News and articles from Berkeley Editions

From Archibald to Argentina

Craig Ruddy fled the controversy over his Gulpilil portrait to find inspiration in South America, writes Katrina Strickland
William Dobell retreated to his sisters farm on Lake Macquarie in the mid-1940s after the infamous court battle over whether his 1943 Archibald Prize winning portrait of fellow artist Joshua Smith was a portrait or a caricature....sixty years later another artist, Craig Ruddy, was taken to court over his 2004 Archibald prize-winning portrait of actor David Gulpilil, this time weather it was a painting or a drawing.

... I wanted to capture the beauty of the environment but also the danger, poverty and struggle in Rio, where people say you need 10 eyes in the back of your head.
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COLLECTING PRINTS

"Collecting prints has a long and thriving history which began almost immediately after wood-block, engraved and etched prints became part of the artist's repertoire in fifteenth century Europe. They quickly attracted art collectors and remain an integral part of art collections as art connoisseurs have continued to add new prints to their collections. Some, like one of the earliest collectors Ferdinand Columbus (1488-1539), even restrict their collections to prints alone.

 Prints remains the generic term for an image reproduced on paper by means of a press. As the interest in the medium escalated, other print making techniques were introduced. Amongst these are drypoint, soft ground engravings, stipple etchings, chine-colle, lithographs, aquatint and mezzotint. Colour was also added. All these, as well as wood block engraving and several other methods, continue to be used today. Some prints are made from a single process, others by a combination of techniques which can often involve very complex work using multiple plates to achieve the highest standards.

 Printmaking has continued to be an important part of the artistic medium. While some artists continue to make their own prints as well as paint and draw; others work only in the medium. Print publishers still play an important part in the print market today, commissioning series of prints from well known artists. These are co-operations between the artist, the publisher and a master printmaker, who work together to produce a limited series of works. One such publisher, BERKELEY EDITIONS, has been commissioning prints from acclaimed Australian artists for over twenty-five years and has recently commissioned Garry Shead and Craig Ruddy to create a series of multi-plate colour etchings. Each artist works in different ways. Ruddy produces his etchingss by working directly onto the plates, very exacting work, not only does every printed image have to be incised in reverse, but any mistake will be seen on the finished product. Shead too works closely with the printmaker to ensure that the colours of his multi-plate etchings are to his meticulour standards.

These high quality prints in limited editions are masterly examples of the virtuosity of printmaking and demonstrate why prints have remained so popular a medium for art collectors."  Joanna Capon 2009

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Levitação / Levitation

Craig Ruddy captures the sharp light of Rio de Janeiro as it is reflected by the rippling sea, bouncing off the white sands to create a distinctive, mauve haze. The shards of light overlap and fragment, as though refracted by panes of glass, and the imagery in Ruddy's Levitation series is further affected by the glass sheets superimposed over his most recent paintings. Outlines of athletic figures immersed in water, tumbling in the frothy surf and leaping on the beach sometimes resemble the shimmering profiles of a mirage. The horizon shifts. Shadows seem to appear and disappear, but in fact, they really do.
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Prints Explained

"We have found that people are really interested in learning more about printmaking and how limited editions are produced and why they may increase in value", Robyn Berkeley of Berkeley Editions said.
"People are unsure about the difference between etchings, lithographs and screen-prints and would like to recognise these differences."
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Craig Ruddy - Exciting new direction

Robyn Berkeley of Berkeley Editions is delighted to announce three spectacular new releases, in conjunction with Archibald Prize winner, Craig Ruddy, now widely-regarded as one or Australia’s hottest artists. The three images, titled ‘Embers’, ‘Nocturnal Flower’ and ‘Dawn Embrace’, are his first-ever etchings. As Craig explains it, they depict the human form and the human spirit, and their journey in connection with the landscape. 
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The Production Of Garry Shead’s 2005 Releases

In 1988, Garry Shead worked with Sydney Master Printer Diana Davidson to produce a suite of 5 etchings known as the “Outback ballad” Suite. These sugar-lift and aquatint works were printed in one colour in small editions of 25. The zinc plates were then stored in Sydney until 2005, when Robyn Berkeley of Berkeley Editions suggested Garry make colour versions of the earlier etchings using the original plates.
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