Carolyn Murphy has a print inspired by Julian Trevelyan in the ‘Inspired By’ exhibition at Emma Mason gallery in Eastbourne. To clarify, Julian Trevelyan was a founder member of the Printmakers Council, a Royal Academician and outstanding printmaker and educator. Carolyn’s work ‘Stone Circle’ is a respectful nod to Trevelyan’s etching ‘Stonehenge’, which she viewed earlier this year at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Carolyn submitted the piece in response to a call from the Printmakers Council for new work from current members. Importantly, works needed to be inspired by early members of the organisation, which was set up in 1965 to promote and support the work of printmakers. Carolyn chose Julian Trevelyan, a founder member, because she has been exploring his work during her MA studies.
All works were selected for the show in Eastbourne, and are currently for sale online on the Emma Mason website.
‘Stone Circle’ is a monotype collage with graphite and linocut, which is a new combination of techniques for Carolyn.
Talking about Julian Trevelyan’s work, Carolyn explains “I love his compositions, his colours, the stylisation in his landscapes, his joyful experimentation and confident use of collage.”
She added, “In preparing new work for the exhibition, I returned to some of the etchings, collages and linocuts by Trevelyan that I already knew and looked more closely at the elements I loved. I questioned what made them so interesting to me and so typical of Trevelyan – perhaps his use of space within compositions, those textures and his experimental approach to landscape.
In my own practice, I have been creating ‘rock’ 3D structures hand-printed on paper. I decided to collage off-cuts from these monotypes and embrace the white space. I directly referenced Trevelyan’s etching and aquatint ‘Stonehenge’ (1961) in the composition and sun motif.”
Emma Mason gallery in Eastbourne is open Thursday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and at other times by appointment. The ‘Inspired By’ exhibition runs from 7 October until 4 November 2023.