Back in the Studio.
Kim Lynch studied design at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology then painting and printmaking at the National Gallery of Victoria School of Art under John Brack. During this period he was a working musician with the Red Onion Jazz Band and a founding member of The Loved Ones, an iconic rhythm & blues/jazz fusion group.
His earlier career path included painting, drawing and printmaking in Australia, New Zealand, London, Amsterdam and India. He was inspired by study of mythology and the Western traditions including the works of Jung on alchemy and symbols. This led to Eastern practices that focus on the nature of the mind and Consciousness, at first Mahayana Buddhism and later to the esoteric Yoga traditions of India.
“For some, a profound consciousness shift demands answers. Studio painting is not a very effective tool for this task. It can take a lifetime of practice to still the mind enough to make sense of the volcanic disruptions that are commonly experienced by artists and others who are prepared to live a life of austerity in pursuit of their goal”.
His first and second shows were upset as a result of the events described above. The drawings from1971-74 on the Early Work page were direct and therapeutic recordings of his state of mind in real time - from overload to stillness. A ten year period of intense yoga and meditation practices steadied the mind. Kim later charted an overview of this progression that may help others on the path of understanding and explain the gaps in his career. See this page: The Tattvas
In mid-career he resumed printmaking, painting and drawing while living in deep rainforest of northern NSW and later in Melbourne. He created 10 editions of screenprints using the tusche method of painting direct to silk, up to 22 individual screens for the one work, resumed studio painting in Melbourne producing large works on paper with pastels & watercolour. He enjoyed a prolific period of steady working and sales and was heading toward a first show before a prolonged recession disrupted the Art World. There followed a long period of family support before he could return to the studio.
He taught himself computer graphics in the years 1988-93 leading to experimental animation, digital art and printmaking. He had to wait two decades for digital print technology to catch up. Three editions of prints were made in 2014, hand painted direct to screen using a stylus (pressure sensitive drawing and painting brush) then printed in the studio on archival paper using mineral inks with a fine art printer. The prints are therefore true limited editions, not reproductions. By 2017 twenty editions had been made.
A new studio has been established for painting and printmaking. There is a body of work waiting in the wings consisting of several streams with the common theme of consciousness: the natural world, human folly, universal myths and symbols, and the mechanics of thought.
Representation:
PG Printmaker Gallery, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Prizes & Competitions:
1964 Herald Youth Prize
1966 National Gallery Society Prize for painting
1972 Special mention, Blake Prize, Sydney
1974 Waratah Festival (Gosford NSW) prize for watercolour
Collections:
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
Shell collection
Holmes à Court collection
Robertson-Swann collection
Exhibitions:
1967 Young Contemporaries. Gallery A, Melbourne
1973 Oxford St Gallery, Drawings
1980 Richmond Hill Gallery, Works on paper.
1986 Editions Galleries, Prints, Paintings and Works on Paper
2017 Marios, Fitzroy. New Prints.
2019 Marios, Fitzroy. Recent Works.