache and watercolour on paper, 65 x 75 cm, gift of the artist

He was a hard man to paint but harder to sum up in words

(right page - top right) Tim Maguire, Yamaha/Laphroaig, 2015, pigment print on paper 54 x 41 cm, gift of the artist (represented by Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney) (right page - lower) Michelle Maartensz, Joe, 2015 c-type photograph 33.9 x 50.8 cm, gift of the artist

- Euan Macleod

The piano has been drinking (not me)

MICHELLE MAARTENSZ

EUAN MACLEOD

TIM MAGUIRE

Behind his gruff exterior, is a man with a big heart - Michelle Maartensz

Just paper

(above) Claire Martin, …and the combo went back to New York, 2007 graphite on paper, 30 x 30 cm (each), gift of the artist (right page) John Martin, Piano, drunk, landscape, Allandale, 2015 oil on paper, 76.5 x 57 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

CLAIRE MARTIN

JOHN MARTIN

Just paper

IMAGE UNAVAILABLE CAN BE REQUESTED FOR VIEWING AT MAITLAND REGIONAL ART GALLERY

The piano has been drinking (not me)

HENRI MATISSE

ANNE MCLAUGHLIN

Them boots just keep on walkin’ the walk… the Joe walk - Anne McLaughlin

(above) Anne McLaughlin, Can’t stop the music, 2015 collagraph, lino print and found stamp on paper, 50 x 66 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Henri Matisse, Nadia au menton pointu, 1948 aquatint on paper, 43.4 x 48.3 cm, gift of Penelope Seidler AM

Just paper

(above) Reg Mombassa, The piano has been drinking, 2015 charcoal on paper, 26 x 34 cm, gift of the artist (right page - top left) Annemarie Murland, Lines of inquiry, 2013 etching, drypoint on Arches paper, 15 x 12 cm, gift of the artist

(right page - top right) Max Miller, Stella, 1995 watercolour on paper, 57.5 x 77 cm, gift of the artist (right page - lower) Rachel Milne, Started drunk, finished sober, self portrait with Sarah Lund, 2014 oil on canvas, 41 x 30 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

MAX MILLER

RACHEL MILNE

REG MOMBASSA

ANNEMARIE MURLAND

This imagery of stars and symbols is a request by Joe, at our last meeting. During the 90s I worked on several works on paper which are attributed to my time spent camping under the stars. - Max Miller

Just paper

M/N/O

A great deal of my work has been made to the soundtrack of Tom Waits. This work is no exception. - Denese Oates

The piano has been drinking (not me)

GLEN MURRAY

NELL

DENESE OATES

(top) Glen Murray, Bones in a field – all day homage to the colossus, 2014, tempera, pigments pastel, coloured pencil on rag paper, 65 x 70 cm, gift of the artist. (left) Nell, My ex-girlfriend met the piano player at AA, 2015, mixed media on paper record sleeve, 33.2 x 33.7 cm, gift of the artist (Nell is represented by Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery Sydney and STATION, Melbourne)

(left page) Denese Oates, Come back combo, 2014 books, piano parts, metal paint, patina and gold leaf, 30 x 63 x 30 cm, gift of the artist

100

Just paper

Maitland Regional Art Gallery with Joe at the helm has been an indefatigable champion of the visual arts. - Susan O’Doherty

101

The piano has been drinking (not me)

PETER O’DOHERTY

SUSAN O’DOHERTY

KIERA O’TOOLE

My ‘shoreline’ apartment block is the perfect Australian bolt-hole for Tom Waits to lay up for an anonymous song-writing sojourn. - Peter O’Doherty (top) Peter O’Doherty, The piano has been drinking and the balcony is on the make, 2009 acrylic on paper, 50 x 54 cm, gift of the artist. (left page - top) Susan O’Doherty The piano has been drinking and the carpet needs a haircut, 2014, mixed media collage, cotton, lace, buttons, felt, tape measure on paper, 37 x 55 cm, gift of the artist

(left page - lower) Kiera O’Toole, Lines of Negotiation III, 2014 mixed media on paper, 20.5 x 20.5 cm, gift of the artist

102

Just paper

She loved piano jazz, she found that she could get

closed her eyes she could see the structure of

totally lost in the music and forget all the dramas

the music and the inner workings of the piano.

of life. After her third dirty martini when she

- Simone Paterson

The piano has been drinking (not me)

SIMONE PATERSON

DEBORAH PAUUWE

(top left) Deborah Pauuwe, from “The Crying Room” series, 2006, giclée print, 50.5 x 50.5 cm gift of the artist (represented by Michael Reid, Sydney and Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide) (top right) Michelle Perry, Slow black, slow, black, 2014 silkscreen on paper, 56 x 56 cm, gift of the artist

(lower) Amanda Penrose-Hart, Dawn pink sky, 2014 acrylic on paper, 26 x 33 cm, gift of the artist and Randi Linnegar, King Street Gallery (left page) Simone Paterson, The pink grand piano, 2014 archival digital print on paper, 67.3 x 58.4 cm, gift of the artist

AMANDA PENROSE-HART

103

MICHELLE PERRY

104

Just paper

P/R

Joe has always driven me to drink… but in a good way. I now understand why… Love you Joe. - Peter Poulet

105

The piano has been drinking (not me)

PETER PINSON

PETER POULET

KARLEE RAWKINS

Tom Waits, absurdities, drunkness, poetry… my turtle leaps, balancing and wobbly from my studio to Maitland. - Karlee Rawkins

(top left) Karlee Rawkins, Love Warrior, 2015 charcoal, pastel and graphite on paper, 56 x 77 cm, gift of the artist (top right) Peter Pinson, Summer paradox, 2014 acrylic on paper, 76 x 56 cm, gift of the artist

(left page) Peter Poulet, Untitled – the piano has been drinking, 2014 acrylic, graphite and pencil on paper, 55 x 75 cm, gift of the artist

106

Just paper

(top left) Leo Robba, Before ‘the piano has been drinking’, 2015 acrylic on paper, 58 x 38 cm, gift of the artist (top right) Philippe Ribbons, Monsieur Merlot descending, 2015 paper, newspaper, charcoal, pastels, ink on tar paper. 74 x 45 cm, gift of the artist

(right page - top) Brian Roberts, Not Me!, 2009 oil on oil paper, 65 x 65 cm, gift of the artist and Shirley Cameron-Roberts (right page - lower) Adrienne Richards, The piano has been drinking (with Cecelia), 2015 ink and watercolour on paper, 57 x 76.5 cm, gift of the artist

107

The piano has been drinking (not me)

PHILIPPE RIBBONS

ADRIENNE RICHARDS

LEO ROBBA

BRIAN ROBERTS

This is one of a series of paintings Brian did of his father Edwin Roberts who it seems was very strict in the old English fashion. It may well have been painted while listening to Tom Waits as it is a rather way out interpretation of a conservative man who was very different to his son. ‘Not me! Not me! Not me!’ - Shirley Cameron-Roberts Brian died on 10 January 2015

