Rew Hanks (born 1958) is an Australian

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

who specialises in hand painted

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of relief printing in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief printing, relief surface. A design i ...

. Hanks is known for his highly detailed works that explore Australian cultural histories whilst also making wry social commentaries. Born in 1958, in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Hanks holds a Master of Fine Arts from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, College of Fine Arts. By using the medium of linocut, Hanks replicates the appearance of 18th century prints, often combining the people and cultural images associated with Australia's early colonial period. He surrounds his subjects with ethnographic objects and loose Australian iconography to invite viewers to reflect on their own histories, beliefs about indigenous resistance, colonisation and Australia's cultural and social history. Hanks' works are held in the collections of the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

Artbank Artbank is an Australian art rental program established in 1980 by the Australian Government. The program supports contemporary Australian Visual artists, artists by purchasing their Art, artworks and renting them to public and private sector cli ...

, the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

, and other regional and international collections. Subjects of Hanks' art works have included

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

(''The Hunter and collector''), Dame

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

and

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

(''Peaches and cream'' 2022),

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(''Napoleon in exile'' 2022),

Gerard Krefft Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (17 February 1830 – 18 February 1881), was an Australian artist, draughtsman, scientist, and natural historian who served as the curator of the Australian Museum for 13 years (1861–1874). He was one of A ...

(''Krefft's chair'' 2022) and

Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

(''Fish between the flags'' 2023). In 1991, Hanks was awarded a Print Fellow from the

Tamarind Institute Tamarind Institute is a lithography workshop created in 1960https://tamarind.unm.edu/about/history/ as a division of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM, United States. It began as Tamarind Lithography Workshop, a California non-profi ...

at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

in the United States of America.

Awards

* 2008 - Grand Prize in the 8th Bharat Bhavan International Biennial of Print-Art, Bhopal, India * 2008 - Geelong Print Prize, Geelong, Victoria * 2011 - First Prize in the IV International Print Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey * 2013 - Silkcut Award for Linocut Prints, Melbourne * 2014 - First Prize in the 9th Kochi International Triennial Exhibition of Prints, Kochi, Japan * 2014 - City of Hobart Art Prize * 2015 - Trienniale Print Prize in the 4th Bangkok Triennale International Print and Drawing, Bangkok, Thailand * 2019 - Hornsby Art Prize with ''Josephine’s Ark'' * 2019 - Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award with ''Gone Fishing East of Faskrudfjordur'' * 2019 - Burnie Print Prize * 2020 - Lerida Estate Acquisitive Prize * 2020 - Megalo International Print Prize Hanks has been a finalist on numerous occasions for the

Blake Prize The Blake Prize, formerly the Blake Prize for Religious Art, is an List of Australian art awards, Australian art prize awarded for art that explores spirituality. Since the inaugural prize in 1951, the prize was awarded annually from 1951 to 2 ...

, the Basil Sellers Art Prize and National Works on Paper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanks, Rew Printmakers Australian printmakers 1958 births Modern printmakers Living people