THE GERTRUDE EDITION
Established in 2002 the Gertrude Editions are a series of specially commissioned limited-edition works of art, released annually on the occasion of the Gertrude Studios exhibition.
The Gertrude Editions have been developed to raise funds in support of Gertrude Contemporary and to promote the connection between current studio artists and previous generations of leading Australian artists who have held studios and/or exhibitions at Gertrude Contemporary. The Gertrude Editions are held in several major private and institutional collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria and Monash University Museum of Art. Released to the public in November of each year the Gertrude Editions usually contain some aspect of production that reveals the hand of the artist. The launch of the Gertrude Edition is celebrated with an invitation only afternoon tea at the home of a collector or patron and this event brings together Gertrude’s Table patrons, collectors, artists, alumni and peers.
The 2012 limited edition artwork is by internationally acclaimed artist Richard Lewer, who has created 78 unique, hand painted works, each of which represent a Tarot card.
Comprising all of the cards in the Tarot deck these works continue Lewer’s investigations into the extremes of human behaviour. In each of the 78 works, Lewer employs his distinctive expressive painting style to engage us in the battle between good and evil, darkness and light, all seen through his viscerally humorous lens.
In creating the series, Richard Lewer referred to a number of historical precedents including the 15th Century Visconti-Sforza deck, one of the earliest surviving examples of tarot imagery. Here, Lewer found common ground between narratives that have been central to his oeuvre and in imagery that for centuries has been used to reveal the self and divine the future.
Lewer is one of Australasia’s most eminent painters whose work has been shown extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand and internationally. His work features in significant national collections such as the Art Gallery of South Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. He has had significant solo exhibitions surveying his practice at Monash University Museum of Art and at the Waikato Museum, New Zealand, as well as showing in a number of important group exhibitions at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Heide Museum of Modern Art and the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art.
Richard Lewer
Tarot Card Series 2012
oil on epoxy-coated steel
30.5 x 22.5cm
Limited edition of 78
Fundraiser price: AUD $1100
Work courtesy of Richard Lewer, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne and Hugo Michell Gallery, Adelaide
Special thanks to Kerryn Wilson, All Panel Paints Fremantle, St Lukes Artist Colourmen, C. Tech Engineering, Fremantle Arts Centre, Famous Visual Services
Photo credit: Bo Wong
The 2012 Edition has been supported by Yanni Florence.
The work has been generously donated by Richard Lewer, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne and Hugo Michell Gallery, Adelaide.
The 2011 Gertrude Edition Mirrorrim Sees is a specially commissioned digital pigment and screen print on Somerset paper in an edition of 50, signed and numbered by Michelle Ussher. Responding to the repetitive process of printmaking, the series combines 4 images in 10 permutations with 5 variations making each print unique. Mirrorrim Sees depicts the narrative of a three-faced woman relentlessly pursuing an object through a universe of parallel reflections. Ussher’s print plays with the infinite possibilities of perception in relation to fiction, holographic principle, alternate realities and contemporary theory. The work has been generously donated by Michelle Ussher, KALIMANRAWLINS, Melbourne and Barbara Flynn, Sydney.
Michelle Ussher
Mirrorrim Sees 2011
Screen-print, printed with 12 colours, 5 screens, 1 digital print, embossing, silver
pigment, pencil and watercolour
Print size: 84 x 59.5cm
Frame size: 90 x 65cm
Limited edition of 50
Fundraiser price: AUD $1300 (including GST)
Work courtesy of Michelle Ussher, KALIMANRAWLINS, Melbourne and Barbara Flynn, Sydney
Artworks printed by Michelle Ussher and Lesley Sharpe at Wimbledon School of Art
Special thanks to Lesley Sharpe, Stephen Beasley, Matthew Noel-Tod, Acme Studios
Photo credit: Paul Knight
The 2011 Edition has been generously supported by Yanni Florence and Colour Square
No Editions remaining
The 2010 Gertrude Edition has been specially commissioned and generously donated by John Meade and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne. Comprising a new sculptural work by John Meade in a limited edition of 50, the 2010 Gertrude Edition consists of a hand-cast Hydrostone spine, inset with polyethylene bristles, on a steel base.
John Meade
Screw Babs 2010
Hydrostone, polyethylene and steel
height 55cm
limited edition of 50
Work courtesy of John Meade and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne
Special thanks to Jethro Harcourt, Gasworks Sculpture Studio, and Yanni Florence
Photo credit: Andrew Curtis
$1,100 with limited editions available
Comprising a new work by Benjamin Armstrong in a limited edition of 50, the 2009 Gertrude Edition is a wax and glass sculpture in three parts. As the glass has been hand blown, there are variations between the glass forms that make each Edition individual.