108

Just paper

(above) Ron Royes, Retirement, 2015 oil pastel and acrylic paint on paper, 57 x 77 cm, gift of the artist (right page - top left) Catherine Rogers, Fallout, T2. Whitewash and the big black mist, Geiger counter country, 2014 photography, pigment print on cotton rag paper, 56 x 76 cm, gift of the artist

(right page - lower left) Judith Ryrie, Out to pasture, 2014 gouache and coloured pencil on paper, 40 x 53 cm, gift of the artist (right page - right) Susan Ryman, Stories without words: Forget me not, 2009 - 2013 coloured pencil and gouache on Fabriano paper, varnished, 129 x 45 cm, gift of the artist

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The piano has been drinking (not me)

CATHERINE ROGERS

RON ROYES

SUSAN RYMAN

JUDITH RYRIE

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The piano has been drinking (not me)

PAUL SELWOOD

WENDY SHARPE

(top) Paul Selwood, 5 ways/variation, 2001 mixed media on paper 30.5 x 41.5 cm, gift of the artist (lower) Wendy Sharpe Venice nude (with yellow chair), 2009 gouache on paper, 18 x 13 cm, gift of the artist and Randi Linnegar, King Street Gallery

(left page) Gillean Shaw, The piano has been drinking, 2015 digital print on paper, 75 x 75 cm, gift of the artist

GILLEAN SHAW

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The first time I heard Blue Velvet by Tom Waits was about the time I met Joe Eisenberg. ‘ …A sweet little bullet from a blue .38…’ has always been one of my favoured lines by Waits and I speak through rough painting like he uses his voice. - John Smith

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The piano has been drinking (not me)

CHARLIE SHEARD

GARY SHINFIELD

(above) Charlie Sheard, In celebration, c.1990 mixed media on paper, 80 x 120 cm, gift of Charles Nodrum, Charles Nodrum Gallery (left page - left) Gary Shinfield, Zen to the core (for Tom), 2014 woodcut and photopolymer plate print on paper, 66 x 52.5 cm, gift of the artist

(left page - right) John Smith, Talking about a sweet little bullet from a blue .38, 2014 acrylic and mixed media on paper, 76 x 57 cm, gift of the artist

JOHN SMITH

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The piano has been drinking (not me)

BRADDON SNAPE

(top) Arryn Snowball, Untitled (diamond and ashes study), 2012 mixed media on paper, 21.5 x 29.8 cm, gift of Bruce Heiser, Heiser Gallery (lower) Arryn Snowball, Untitled (sheet study), 2012 mixed media on paper, 22 x 29.8 cm, gift of Bruce Heiser, Heiser Gallery

(left page) Braddon Snape, The chair, 1994 graphite on paper, 160 x 160 cm, gift of the artist

ARRYN SNOWBALL

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...as I was a young person trying to show my work for the first time. Joe was one of the few people I met during that time that took what I was doing seriously and understood what I was trying to do... - Ben Soedradjit

The piano has been drinking (not me)

BEN SOEDRADJIT

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WENDY STAVRIANOS

(above) Wendy Stavrianos, Room for a drunken piano, 2014 acrylic, ink, pencil, collage on Arches paper, 56 x 76 cm, gift of the artist (left page) Ben Soedradjit, Looking and understanding, 2014 pencil on paper, 70 x 50 cm, gift of the artist

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(above) Tyza Stewart, When I was two all I wanted for Christmas was a beard, 2011 lithograph on paper, 35.3 x 50 cm, gift of Bruce Heiser, Heiser Gallery (right page) Mitch Storck, Portraits: 10 faces of Waits, 2014 ink on paper, 12.5 x 7.5 cm (each), gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

TYZA STEWART

MITCH STORCK

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(above) Lezlie Tilley, 1080 tiny stones arranged according to the laws of chance (in black and ivory), 2014 stones on paper, 21 x 14.5 cm (each), gift of the artist (represented by Brenda May Gallery) (right page) Mark Tedeschi, Chick on the side, 2009 - 2015 inkjet print on paper, 28.3 x 42.4 cm, gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

MARK TEDESCHI

LEZLIE TILLEY

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Taste (including aroma) is an intense personal experience. Wine Talk plays with the luscious and exotic language of wine reviews, where tastes can become delicious words sounded on the tongue. ‘Wine Talk’ combines phrases in (left) Vanessa Turton, Addicted to love II, 2014 – 2015 acrylic on paper, 75 x 59 cm, gift of the artist (right) John Turier, The face (produced by ‘Never need artists again’ sculpture) (detail) 2010, pencil on paper, 76.5 x 57.5 cm, gift of the artist

(right page) Richard Tipping, Wine Talk, 2014 digital photographic print on rag paper, 60 x 50 cm gift of the artist

self-reflective iterations, with the added tangs of irony and pointed ambiguity. - Richard Tipping

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RICHARD TIPPING

JOHN TURIER

VANESSA TURTON

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V/W

Tinkle tinkle, burp, hic, growl, tinkle… - Vicki Varvaressos

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The piano has been drinking (not me)

VICKI VARVARESSOS

FRAN WACHTEL

RUTH WALLER

(left) Fran Wachtel, Not me, 2014 carbon and acrylic on paper, 74.7 x 49.6 cm, gift of the artist (right) Ruth Waller, Het ipano ahs neeb krindgin, 2014 ink and acrylic on paper, 70 x 70 cm (variable), gift of the artist

(left page) Vicki Varvaressos, Phone and tie still life, 2014 charcoal pencil and graphite on paper, 57 x 76 cm, gift of the artist

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What could I say about Joe that has not already been said. He has left his mark wherever he has been. Joe surrounds himself with good people and with his drive, enthusiasm and passion he ensures the success of the Gallery and brings it to the people and not a select few.

