Exhibitions Christchurch

MICHAEL THOMAS

Gingko Print Workshop and Gallery for Works on Paper

Gingko, the unique newly-opened print workshop marks a new development for printmaking in this country. It provides artists with both the facilities and the technical expertise necessary for the production of intaglio prints. Adjacent is a gallery for exhibitions.

There could be no better place for a working studio and exhibition space than behind the famous Gingko tree and next door to the bookshop in the Christchurch Arts Centre. Here the public is enabled to see at first hand how prints are made.

The Gingko Print Workshop

The combination of facility for the artist and education for the public is a new concept - an idea which opens up possibilities in this country that are now well established overseas. The practice of artists producing prints through a printmaking firm in consultation with the artist is not new - Editions Alecto and other European and American enterprises are similar set-ups - but this venture has been adapted for New Zealand by Jule Einhorn, a graduate in printmaking from Canterbury. After spending some time in New York Ms Einhorn thought of starting a printmaking studio here.

Four thousand dollars from the Arts Council and the help of Barry Cleavin and Tom Taylor enabled the Arts Centre and the Robert McDougall Art Gallery to jointly administer this non profit making enterprise. Proceeds from gallery sales (25% commission) facilitate the purchase of new equipment, and Jule Einhorn manages the gallery and is available to print artists' plates. Also she is able to advise and give technical assistance. Paper and materials are paid for by the artist and the charge for technical assistance is $10 per hour. This enables the painter, sculptor or artist not familiar with the technicalities of intaglio to produce an edition of prints, and it offers the possibility for a second party to be involved in the production of a print.

Eventually it is hoped to extend Gingko's equipment to include lithography. However, this development will take some time, due to the unavailability of lithographic stone and finance. Another idea, now becoming operational ' is for the workshop to become a resource centre for printmakers: a place where information about the availability of specialised equipment, overseas exhibitions, and a record of works on paper by New Zealand artists are held.

Already the Gallery for Works on Paper has held three exhibitions. The inaugural show, which followed the official opening of the complex by Michael Volkerling, was held just before Christmas. It comprised a comprehensive collection of works on paper by New Zealand artists, each of whom donated a work in support of the venture. Thirty pieces had sold by Christmas and public response was encouraging, inspiring Ms Einhorn to organise a second show of three artists from Wellington early this year. A show of works by Rosemary Campbell produced in collaboration with the workshop followed in February.

The particular advantage of Gingko to artists is the use of its facilities for their own ends: either solely as a gallery; as a time saving aid to the production of top quality prints; or as a resource of technical expertise to be hired by the artist who usually works in other media. Thus the Gingko Print Workshop & Gallery for Works on Paper gives an exciting hew dimension to an art form which has hitherto perhaps had a somewhat precious aura about it. The possibilities are far?reaching and one can imagine the Gingko insignia (an embossed symbol is now being designed) becoming the hallmark of the very best original prints in the near future.