By MICHELLE HERBISON
GEELONG West printmaker Keren Zorn has found her niche in detailing the lines of older men’s “rougher faces”.
The 23-year-old artist finds images of interesting characters then spends hours cutting designs into lino, rolling them with ink and making prints.
“The really worn and rough faces work really well with lino cuts,” Zorn explained.
“It’s funny I’ve limited myself to only older males and only black and white but I’m happy to keep going with it.”
Zorn told the Independent she spent the past six months tirelessly preparing 10 prints each of four different faces to exhibit at Metropolis Gallery’s IM]PRESS[IVE: Printmakers from the Geelong Region.
Zorn’s work will feature alongside the creations of John McClumpha, Sue Ernst, Alex Game, Janet Goldman, Anita Iacovella, Debra Jackson, Rhondda Millen, J Gaye Nieuwenhof, Laura Osborne and Robyn Sandford.
Zorn was “happy and excited” the exhibition would be her first in a major gallery – a “good break” toward increasing her recognition among established local printmakers.
Studying at Brougham School of Art and Photography allowed her to experiment with other styles of art to discover her preferences and “Something just clicked with portraits,” Zorn recalled.
She designed her work purely for aesthetic purposes, entitling it without identifying the subjects.
“I don’t like to concentrate on celebrities because I want the viewer to see it in no context. I just call them ‘Man 1’, ‘Man 2’.
“I don’t try to convey any meaning or ideals through it.”
Zorn recalled her frustrating ordeal with finding an arts space or studio with a printing press to complete her work, searching “high and low” around Geelong for more than six months.
After finally resigning herself to travelling up and back to a Melbourne workshop and even completing an orientation session, her former teacher, Patsy Bush, came to the rescue.
“I ended up having to travel all the way to Melbourne just to find out there was one about five minutes away from where I lived that I could use,” Zorn laughed.
The exhibition is at Metropolis Gallery, 64 Ryrie St, Geelong from July 5 to 20.