(left) Max Watters, Railway workers homes, n.d. pencil on paper, 42 x 39 cm, gift of the artist (right) Trevor Weekes, Dissecting the lyrics, 2015 carbon, pastel and graphite on Arches cotton rag paper, 50 x 30 cm, gift of the artist

- Trevor Weekes (right page) Dick Watkins, Untitled, 2010 gouache on watercolour paper, 59.3 x 42 cm, gift of the artist

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The piano has been drinking (not me)

DICK WATKINS

MAX WATTERS

TREVOR WEEKES

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The piano has been drinking (not me)

CLARE WEEKS

GREG WEIGHT

AHN WELLS

(top) Clare Weeks, Steps, 2014 inkjet on cotton rag paper, 50 x 65 cm, gift of the artist (lower) Ahn Wells, Book 2 (detail), 2014, discarded library book pages, acrylic wool, hand stitched onto Stonehenge paper, 75 x 75 cm, gift of the artist

(left page) Greg Weight, Hot earth, 2007 permanent pigment on cotton rag paper, 60 x 42 cm, gift of the artist

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(left) Ian Westacott, The big tree – Myrtleford, 2014 etching on paper, 33 x 30 cm, gift of the artist (right) Eric Werkhoven and Robyn Werkhoven, Drink ‘til you’re blue II, 2014 aqua graphite pencil, oil pastel on paper, 70 x 50 cm, gift of the artists

(right page) Judith White, The piano has been drinking and the barstools are on fire…, 2015 ink, pencil, collage and acrylic on paper, 56 x 76 cm, gift of the artist

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ERIC WERKHOVEN & ROBYN WERKHOVEN

IAN WESTACOTT

JUDITH WHITE

The so called “joee fashion” (as Joe himself likes

The Joe Eisenberg phenomena is like a rock being

to call it), is in fact a phenomena; a driving, and

dropped into a still pond, sending out ripples that

at times in your face force to be reckoned with.

will reverberate for many generations.

For every ‘favour’ you supposedly do for Joe the

- Judith White

benefits are always reciprocated; both directly and indirectly, professionally and personally.

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(top) Martin Wilson, The one that got away, 2015 enamel on paper, 64 x 61 cm, gift of the artist (lower) Patricia Wilson-Adams, Putting stones in dry places, 2014 intaglio on Saar paper, wax, wire and Wombeyan marble, dimensions variable

(right page) Arthur Wicks Solstice Observatory engaged in lifting/mapping a (heavy) box of “x”, 2015 Hahnemühle paper collage, clay, PVA glue, acrylic paint, 75 x 54 cm gift of the artist

The piano has been drinking (not me)

ARTHUR WICKS

MARTIN WILSON

PATRICIA WILSON-ADAMS

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W/Z

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The piano has been drinking (not me)

MADELINE WINCH

MAEVE WOODS

SALVATORE ZOFREA

(above) Salvatore Zofrea, Piano man, 2015 pen and wash on paper, 56 x 76.4 cm, gift of the artist (left page - top) Maeve Woods, Profane, 2014 matt vinyl acrylic on rag paper, 51 x 65 cm, gift of the artist

(left page - lower) Madeline Winch, The morning after, 2014 mixed media on watercolour paper, 30 x 30 cm, gift of the artist

AN EMPTY CHAIR

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AN EMPTY CHAIR: 10 YEARS OF PAPER

(above) Rew Hanks, Krefft’s Chair, 2012 linocut on paper, 102 x 76 cm purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2015

An empty chair: 10 years of paper

The empty chair of a museum director is the

In the last ten years under Joe’s directorship the art

subject of Rew Hanks’ linocut, Krefft’s Chair. Krefft’s

gallery has undergone a major transformation and

Chair recalls the story of the dramatic departure

Joe has been instrumental in the significant growth

of a museum director - Gerard Krefft, Curator and

of the MRAG Collection over this time. Since 2005

Secretary of the Australian Museum in Sydney.

the number of works in the collection has grown

Krefft was a dedicated leader for the museum, a respected scientist and writer, who during his curatorship established a highly regarded international reputation for the Australian Museum and was responsible for the considerable growth of the museum’s collection. A colourful character of some repute – his unconventional approach to promotion of the museum involved events such as a snake and a mongoose fight within the museum for the entertainment of VIP guests including the Duke of Edinburgh and Henry Parkes.1 Krefft was also a man of strong opinions, and his ‘departure’ from the museum was a consequence of his many clashes with the museum’s trustees which led to him being dismissed in 1874 under disputed charges ranging from drunkenness, disobedience and allowing the sale of ‘dirty’ postcards. Krefft refused to leave the museum and barricaded himself in his office until a museum trustee “obtained the services of two prize-fighters, who broke into Krefft’s living quarters and carried him ‘bareheaded from the place’, still seated in his chair.”2

from 1000 to more than 4000 items. Joe’s departure from the art gallery prompts reflection on the story of the MRAG Collection over the last decade and this exhibition, An empty chair: 10 years of paper, displays just a small selection of the 3000 artworks collected, commencing with the year 2005 in which the new MRAG collection focus to collect works on paper was implemented. So, as per our collection focus, all the works in this exhibition, and almost all of the works featured in the wider Just Paper series, are created on or with paper, representing the many forms of art, mediums, techniques and subject matter that artists can conceive. The artworks range from examples of the precise and time consuming techniques of printmaking such as Rew Hanks’ intricately carved linocut and the multiplate etchings by Graham Fransella and Marlene and Sally Rubuntja; delicately assembled collages such as those by James Gleeson and Fiona Hall; 3D sculptural pieces such as the hand cut paper carvings by Kylie Stillman and multilayered artist books by Peter Kingston; the direct and descriptive photographs of Greg Weight and Michel Brouet; the haunting paintings, prints and drawings

In June 2015 we will be farewelling our own director

by Sidney Nolan and Adam Cullen, plus Joe’s

and ‘colourful character’, Joe Eisenberg, in a

personal favourites - the spare and scrawling pencil

much more respectful manner and with fondness

drawings by Ken Whisson.

and appreciation of the legacy of his eleven year tenure – a vibrant and inspiring art gallery. No-one could deny that Joe has been an aspirational and inspirational Director for MRAG who, like Krefft, has built a strong reputation for our art gallery and a strong art collection for the City of Maitland.

Many artworks have been acquired by selective purchases funded by Maitland City Council, yet the majority of acquisitions over the last ten years have come to MRAG via the generosity of others. MRAG is very fortunate to have many supporters.

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Wonderful donations of significant artworks have

Our Aboriginal collection has benefitted from

been gifted by artists and private collectors, people

Helen Eager and Christopher Hodges’ passions

who are not just benefactors but who are now

and Robin Gurr’s love of indigenous art and her

considered special and treasured friends of MRAG.

enjoyment in giving. International artists now

Such relationships include those with our Patrons, Ray Wilson and the late James Agapitos, Pat Corrigan and the late Margaret Olley, who have provided support in multiple ways, not only financial. They have served as advocates and promoters of the art gallery, facilitating donations from

feature more prominently thanks to the goodwill of Hans and Pamela Schuttler and of course Geoffrey Ainsworth, who must also be credited for gifting the largest (and heaviest!) work in the Collection, the magnificent watercolour, Cross, by British artist Jason Brooks.

other sources and introducing

Generous artists Tony

MRAG to their own networks.

