APW 40x40 - Marking 40 Years

APW 40x40 was an ambitious project to mark APW’s 40th Anniversary. Forty leading contemporary Australian artists who share important and long-standing creative relationships with APW were invited to collaborate with APW Printers to each create a new work in the print medium.

The 40 x 40 portfolio of works represents a monumental survey of contemporary Australian art – a testament to the diversity of approaches, techniques and expression artists invest in this collaborative process.

APW turned 40 in 2021, when COVID restrictions were still impacting operations. So while this project was a celebration of that milestone, it did not receive its public presentation until mid-2023 with an exhibition at APW Gallery.

The official opening of APW 40 x 40 on 28 June 2023 was an opportunity to celebrate with many longstanding supporters of APW including the exhibiting artists and representatives from the Philanthropic sector, major cultural institutions, Creative Victoria and APW Board and Staff.

In launching APW 40 x 40,  Anne Ryan, Curator of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales observed

There are decades of knowledge and skill bound up in this exceptional suite of prints. They go well beyond the forty years plus of the Australian Print Workshop that the portfolio is marking – there would be collective centuries of experience and skill evident here, from the artists to the printers.

The APW’s enabling of collaboration between skilled printers and artists of every stripe, has enabled important art to be made here in Melbourne, a rare achievement in the ebb and flow of the Australian art world.

Decades of steady building has grown a facility that is the envy of other cities, which has built audiences for prints, skills for makers, and opportunities for artists. It’s an ecosystem that should be treasured.  

APW acknowledges the extraordinarily talented cohort of artists it had the privilege to work with in realising APW 40 x 40.

Rick AMOR (VIC) • Brook ANDREW (VIC) • Benjamin ARMSTRONG (VIC) • Graham BADARI (NT) • Martin BELL (VIC) • Andrew BROWNE (VIC) • Jon CATTAPAN (VIC) • Megan COPE (QLD) • Vicki COUZENS (VIC) • Aleks DANKO (VIC) • eX DE MEDICI (ACT) • Belinda FOX (VIC) • Shaun GLADWELL (VIC) • Julie GOUGH (TAS) • Gracia HABY & Louise JENNISON (VIC) • Fiona HALL (TAS) • Katherine HATTAM (VIC) • Euan HENG (VIC) • Richard LEWER (VIC) • Kevin LINCOLN (VIC) • Tim MAGUIRE (FRANCE/NSW) • Jennifer MARSHALL (TAS) • Laith McGREGOR (NSW) • Allan MITELMAN (VIC) • Janice MURRAY (NT) • Tom NICHOLSON (VIC) • David NOONAN (UK) • Patricia PICCININI (VIC) • Lisa ROET (VIC) • Caroline ROTHWELL (NSW) • Jan SENBERGS (VIC) • Sally SMART (VIC) • Mervyn STREET (WA) • Andrew TAYLOR (VIC) • Thornton WALKER (VIC) • Judy WATSON (QLD) • Louise WEAVER (VIC) • John WOLSELEY (VIC) • Pedro WONAEAMIRRI (NT)

The catalogue can be viewed here.

Each work has been printed in a limited edition of 40 (plus proofs) on BFK 250gsm paper. Image size: 40cm x 32cm. Paper size: 52cm x 38cm.

Ten impressions from each edition have been collated and are presented as a boxed set containing the collection of prints, a title page and colophon.

A small number of impressions from each edition are available for individual purchase for the special price of $1,100 each from APW Gallery or the APW Online Printstore.