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“True Fictions from Australia - Sanna historier från Australien ”
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22 October 2011 – 8 January 2012
Jensen Gallery - Grafikens Hus, Mariefred, Sweden.
Adam Rish and Garry Shead, two veteran artist/printmakers from Sydney, are by some strange serendipity exhibiting in the very prestigious Grafikens Hus, a major centre for graphic art just outside of Stockholm, during November and December this year. In 2010 Rish and Shead were involved in a printmaking workshop, run by master Australian printer and publisher Basil Hall, on the island of Skopelos, Greece. Skopelos, besides being an idyllic island, has the Swedish/ABBA connection for being the location of the hit movie “Mamma Mia”. Given this it was perhaps natural that also attending the workshop was one of the doyens of Swedish printmaking, Mikael Kihlman. Kihlman was drawn to the work of the two artists and invited and organised this exhibition. His comments re the exhibition are:
“Adam Rish and Garry Shead, two friends and colleagues since the 1980s in Sydney, Australia, are two storytellers with two very different temperaments: Adam Rish’s twisted and humorous imagery gives us a glimpse of an Australia that can truly be said to be upside down! Garry Shead images are about life, love, lust and beauty, constantly threatened by war, misery and helplessness of man before the ever-present death. If Adam's images have their roots in the 1960's underground so have Garry’s images more in common with Picasso, Chagall and an Eastern European painting tradition from the early 1900s. And the stories they tell are certainly true, or ...?"
The Grafikens Hus, “in the old royal barn of Gripsholms Castle in Mariefred is now an International centre for Fine Arts printmaking. In 1996 Grafikens Hus opened its doors to 2000 square meters on two levels which today host exhibition halls, workshops, collections, a library, conference rooms, a shop and a café. The workshop is used by artists, primarily as a workplace, but visitors are welcome to catch a glimpse of techniques of printmaking.”