Ameneiro, Marion Borgelt, Judy

Each of our Patrons has

Cassab, David Fairbairn, Mark

donated artworks from their

Kimber, Ildiko Kovaks, Marco

own personal collections: Ray

Luccio, Alexander McKenzie,

Wilson parting with some

Timothy Maguire, Max Miller,

of his and James’ beloved

Nell, Deborah Paauwe, Dick

Gleesons, Pat Corrigan

Watkins… and many more

boosting our collection of

have all contributed to the

contemporary works on paper

chapters that make up the

and Margaret Olley donating

MRAG Collection story so far.

her own favourites as well as negotiating deals and discounts on behalf of MRAG, as only she could. Other significant acquisitions by benefaction include: a large body of works on paper created (and donated) by Charles Blackman comprising preliminary studies, sketches and completed drawings and paintings created over sixty years of his practice; a rare collection of Asian artworks including centuries old Chinese scrolls; the wonderful Whiteley Wren and the Jenny Sages portrait from Pauline Hunter; Olsens and more from Michael Gleeson-White and the beautiful Days of Summer suite of prints by Salvatore Zofrea, which MRAG toured across the country.

Today the MRAG Collection consists of 4095 items valued at over $7.1 million. Starting in 1957 with the purchase of a small watercolour on paper by Brian Cowley, Maitland City Council launched a vision to create a cultural legacy for Maitland with a city art collection. Joe and the many gallery staff along the way have taken this vision to heart and the MRAG Collection is now an inspiring (and significant) asset for Maitland, housed in an award winning art gallery – how far the Collection has come and how exciting its potential! Just paper is the first time so much of the art gallery’s collection has been on display at one time. This exhibition is the culmination of a civic dream which started

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An empty chair: 10 years of paper

ENDNOTES

with such small beginnings in 1957 and now has 4000 narratives - due largely in part to the generosity of donors, artists and the unique vision of the man in

the director’s chair over the past decade.

(1830–1881)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/

There will be no heavyweights hired to remove him, rather a heavy weight in

biography/krefft-johann-ludwig-louis-3972/text6271, published first

our hearts as we farewell him, as Joe leaves as Cultural Director of Maitland Regional Art Gallery. The director’s chair may be empty but the thirteen Whissons (plus much, much, more) remain as a reminder of his stay.

Martha Rutledge and G. P. Whitley, ‘Krefft, Johann Ludwig (Louis)

in hardcopy 1974, accessed online 3 March 2015. 2

‘Gerard Krefft, Curator and Secretary, 1861-1874’, The Australian Museum, (website), http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/gerard-krefft-curatorand-secretary, accessed online 3 March 2015.

(above left) Alexander McKenzie, Study for the arborist’s garden, 2012, pencil on paper, 79 x 79 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2013 (above right) Fiona Hall, Rolling in Clover, 2004, gouache on banknotes, 39.3 x 32.5 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Patrick Corrigan, 2009

by Cheryl Farrell (left page) Kylie Stillman, Little Wattlebird, 2011, paper carving: printed paper A4 ream, 42 x 32 x 6 cm purchased by the Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2011

Collection Management Curator

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(left) Nicholas Harding, Study of Margaret Olley, 1997-1998, ink, chalk, and correction fluid on paper, 51.2 x 42.8 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Geoffrey and Vicki Ainsworth, 2009 (right top) James Gleeson, Untitled, 1976, collage on book lithograph, 15 x 21.5 cm purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery Members, 2009

(right lower) Wendy Sharpe, Mona and Stephane, 2007, gouache on paper, 36 x 28 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Pauline Hunter, 2013 (right page) Charles Blackman, Male portrait, c.1986, felt tip pen on paper, 75.8 x 56 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Charles Blackman, 2012

An empty chair: 10 years of paper

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An empty chair: 10 years of paper

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(above) Evan Salmon, Valve radio, 2010, wax resist, ink wash and pastel on Arches Aquarelle paper, 28.5 x 38 cm purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2010

(left page top) Cressida Campbell, Trout remains, 1995, unique woodblock print on paper, 29.2 x 34.2 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr, 2012 (left page lower) Sidney Nolan, Untitled (carcass), 1952, mixed media on paper, 24.5 x 29.5 cm purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2012

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(left top) Ken Whisson, Motorcycle, 1985, pencil on paper, 49 x 69 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Patrick Corrigan, 2009 (right lower) David Aspden, Untitled, n.d., gouache on paper, 25 x 25 cm gift of Stephen Hesketh, 2014

(right page) Marlene Rubuntja and Sally Rubuntja, Woman, 2013 multiplate etching on paper, 60 x 60cm, 15 x 15cm (each panel) purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2014

An empty chair: 10 years of paper

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THE MAITLAND WONDER

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THE MAITLAND WONDER: LES DARCY

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The Maitland Wonder: Les Darcy

In 1916, a young man born and raised in the Maitland area fought his way to the very pinnacle of Australian professional boxing, earning himself a swag of wealth from nothing, and the honour of both the Middleweight and Heavyweight Champion titles of Australia. Though a number of the opponents Les Darcy defeated in the ring were themselves world champions, war time turbulence and Darcy’s early death in 1917 saw the coveted title of World Champion elude this great athlete. The high regard with which the people of Australia held Darcy’s achievements were never more apparent than when his coffin made its way to East Maitland Cemetery and thousands of people came onto the streets to pay their respects - and so it was, the Darcy legend began. You will first encounter The Maitland Wonder: Les Darcy before entering the art gallery itself. On an exterior wall of the building acclaimed street artist, Mr Skel, has stencilled an iconic image of Darcy in a fighting pose. This commission brings a contemporary engagement with the Darcy legend to this otherwise historical exhibition. In the art gallery space various items of valuable Les Darcy memorabilia are on display. These are part of the permanent MRAG Collection, as a result of the collecting acuity of Cultural Director, Joe

by Maree Skene

Eisenberg. Joe identified a lack of representation

Gallery Officer

of this internationally recognised sporting great in the city’s public collections and sought to acquire items that would address this need. It is with great joy that we are able to present a selection of

(above) Les Darcy, n.d., Milton Kent Studio, Sydney silver gelatin print (reproduction), 25 x 20 cm purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2012

those items in this exhibition for old and new audiences alike - behold, ‘The Maitland Wonder.’

