FREE EVENT, NOT NEED TO BOOK, JUST TURN UP.
Join us for the launch of Reframing Women Printmakers, by P. L. Henderson. From Cassatt to Kollwitz and Kruger to Kusama, the art of printmaking has been a catalyst for revolution in women's artistic expression. In this book, the fascinating lives of diverse and historic women artists, and their use of a range of printmaking techniques from engraving to digital art, are revisited and reframed. The book also explores the importance of printing in women’s activism via artworks, pamphlets, posters and zines and includes over twenty interviews with contemporary women printmakers, providing unique insights into their practices, themes and personal motivation.
Presentations by CHERYL ROBSON, writer, filmmaker and publisher at Aurora Metro and printmakers LORAINE MONK and RICHENDA COURT.
Richenda Court is an award-winning printmaker trained in fine art and contemporary dance at Brighton University, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and Morley College. At Morley College Richenda studied printmaking for many years under tutors Richard Michelle, Frank Connolly and Marc Balakjian, editioners to Lucien Freud, Frank Auerbach and David Hockney. Originally from Suffolk Richenda now lives in Esher working daily from her home studio. Her preferred printmaking mediums are linocut and etching. The prints are inspired by fluid detailed line drawings; progressing subconscious idea’s not knowing where they may lead. This process is the foundation of her practice ‘Glass Town’ the most recent five year project, includes drawings, linocuts and etchings and an animation film. In 2021 Richenda was made a member of the Royal Society of Painters and Printmakers based at Bankside Gallery, next to Tate Modern. Her work can be found in the RE Diploma Collection, V & A Museum and British Library. Richenda has exhibited extensively in the UK including two solo exhibitions at Sotheran’s in Mayfair, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the Royal Society of British Artists. This year she was invited to exhibit in Beijing at Guardian International Printmaking Conference.
Loraine Monk’s practice derives from a sense of place and community. Originally a painter, she creates images using both relief and etching print processes. Her family were working-class Londoners; inspired by local and community history, her background has influenced her politics, academic research, and artistic practice. She uses the act of cutting, engraving and indenting lines to explore inequality and political disengagement. She has previously worked as a Community Worker, Parliamentary Researcher, and Lecturer. She has shown in a number of independent Galleries, group shows and museums, as well as larger mixed shows, including the International Original Print Exhibition, the Society of Women Artists and the Woolwich Contemporary Print fair. Loraine has exhibited in London, Brighton, Sweden and Germany; and held a residency at Kingston Museum, London, completing an MA in Printmaking at Camberwell UAL in 2021. She is a member of the Printmakers Council UK, Southbank Printmakers, and Richmond Printmakers.
Cheryl Robson is an award-winning writer, editor and publisher who founded Aurora Metro Books over 30 years ago and has published over 200 titles, as well as acquiring the classic drama list from Amber Lane Press in 2023. A graduate of the MA in Playwriting at University of Birmingham, Cheryl has also published hundreds of plays by British and international playwrights, with unique collections from South Africa, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. With art historian PL Henderson, she has designed and edited three highly regarded art books including Unravelling Women’s Art (about textile arts), Unlocking Women’s Art (about painters), and Reframing Women Printmakers, each of which explores art history from a feminist perspective. Cheryl has worked for the BBC and made the acclaimed feature documentary Rock n Roll Island: where legends were born shown on BBC 4 in 2020. She is best-known for her successful campaign to erect a bronze statue of Virginia Woolf in Richmond in 2022.
"Reframing Women offers a powerful and much-needed reexamination of the role of women in printmaking, challenging long-held assumptions about artistic authorship and gender. Through a combination of historical analysis, striking visual examples and interviews with practicing artists, the book sheds light on often-overlooked female artists whose contributions have been marginalized in mainstream art history. The writing is thoughtful and well-researched, offering both scholarly insight and accessible narrative, as well as a broad look through time and cultures. This is an essential read for anyone interested in feminist art history, print culture, or the broader redefinition of women’s roles in the creative industries." – Daisy Campbell, Netgalley reviewer“P. L. Henderson works tirelessly to bring the work of global women artists to a wider audience..." – Jackie Morris, award-winning illustrator and writer“P.L Henderson’s writing is essential and key to the always unfolding story of the impact of women on art. And of art on women .” – Bonnie Greer, novelist, critic and broadcaster"Women artists have long been undervalued and cast aside by our historically male-dominated culture...Art historian PL Henderson has dedicated her career to rewriting this narrative" – Charlotte Beach, PRINT Magazine