Rembrandt and the old masters come to Singleton

Published on 04 September 2023

Etchings by Rembrandt and master printmakers from history will come together in a special exhibition at Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre (SACC) this spring.

Titled Etching: Rembrandt’s Legacy, this specially curated exhibition by Professor Ross Woodrow brings together over 60 etchings to demonstrate the enduring attraction the medium has held for artists and collectors from Rembrandt’s time to now.

These historic etchings include a number from Professor Woodrow’s own collection, amassed over the past 15 years and often serving as inspiration for his own printmaking.

Visitors will be able to make direct links between the works by the etching masters exhibited as part of Etching: Rembrandt’s Legacy and the supporting exhibition titled Potentially Symbolic Objects, which features a selection of etchings by Professor Woodrow along with the large copper plates used to make the etchings in the show.

Vicki Brereton, Council’s Director Organisation and Community Capacity said Singleton was fortunate to have a space that could host such a high calibre exhibition.

“Since opening its doors in March 2022, Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre’s reputation as a quality space for art, culture, history and creativity has only grown,” she said.

“By bringing such a rich historic exhibition like Etching: Rembrandt’s Legacy to Singleton, this reputation will only grow and bring even more high calibre exhibition and visitor opportunities to our region.”

Alongside a number of Rembrandt’s own works, Etching: Rembrandt’s Legacy will showcase historical examples, spanning 1499-1926, of etchings by esteemed master printmakers such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francisco de Goya and Käthe Kollwitz.

Professor Woodrow said he was inspired to respond to an invitation by Singleton Council’s Coordinator Arts and Culture, Dr Faye Neilson, to exhibit at SACC because of the response he received over the past few years in touring his exhibition Stopping Time to major regional galleries in Queensland and New South Wales.

“Regional galleries don’t seem to get treated to the same calibre of shows that metropolitan audiences do but are often some of the most engaged audiences you’ll find,” he said.

“I’ve found that regional audiences, particularly when there’s a historic element to an exhibition, are the ones who will keep coming back to a gallery to view the work.”

“This exhibition is filled with rich historic material, which will have people coming back many times to view the level of detail, the depth and richness, in each piece and the dialogues I’ve set up between them.

“Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre is ideal for an exhibition like this. It is a great space that lends itself well to showing historic and contemporary etchings together to illuminate the process of etching and its enduring appeal.

“I can’t imagine many public galleries of any scale in Australia having a program where an exhibition showing regional First Nation’s artifacts and fabulous photographs of rock engravings from thousands of years ago is followed in the same space by a show of etchings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Goya and Kollwitz, as is the case at the moment in SACC.”

Etching: Rembrandt’s Legacy and Potentially Symbolic Objects will open at Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre on Friday 8 September from 6pm. It is free and everyone is welcome to attend.

The exhibitions will show at SACC from 9 September to 19 November 2023.