(left page clockwise from top left) Les Darcy, Les Darcy and Jeff Smith, Les Darcy, Les Darcy and Fritz Holland, n.d. all images: Milton Kent Studio, Sydney, Silver gelatin print (reproduction) 25 x 20 cm, purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2012

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The Maitland Wonder: Les Darcy

TAKING ON LES DARCY

What a joy it is to see Les Darcy standing proud at the entrance of the art gallery in his home town; in fighting pose ready to take folk on as they walk up the stairs to enter the building. In a pose familiar to many fans of the legendary Les Darcy, stencil artist Mr Skel has recreated a dynamic image of ‘the Maitland Wonder’ into a playful work of art to be enjoyed from the street as part of the MRAG celebrations Just Paper. Mr Skel commented that: The choice of Les Darcy as a subject began purely as a personal challenge. Could I successfully create a homage to the legend in his hometown, where the name Les Darcy has passed everybody’s lips. But it was the end of his short life that really grabbed me; thumbing his nose at authority and criticism, risking it all, to chase his dream and to be brought home a hero, worshipped by the naysayers.

by Kim Blunt Gallery Curator

(left page) Les Darcy and sparring partner 1-4, n.d. Milton Kent Studio, Sydney silver gelatin print (reproduction), 25 x 20 cm purchased by Maitland Regional Art Gallery, 2010

(left) Mr Skel, Les Darcy, 2015 stencil art, 275 x 125 cm

SHOWCASE No3

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SHOWCASE No3: ARTWORK BY YEAR 7-12 LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

(top) Making a bird mask, Art Sunday in the Art Factory, 2013, Free art activities every Sunday at MRAG between 11am - 1pm (lower left) Abby Whyburn, My front yard, 2015, acrylic paint and posca pen on canvas, 20 x 25 cm (lower centre) Georgia Burns, Untitled 2, 2015, digital photography, 29.6 x 29.6 cm (lower right) Keighley Clark, Starry Marilyn, 2015, digital image, 61 x 71 cm

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Showcase No3

WHY DEDICATE AN ART GALLERY SPACE TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE?

One of the first things that Joe Eisenberg did in

dream has been realised in a multitude of emerging

2004 as the newly appointed Cultural Director of

ways, artists creating for children, children creating

Maitland Regional Art Gallery was to appoint an

for children, teenagers showcasing their emerging

Education Co-ordinator to the art gallery staff; in

view of the world, classes of children looking at

this action he was supported by the prime sponsors

and responding to the artworks of others, families,

of the art gallery, Maitland City Council.

friends and casual visitors being drawn into the worlds of others and deriving pleasure, interest

This action speaks volumes: an Education

and enjoyment from the experience. As each Art

Co-ordinator’s role is to link the community to

Factory exhibition emerges from ideas, invitations,

the art gallery through activities, events, classes

responses and connections everyone takes stock,

and courses that support and extend the gallery

everyone learns, everyone responds and the mix

exhibition program and engage as much of the

is further nourished for future exhibitions and

gallery audience as possible.

related activities.

Many of these activities under the umbrella of Education focus on engaging the young, giving them opportunities to play, to have fun, to create and exhibit in the gallery setting and hopefully to feel that the art gallery is one of their places, a place that becomes familiar, a place to keep visiting as times goes by. To have an actual space dedicated to children and young people within the art gallery was a tangible manifestation of this aim and an idea championed by Joe. The opportunity for this dream to be realised came about when plans for the new extended gallery on the site of the original Maitland Technical College were drawn up to include the Art Factory with Joe securing the support of the Thyne Reid Foundation for

Today you can see Showcase No3 in the Art Factory; a collection of artworks made by a range of students from Year 7 – Year 12 in their school art rooms across the Maitland region over recent months. Showcase is about moving artworks out of the classroom and into public view here at MRAG, it is about giving these artists, other young artists and gallery visitors the chance to see what is happening right now as these artists explore their world and find expressive ways to show us their ideas, their thoughts and sometimes their dreams. The Art Factory artists and all those who enjoy the Art Factory exhibitions and activities - past, present and future - thank Joe Eisenberg for this wonderful and enduring legacy.

this innovation. And so the Art Factory came about: two floors of real space for the young and not-so-young to exhibit, play and create in was opened along with the other new and re-furbished spaces of Maitland Regional Art Gallery in 2009. And since then the

by Anne McLaughlin & Michelle Maartensz Learning & Audience Development Curators

ON THE MAKE

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ON THE MAKE: A COLLECTION STORY

(above) Judy Cassab, Untitled, 1999, silkscreen on paper, 56 x 76 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Hobbs, 2012 (right) Margaret Woodward, Untitled, 1999, lithograph on paper, 76 x 56 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Hobbs, 2012

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On the make: A Collection story

If the artworks in the MRAG Collection could speak there would be 4000 plus stories to tell about their makers, their supporters and critics. The works in this exhibition are all part of the same story. It begins before Cultural Director, Joe Eisenberg’s time at this gallery and its legacy will continue on long after he departs. It is a story of generosity, collaboration and relationships. It speaks of the entrepreneurial opportunities for galleries like ours to raise funds to make significant projects possible. It is a story with Joe at its centre and pays homage to the collectors who have helped to shape the collection to what it is today. In 1999, Joe as Director of the New England Regional Art Museum needed to raise money to support a planned redevelopment of the art gallery in Armidale and imagined a folio of original artists’ prints to inspire donations to the cause. Joe secured the assistance of 20 artists - Nora Heysen, Jeffrey Smart, Robert Klippel, Judy Cassab and John Coburn among them – and well regarded print maker Michelle Perry at Marnling Press Sydney. All that was left to do was secure the dough - as the old adage goes ‘one needs money to make money’. One thing led to another and Joe met avid supporter of the arts, Pat Corrigan, who backed the project. The suite of prints raised much needed funds for a new gallery space, supported 20 artists and 10 other public galleries across NSW and Queensland. The prints in this exhibition are a selection of the artworks that were created as a result of the original 1999 collaboration. Michael Hobbs kindly donated two portfolios of 10 prints each to MRAG in 2012. Their lasting value is as a source of education and inspiration. Pat Corrigan’s generosity to MRAG, its artists and collaborators continues to this day.

by Maree Skene Gallery Officer

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(above) John Bloomfield, Untitled, 1999, silkscreen on paper, 56 x 76 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Hobbs, 2012 (top) Robert Klippel, Untitled, 1999, silkscreen on paper, 56 x 76 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Hobbs, 2012

(lower left) Jeffrey Smart, The Argument, 1999, lithograph on paper, 36 x 45 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Hobbs, 2012 (lower right) Nora Heysen, Apples, 1999, silkscreen on paper, 42.5 x 53.5 cm donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Hobbs, 2012

On the make: A Collection story

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ASCENDANCE

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ASCENDANCE: TREVOR WEEKES

What is evident in the series of exhibitions under

willing to assist MRAG to reach its potential.

the banner Just paper is a cacophony of art which

Joe’s list also included the names of artists who he

would not have been possible without the unique

had collaborated with in the past or who he had

qualities of the relationship between artist and art

targeted for future collaborations once he relocated

gallery – and key to that statement is the idea of

to the Hunter. One of those many artists on his vast

the relationship. But what is that relationship and

list was Trevor Weekes.

how has it worked for the various artists Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) has collaborated with

Joe first met Trevor in the 1980s when Joe was

over the past ten years?

working for the Crafts Council of NSW in King St, Sydney. It was through his office window that the

When Joe Eisenberg first arrived at MRAG he

young arts administrator spied what curiously

came with a huge suitcase full of well established

looked like a flying chicken in Macquarie Galleries

relationships and one of the first things he did was

across the road. Intrigued, Joe went in to the art

to pull out of his suitcase a list of names of people

gallery and met the Director and the artist. The

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Ascendance: Trevor Weekes

following year Macquarie Galleries moved to

Travelling full circle, it is interesting that one of

Clarence Street where Trevor exhibited The Perfect

the first artists to intrigue Joe as a young arts

Trojan Horse and there Joe made one of his first art

administrator would be Trevor Weekes and now

purchases, a limited edition screen print art book

his exhibition Ascendance will be one of the last

documenting the life of the Trojan horse. Such is

installed at MRAG which Joe will oversee as

Trevor’s wonderful sense of humour and fascination

Cultural Director in the art gallery he has nurtured

with all things mechanical whether bird or animal.

and, dare I say, masterminded for over a decade.

