Contemporary print and the INK on PAPER PRESS

December 10 – March 25, 2023, at Chippenham Museum

This free exhibition celebrates the best in contemporary printmaking and the INK on PAPER PRESS, founded in Wiltshire by artist Amy-Jane Blackhall in 2015. Blackhall trained under Master Printer Jack Shirreff at 107 Workshop in Shaw, where she worked on editions for renowned artists such as Howard Hodgkin and Gillian Ayres. The etching press that stands at the heart of the studio came from 107 Workshop.

All the works featured in the exhibition were printed at the INK on PAPER PRESS. Works by Royal Academicians Emma Stibbon and Ann Christopher will be shown alongside other innovative printmakers including Celia Cook, Ian Chamberlain, and the late Michael Pennie. All of the prints on show were recently acquired through the Golder-Thompson Gift to Chippenham Museum in Memory of Arthur Norman.

This will be the third and final exhibition in our special series displaying works from the Golder-Thompson Gift. Marking the prominence of printmaking in this corner of Wiltshire, the gift spans one hundred years of printmaking from 1920 to the present day. The full gift can be seen in the museum’s publication ‘A Century in Print: 1920-2020’, available from the museum shop.

Chair of the Amenities, Culture and Leisure Committee, Cllr Nick Murry said of the exhibition; “The generous Golder – Thompson Gift has helped our museum tell the story of printmaking in this area of Wiltshire and also shows the role the area played in wider artistic stories. We are fortunate that there are so many talented artists, etchers and printmakers living locally and are privileged to be able to collect and show their work in our local museum.”

To accompany the exhibition, there will be a programme of workshops and events.

Chippenham Museum, a Chippenham Town Council facility, is free entry, open Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm, including bank holidays.