Benjamin Armstrong
Pink and Black 2009
blown glass and wax
dimensions variable
limited edition of 50
Work courtesy of Benjamin Armstrong and Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne
Special thanks to Philip Stokes and Liza Martin
Photo Credit: Andrew Curtis
NO EDITIONS REMAINING
The 2008 Gertrude Edition is a new photographic collage by David Rosetzky, which combines two portraits to question the boundaries between self and other. This work continues Rosetzky's interest in layering and portraiture, and the relationships between interiority and exteriority, gender and identity, realism and fiction.
David Rosetzky
Lindsey 2008
C-Type photo collage
Print size: 42 x 33cm, Frame size: 44 x 35cm.
Limited edition of 45
Work courtesy of David Rosetzky; Sutton Gallery, Melbourne and Kaliman Gallery, Sydney
Generously supported by Exhibit Framing and Prism Imaging
NO EDITIONS REMAINING
The 2007 Gertrude Edition comprises a new sculptural work by Nick Mangan - a bronze sculpture, cast from an assemblage of banksia pods, beeswax and coins. Inhabiting an uneasy space between growth and decay, totem and tourist kitsch, the work explores the environmental effects of culture on nature and the dubious progress of capitalism.
Nick Mangan
monument for small change 2007
cast bronze
21 x 11 cm
Limited edition of 50
Courtesy of Nick Mangan and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne
Photo Credit: Andrew Curtis
NO EDITIONS REMAINING
Comprising a new sculptural work by Robert Owen in a limited edition of 45 unique states, the 2006 Gertrude Edition is a series of open cubes, which have been broken down and reconfigured into five different arrangements. The work plays upon the idea of “flowering” and continues Robert’s poetic and associative investigations into colour, form, and space.
Robert Owen
Florentia
2006
Painted steel
Dimensions variable (longest edge 30cm)
Production: Peter Skerys; Studio Assistant: Rosa Voto
Limited edition of 45
Courtesy of Robert Owen, ARC 1 Gallery, Melbourne and Sherman Galleries, Sydney
Photo Credit: Andrew Curtis
NO EDITIONS REMAINING
The 2005 Gertrude Edition comprises a new print by David Noonan, which continues his complex layering of histories and genres - from the romantic sublime and the historical gothic to 1970s bohemia and hippie culture.
David Noonan
Untitled 2005
Etching, photo-etching, spit bite and aquatint, printed in 3 colours from¨two copper plates and one aluminium photo-etching plate
Printed by Martin King at Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne 2005
Sheet size: 76 x 56cm. Image size: 64 x 45cm
Limited edition of 45
Courtesy of David Noonan and Uplands Gallery, Melbourne; Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney; and Foxy Production, New York
No Editions remaining
Emily Floyd's work for the Gertrude Editions continues her investigation into the ways in which artists, curators and audiences learn to internalize and reproduce art discourse. Parodying the hype that can surround young artists, Important Emerging Artist provides a humorous and insightful commentary on the cliches used to market emerging artists.
Emily Floyd
Important Emerging Artist 2004
MDF, 296 letters, dimensions variable
Limited edition of 35
Courtesy of Emily Floyd and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne
Photo Credit: John Brash
NO EDITIONS REMAINING
The 2003 Gertrude Editions comprise two hand-painted works on canvas by Kate Beynon, in limited editions of 30 unique states. These works further develop the theme and imagery of the multiple lives of Li Ji - 4th century warrior girl / 19th century Forbidden City Princess / 21st century inner-city Australian-Chinese girl.
Kate Beynon
Li Ji - Forbidden City memory 2003
Acrylic and aerosol enamel paint on canvas with wooden stretcher
12.5 x 12.5 x 3.5 cms
Limited edition of 30
Kate Beynon
Li Ji - Melbourne life 2003
Acrylic and aerosol enamel paint on canvas with wooden stretcher
12.5 x 12.5 x 3.5 cms
Limited edition of 30
Courtesy of Kate Beynon and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne
Photo Credit: John Brash
NO EDITIONS REMAINING
Ricky Swallow
Forgotten Foundation 2002
Pigmented urethane resin multiple, comprised of two components, cast from wooden hand-carved originals
2 parts: 12.0 x 5.5 x 5.5 cms and 7.0 x 3.5 x3.5 cms, overall height 19.0 cms.
Limited edition of 55
Courtesy of Ricky Swallow and Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney
Photo Credit: John Brash
NO EDITIONS REMAINING