A few years ago Joe as MRAG Director/Curator

Joe and Trevor have collaborated for a far longer

invited Trevor to create new work for the space

period than the last ten years. Trevor has supported

within MRAG that Joe calls the atrium – the large

the numerous schemes Joe concocted during

8 metre high space leading to skylights and

his time as Director of New England Regional

balconies above. With this invitation Trevor conceived

Art Museum (NERAM) when NERAM could only

the exhibition you now see around you in the atrium:

exist though donations and various philanthropic

Ascendance, a stellar constellation of birds perched

supports. Trevor has also employed his long lasting

on the walls as well as in ascending flight.

and trusted relationship with Joe to open doors for

As Trevor says about his latest exhibition at MRAG: From childhood, birds have fascinated me. My artworks for the past 40 years have centred around birds of every shape, size and colour. The content of my work always speaks of something related to the subject, be it the extremes of the Teach your Chicken to Fly training manual or the genetically constructed New Bird.

others, introduced his students to Joe and MRAG and together they have supported and encouraged many emerging artists in their own evolving careers. Like two peas in a pod, Trevor and Joe are brothers in art. They do what they do, they cannot help it – they support each other, they support others. Joe and Trevor have developed a uniquely productive, positive and interesting relationship and like the unique qualities demonstrated in

In most cases the exhibitions speak of the

the Just Paper project, which could only have been

interaction between humankind and animal.

made possible because of deliciously fruitful

Good or bad.

relationships, its beginnings may be decades

Ascendance was inspired by memories of visiting

long, its legacy will continue.

museums as a child. Particular exhibits

by Kim Blunt

impacted on me at the time and have stayed

Gallery Curator

with me. One exhibit in particular was a collection of tiny hummingbirds. Taxidermy specimens mounted on branches and crammed into a glass case, their innate beauty preserved for eternity; the compendium of colour, reminiscent of the contents of a jewellery box.

(left page) Trevor Weekes, Home (Detail), 2015 ink on Bristol board, 120 x 180 cm

A GALLERY OF PEOPLE

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Just paper

A GALLERY OF PEOPLE: LOOKING BACK

Through the unique perspective of the Maitland Mercury, this exhibition showcases the accomplishments and evolution of Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) over the past decade. Complementing these photographs is a collection of MRAG catalogues, awards and memorabilia. These elements unite in chronicling our milestones, and afford the opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the changing face of MRAG, its programs, its patrons and its supporters, and to celebrate MRAG’s achievements under the stewardship of the Cultural Director Joe Eisenberg.

towns and cities. The images from the Maitland

Regional communities are very loyal to print press,

the quality history of the art gallery, its exhibitions

capturing as they do the issues affecting particular

and strong relationships with artists. Furthermore,

Mercury in this exhibition reveal the human ‘face’ of MRAG, yet their message does more than create an identity. The support of the local press for MRAG demonstrates intrinsically Maitland’s community ownership of the art gallery. Conversely it reinforces the importance of the local media to a community, no matter its presentation, in creating a valid voice for those they represent. The exhibition of catalogues created, designed and published by MRAG illustrates the significant role such publications play in further narrating

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A gallery of people: looking back

these catalogues offer a chance to highlight the contribution of the MRAG staff and volunteers who

My dream was always for the gallery to be

produced them.

accessible to everybody and that’s what we’ve

The diversity of images, catalogues, awards and

worked hard to achieve.

memorabilia showcases how far MRAG has grown over the past decade, and provides the perfect

- Joe Eisenberg

opportunity to celebrate all aspects of the art gallery, including our education programs, events, and exhibitions, and applauds the magnificent contributions of our members and volunteers.

by Anna Buxton Soldal Gallery Officer

Moreover, the exhibition enables the audience to look forward and contemplate how MRAG will continue to thrive in the future.

(left) New Vision: Maitland Regional Art Gallery Cultural Director Joe Eisenberg and Public Programs Officer Kim Blunt. Picture by Cath Bowen, 2009 (above) Education Curator Anne McLaughlin with a work called Just Do It by Maitland Grossmann High student Hayden Bird. Picture by Marina Neil, 2013

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IMAGES COURTESY OF MAITLAND MERCURY

A gallery of people: looking back

173

IMAGES COURTESY OF MAITLAND MERCURY

(left page - top) Sale Time: Maitland Regional Art Gallery assistant Ruth Bridgeman with some of the prints. Picture by Marina Neil, 2012 (left page - lower left) Helping Hand: Volunteers at Maitland Art Gallery Jean-Paul Ruelle and Kate Allen. Picture by Stuart Scott, 2010

(left page - lower right) NELLementary: Nell in her exhibition Hometown Girl Has Wet Dream. Picture by Stuart Scott, 2012. (right page- left top) Captivating: Maitland Regional Art Gallery installation and technical gallery coordinator Peter Joass with Archibald Prize people’s choice winner entitled Brandon [artist - Vincent Fantauzzo]. Picture by Cath Bowen, 2010

(left lower) Odd Couple: Good Boy with Jessica Funstone, 4, of Ashtonfield. Picture by Cath Bowen, 2011 (right top) Jewish History: Historian Dr Janis Wilton at the Maitland Jewish Cemetery in Louth Park. Picture by Cath Bowen, 2010

(right lower) Gallery Coup: Governor-General Marie Bashir at the exhibition opening with Gallery Director Joe Eisenberg. Picture by Stuart Scott, 2012

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MRAG CATALOGUES

2 0 0 3

2 0 0 9

2 0 1 1

2012

2014

Hidden treasures: the Maitland Collection Perfect one day… Leo Robba/paintings

MRAG grand opening Collecting lines: selected works from the Geoff and Vicki Ainsworth Collection Different tracks: the Agapitos/Wilson collection of contemporary Aboriginal art Fiona Davies: intangible collection Graham Kuo: recent drawings Jon Pryer: off the leash The Art Factory Time capture: an artwork by Lara O’ Reilly

