Pressing Matters: Contemporary Printmaking
Jenny Port Gallery
Level One, 7 Albert Street,
Richmond (Until August 2)


One Wolf Girl Battles Against All Mankind, Jazmina Cininas. Courtesy Jenny Port Gallery.

Last Saturday I ‘rediscovered’ Albert Street in Richmond. Over the last few months, new galleries such as Shifted have opened alongside stalwarts such as the Karen Woodbury Gallery and Anita Traverso Gallery. There are seven galleries in total in the street, allowing for an eclectic gallery-hopping experience. Each offers a unique approach to contemporary art, and shows work in a variety of media.

A gallery that I’ve been particularly impressed with on the strip is the Jenny Port Gallery. Jenny has always been a great supporter of both established and emerging local Australian artists, including Midsumma participants such as Naomie Sunner. Currently showing is a contemporary printmaking show, Pressing Matters, in which nine artists bring their own unique perspective to the printmaking practice. Whether through technique, process or theme, each artist has created works that will delight, amuse and impress.

Ruth Johnstone’s delicate works are made up of cut-up stamps. She’s taken elements such as flowers and wildlife, and constructed gorgeous, frame-mounted, three-dimensional collages. The works intrigue as much for their technique as for the subject matter chosen.

Alongside Johnstone’s works are pieces by another established Melbourne artist, Deb Williams. The subject matter of Williams’ etchings is the humble dog. Posed reclining, howling, or sniffing around, these works are delightful in their simplicity and emotive power.

An artist that blows me away each time I see her work is Jazmina Cininas. Her reduction lino cuts in Pressing Matters continue her investigation into the mythology of the wolf, and in particular, women as werewolves. Cininas represents the wolf as a shapeshifter across different cultures (drawing on her Lithuanian and Australian heritage) and different times (some works are set in medieval contexts, others feature contemporary Pop backgrounds). The works are rich in intricate detail and labour-intensive in production.

It’s worth checking out Pressing Matters just for the piece by Clare Humphries: a floor-based installation made up of sugar cubes soaked in tea for various lengths of time. The abstract piece becomes clear to the viewer once you half close your eyes, revealing two photographic images of the artists’ relatives. The optical effect of the work is amazing.

There is, on Albert Street, a sense of a ‘united front’, with all galleries participating each year in a kind of open day for the public complete with gallery talks, exhibitions and refreshments. Look out for the next one to be held in May 2009.

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