Biography

Born, Chichester, Sussex 1994, Graduated from Leeds College of Art 1968. Worked in Arts Administration, Graphic Design, Historic Building Conservation and Education in many parts of Great Britain. Has written about the contemporary arts since 1986, for British and International magazines and journals: has written many catalogue essays. Travels widely to speak at conferences and in Universities. Author of two books on 20th century Polish art and three books on international contemporary printmaking. Has been jury member for numerous international competitions, and has curated print exhibitions in the UK, Turkey and Romania. Lives somewhere in Wales.

Illustrated Talk

The Continuing Journey
Working at the Richard Demarco Gallery in Edinburgh in 1972-3, starting with the installation of Atelier ’72, the first major exhibition in Britain of contemporary Polish art, introduced me to the wider possibilities of contemporary art, and led to a number of group expeditions with Demarco, and later many journeys as a solo traveller and researcher.

I have written about the contemporary and historical visual arts since I first visited Poland in 1985, and contributed numerous articles to British and international magazines. My connection with Poland led to the commission to write two books on contemporary Polish art, which in turn led to my close involvement with the International Print Triennial, Krakow, chairing the juries from 2003-09. It also led to my three books on international contemporary printmaking, and involvement with numerous printmaking competitions, lectures, conferences and exhibitions. The publication of ‘Printmaking Off the Beaten Track’  (Bloomsbury, autumn 2013) will complete a ten-year project of writing three books about the international print community, featuring the work of 151 artists/printmakers from 54 countries.

The proposed illustrated talk will refer back to these experiences but will also offer some thoughts on the nature of international printmaking and how it is developing; on the process of researching and exploring the real and virtual printmaking worlds; on the nature of travel; the process of writing; and my approach to writing about art – neither academic nor populist, but aimed at a broad range of readers. The talk will also consider the process of attempting to keep up with the changes, the missing continents and countries, and the gaps in the unfolding story, as well as the possibilities and challenges of continuing the exploration, the challenges of virtual books and, importantly, by whom such continuing journeys might be made.