Denese Oates: sculpture Euan Macleod: portraits FACE 2011: an exhibition of portraits by Hunter and Central Coast K-10 students Frank’s Flat Michael Keighery: China syndrome Papunya Tula Women’s art Pat Corrigan: Collector Paul Selwood: perspective cutouts Peter and Fairlie Kingston: a shared childhood Ron Royes: through my eyes Sean Roche: hours and minutes Space & time: 10 years in the landscape John R Walker

PaperWorks: nine exhibitions A little of: William Kentridge Cutting through: the art of Elisabetta Gut Eat your heart out, this belongs to Maitland: the MRAG Collection Framing time, telling stories: the fascinating art of Michael Platt Gao Ping: welcome to my world Garry Shead: a personal diary Insectorsize: Trevor Weekes and natural history illustration students, University of Newcastle Jean Baptiste Apuatimi + artists of the Tiwi Islands: earth on paper Lisa Kirkpatrick and Ben Soedrajit: duality Perfusion: HMRI artist in residence Judith White Versus BLUE vs RED: the battle of the pigments

Dick Watkins: love of women Showcase 2014: artwork by local high school students from Years 7-12 Vicki Varvaressos: the story so far

2 0 0 4 Undercurrents: Shirley Cameron-Roberts, Therese Kenyon, Brian Roberts

2 0 0 5 Graham Kuo: paintings In focus: 5 photographic portraits Jab: thrust and disrupt

2006 Shot in Maitland View of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft) 2 0 0 7 An unstill life: James A Casey Chris Capper: paintings 2001-2006 Circus: Joe Furlonger Re(action): new work by contemporary artists inspired by works on paper from the MRAG Collection

2 0 0 8 Romancing the landscape: Max Watters and Leo Robba

2 0 1 0 Chinese scrolls: from the MRAG Collection Construction: Carla Feltham, Michelle Maartensz, Martin Trew Dancing with light: the art of John Martin 2005-2010 FACE: an exhibition of portraits by Hunter and Central Coast K-10 students Hanna Kay: undertow In [two] art Julio Santos: 30 years with glass Maitland Jewish Cemetery: a monument to dreams and deeds Paper: from the MRAG Collection Peter Poulet: 19 years of colour Shorelines: Adrian Lockhart Solitary pursuits in red: Elizabeth Cummings, Graham Kuo, Yaeli Ohana, Steve Woodbury Suzanne Archer: Afterlife

2012 FACE 2012: an exhibition of portraits by Hunter and Central Coast K-10 students Follow the silence: installations by Lezlie Tilley and Patricia Wilson-Adams Inspiring artists: recipients of the Pat Corrigan Artists’ Grant James Gleeson: a close focus on an extraordinary vision Linda Greedy: as the sparrow drives Marnling Press and Whaling Road Studio: a survey exhibition celebrating two Sydney print workshops Nell: hometown girl has wet dream

2013 Alan Jones | paper and wood: collecting ideas Dark edges of the collection: Maitland Regional Art Gallery Exposed: from the MRAG collection FACE 2013: An exhibition of portraits by Hunter and Central Coast K-10 students Opportunity Shop (op shop) Showcase: artwork by local high school students from Years 7-12 Year of the bird: a celebration of hybridity

2015 Bookmarks: Adrian Lockhart Kerrie Lester: facetime

A gallery of people: looking back

MRAG AWARDS

2009

2013

Master Builders Association NSW Awards: Winner, Refurbishment/Renovation and Extension (Up to $5 million). Builder: Brisland Pty Ltd.

Museums and Galleries National Awards: Winner, Exhibition (Temporary) Level 2 ($20,000 - $150,000). Paperworks | Nine Exhibitions.

2010

Museums and Galleries National Awards: Highly Commended, Exhibition (Temporary) Level 2 ($20,000 - $150,000). Creative power: the art of George Baldessin.

Landcom Lower Hunter Urban Design Awards: Winner, Graph Building Heritage Award. Architect: Paul Berkemeier + Barry McGregor & Associates + Maitland City Council Builder: Brisland Pty Ltd. Landcom Lower Hunter Urban Design Awards: Certificate of Merit, Large-Scale Development Award (Leisure/Recreation/Entertainment). Local Government Cultural Awards: Joint Winner, Cultural Infrastructure Division C: population over 60,000. MRAG Redevelopment. Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Winner, Multimedia Level B. Designer: Cressida Goddard. Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Highly Commended, Education Material Level B. Designer: Cressida Goddard.

Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Winner, Corporate Level B. Corporate Branding. Designer: Clare Hodgins. Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Highly Commended, Exhibition Branding Level B. Paperworks | Nine Exhibitions. Designer: Clare Hodgins. Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Winner, Exhibition Branding Level B. Versus 2012 | Blue vs Red, battle of the pigments. Designer: The Roost Creative. Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Highly Commended, Exhibition Catalogue (Small) Level B. Paperworks | Nine Exhibitions. Designer: Clare Hodgins.

2011

Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Highly Commended, Exhibitions Catalogue (Small) Level B. Inspiring artists: recipients of the Pat Corrigan Artists’ Grant. Designer: Clare Hodgins.

National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards: Winner, Interpretation and Presentation, Corporate/Government. Maitland Jewish Cemetery.

Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Winner, Poster Level B, Paperworks | Nine Exhibitions. Designer: Clare Hodgins.

Royal Australian Institute of Architects NSW Architecture Awards: Premier’s Prize. Architect: Paul Berkemeier.

Royal Australian Institute of Architects NSW Architecture Awards: Commendation, Heritage Greenway Award. Architect: Paul Berkemeier. Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards: Winner, Cultural Heritage Award, Population Category C.

2012 Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Joint Winner, Corporate Level B. Corporate Branding. Designer: Clare Hodgins. Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Joint Winner, Website (A), Level B. Designer: Clare Hodgins. Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Highly Commended, Education Material Level B, Paul Selwood: perspective cutouts (K-12). Designer: Clare Hodgins.

Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Winner, Website (B) Level B. Versus 2012 | Blue vs Red, battle of the pigments. Designer: Keo Match (The Roost Creative).

2014 Museums and Galleries National Awards: Winner, Exhibition Temporary or Travelling Exhibition, Level 1. Opportunity shop. Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards: Winner, Exhibition Branding Level A. Opportunity shop. Designer: Clare Hodgins.

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JUST PAPER: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) acknowledges the

As always many thanks to the MRAG Members and

outstanding support of its current patrons, Ray Wilson

volunteers for their untiring support and work.

