4 - 23 March 2010
about the exhibition
Internationally renowned artist-printmaker Jörg Schmeisser is a master of his medium. The immaculately detailed etchings and drawings are a reflection on his time in locations as diverse as Japan, Venice and Rosedale (on the south coast of NSW). In his more recent works, objects and landscape impressions are often used in numerous prints in different ways – “just as I would tell a story to different people in different ways”. Reminiscing on his time in Japan, Jörg recalls his travels, the people he met and the places he saw through his sketches on paper or copper. It is through seeing an object or landscape in depth and taking into account its specific and contextual detail, that Jörg presents a rich impression of different cultures and places that captivate the imagination.
Jörg Schmeisser was born in Pomerania, now Poland, in 1942. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany, followed by graduate studies in Kyoto, Japan. While studying he repeatedly worked as a draughtsman on archaeological expeditions in the Middle East. From 1978 to 1997, Jörg was Head of the Printmaking Workshop of the Canberra School of Art, now the Australian National University. He was appointed to the faculty of the Kyoto City University of Arts in 2002 and remained there for six years. A prolific traveller, artist and teacher, Jörg also visited Jerusalem, Hangzhou (China), Princeton University (USA), Ladakh (India), Cambodia and Antarctica for residencies and fellowships. Jörg Schmeisser’s work is held in the collections of all the Australian state galleries as well as the National Gallery of Australia and he is represented in many of the world’s most notable collections including the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Staatliche Sammlungen Dresden, Germany. This is Jörg’s first solo exhibition in Canberra since 2004.
