THE UK’S LARGEST PRINT EXHIBITION RETURNS TO RHEGED
Back for its 9th year, Rheged welcomes Great Print Exhibition Nine to its Gallery, celebrating the work of 60 UK Printmakers and providing an opportunity to see over 1000 original hand pulled artworks. Free to enter, this year’s exhibition opens on Friday 8 December and will run until Sunday 3March, sharing the broad spectrum of print making, from wood block to linocut, etching to screen print, cyanotype to collagraph.
This year’s exhibition includes a number of specially curated areas to explore in more detail, different approaches to Printmaking. There is an area dedicated to how collage is increasingly being used as a base for more experimental printmakers’ with examples of printing onto fabrics, paper, ceramics and even mirror shard. London artist, Cally Conway has been invited to show case her collaboration with well-known retailer Anthropologie, Cally’s lino print inspired a new range of clothing. Examples of the clothing, printing blocks used and some of the original prints will be exhibited to show the whole process; along with blocks, sketches and prints for the Maggie O’Farrell book cover which Cally designed and some original collages made from hand printed paper.
A special selection of Hester Cox’s haymaking project, taken from her recent solo exhibition ‘Within these walls’ are on show too. The project from the Yorkshire Dales artist presents a haymaking calendar in 12 linocuts representing the 12 months of the year. It will include delicately hand printed voile hangings, 95 miniature collagraphs of meadow flowers, butterflies and bees, and a display of Hester’s art materials, sketches and printing blocks.
The exhibition also features numerous Cumbrian printmakers, with many having the Lake District landscape at the heart of their work, including Sarah Cemmick (Milburn) Jo Clayton (Ulverston), David Lush (Carlisle), Katie Edwards (Ulverston), Kirsten Gilder (Carlisle) Liz Jones (Brampton) Polly Marix-Evans (Armathwaite), Mark A Pearce (Ravenglass) Sue Rowlands (Kentmere) and Geraldine Walkington (Kendal),
Polly will share her story of Bun Head, an eye catching installation of simple black and white linocut prints.
Gallery Manager Claire Harrison, who curated the exhibition, said “We are excited to have 20 new artists exhibiting this year, many of which have not exhibited in Cumbria before. This exhibition gives emerging artists a platform to be exhibited alongside some of the best UK printmakers and with such a diverse variety of original prints to choose from in a whole range of styles and techniques, there is truly something for everyone.”
As well as the exhibition, we have a range of creative classes hosted by some of our exhibiting artists, including Sue Rowland, Liz Jones, David Lush and Hester Cox, teaching participants a range of different print-making techniques from linocut and cyanotype to collagraph printmaking.
The exhibition is free entry, with no need to book, open daily 10am till 5pm from Friday 8December 2023 to Sunday 3 March 2024.