OAM and Pat Corrigan AM. Ray Wilson has made the

A special thanks to the MRAG Members Committee

Just Paper catalogue possible through his Agapitos/Wilson

who, for Just Paper, are fostering further creative learning

Annual donation which is given as a celebration of the

opportunities and hosting an unforgettable party.

partnership between the late James Agapitos OAM and Ray Wilson OAM, the first MRAG patrons. Pat Corrigan AM has also given more than is ever necessary, and MRAG is grateful to him for this. MRAG is a cultural institution that is fortunate to have such passionate and generous patrons. MRAG is also fortunate in the extra financial support received for a project as ambitious, and celebratory, as Just Paper. For this, thanks to Janet Clayton, Michael Gleeson-White AO, Geoffrey Hassall OAM, Michael

Just Paper, like all MRAG exhibitions and projects, would not be possible without the support of Maitland City Council staff especially Lynn Morton (Manager Community & Recreation Services), the marketing team and Maitland City Library.

MRAG also warmly thanks the Visual Art students and teachers from the following schools for their participation in Showcase No3:

Hobbs, Pauline Hunter, Tom Lowenstein and

All Saints College, St Joseph’s Campus, Lochinvar

Reg Richardson AM.

All Saints College, St Mary’s Campus, Maitland

Central to Just Paper are the artists whose work is represented throughout the exhibitions and in this catalogue. It is through their generosity and creativity that this project, and the MRAG Collection, has acquired new perspectives and an abundance of inspiring and inspired art works.

All Saints College, St Peters Campus, Maitland Cardiff High School Dungog High School Kotara High School Kurri Kurri High School Lambton High School Maitland Christian School

Donations of artworks were also kindly and generously

Maitland Grossman High School, East Maitland

given by Stella Downer of Stella Downer Fine Art Gallery,

Maitland High School

Bruce Heiser of Heiser Gallery, Randi Linnegar of King

Mount View High School, Cessnock

Street Gallery, Charles Nodrum of Charles Nodrum

Newcastle High School

Gallery, Frank Watters and Geoffrey Legge of Watters

Northlakes High School, San Remo

Gallery, and Penelope Seidler AM.

Scone High School

Thanks also to Michel Brouet, Michael Fitzgerald, Susan Hodgins, Anna Waldmann, Janis Wilton and WHO Printing for willingly giving time, expertise, energy and in kind support. Thoughtful and vigorous assistance also came from Cath Bowen and Emma Swain of the Maitland Mercury, Bronwyn Watson and Penny Evans, and Kian West and Ryan Williams of Newcastle Mirage.

St Catherine’s Catholic School, Singleton St Philips Christian College, Nulkaba St Philips Christian College, Salamander Bay

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Acknowledgements

JUST PAPER: THE PROJECT

Cultural Director

Joe Eisenberg OAM

Graphic Design

Clare Hodgins

Deputy Director

Brigette Uren

Exhibition Installation

Kattie Bugeja

Curators

Kim Blunt

Anna Buxton-Soldal

Cheryl Farrell

Anne McLaughlin

Maree Skene

Assistant Curators

Lizz Cooper

Lisa Kirkpatrick

Creative Learning Team

Manager Installation Team

Lizz Cooper

Vince Cooper

Linda Greedy

Amy Hill

Zachary Roach

Braddon Snape

Visitor Services Team

Kattie Bugeja

Michelle Maartensz

Anna Buxton-Soldal

Anne McLaughlin

Lizz Cooper

MRAG Art Educators,

Vanessa Evans

Tutors & Volunteers

Ashley Grant

Research

Ashley Grant

Linda Greedy

Lisa Kirkpatrick

Liesl Harvey

Maree Skene

Volunteers

Kim Acquilina

Margaret Guy

Reg O’Brien

Nou Akkoumeh

Belinda Hailstone

Brooke Osland

Kate Allen

Katrina Hailstone

Johnathon Parker

Hannah Batty

Judy Henry

Robyn Pearson

Lorraine Brown

Mary Hobbs

Robyn Redford

Fabian Channell

Susan Hodgins

Ron Royes

Pamela Cole

Rosemary Keegan

Jean-Paul Ruelle

Carol Connaughton

Michelle Kelly

Maria Russell

Vince Cooper

Catherine Kingsmill

Joy Sharpe

Lindsey Croker

Bella Lannen

Lara Shipard

Gianna Fallovollita

Annette Leonard

Emma Stronach

Chloe Farrell

Vanessa Lewis

Bev Tindall

Holly Farrell

Karon Lindner

Sandra Tweedie

Ryan Farrell

Lilyan Marai

Sandii Walker

Sarah Feng

Elke Mitchell

Sandra Watton

Marilyn Frost

Sigourney Nicholson

Laura George

David Oberdorf

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Acknowledgements

JUST PAPER: CATALOGUE

Essay

Anna Waldmann

Preface

Joe Eisenberg OAM

Editors

Brigette Uren

Janis Wilton OAM

to accompany the exhibitions included in

Sub-editors

Cheryl Farrell

Just Paper | Agapitos/Wilson Annual

Lisa Kirkpatrick

Exhibition dates: 2 May - 21 June 2015

Anne McLaughlin

Contributors

Kim Blunt

Anna Buxton Soldal

Lizz Cooper

Cheryl Farrell

Lisa Kirkpatrick

Michelle Maartensz

Anne McLaughlin

Maree Skene

Design

Clare Hodgins

Photography

Michel Brouet

The piano has been drinking (not me)

An empty chair: 10 years of paper

On the make: a collection story

The maitland wonder: Les Darcy

Cath Bowen, Stuart Scott, Marina Neil

A gallery of people: looking back

Michelle Maartensz

top image, Showcase No3, page 160

Richard Fletcher

bottom left image, Showcase No3, page 160

Cover and title pages

Clare Hodgins

assisted by Johnathon Parker

Printing

WHO Printing

ISBN

978-0-9942530-2-6

First published in 2015 by Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) PO Box 220, Maitland NSW 2320 mrag.org.au Published by Maitland Regional Art Galley

Celebrating 30 years of Print WHO Printing is proud to be associated with the iconic Maitland Regional Art Gallery WHO was established in 1985 by Wayne and Helen Ogle (WHO). With a passion for customer service and quality work, the company quickly grew to become leaders in the industry with their son, General Manager Daniel Ogle. This year we celebrate our 30th year of providing exceptional service in print to the Hunter and beyond. Using this experience, combined with the latest in technology and our highly skilled staff, we are able to provide outstanding fully integrated print solutions for businesses of any size. Contact us today and let us bring your ideas to life with print.

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Just Paper - Presented by Maitland Regional Art Gallery

Articles inside

A GALLERY OF PEOPLE: LOOKING BACK

SHOWCASE N o 3: ARTWORK BY YEAR 7-12 LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

ASCENDANCE: TREVOR WEEKES

ON THE MAKE: A COLLECTION STORY

AN EMPTY CHAIR: 10 YEARS OF PAPER

THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING (NOT ME): LYRICS

THE MAITLAND WONDER: LES DARCY

THE FULL MELODY

TAKING ON LES DARCY

TOM WAITS IN MAITLAND