John Dent
Following studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in the early 1970s, Dent was influenced by teachers including Graeme King, Tate Adams and George Baldessin and was a part of the establishment of the Crossley Print Workship at the rear of the Winfield Buildings in Collins Street, Melbourne. With artists including Tate Adams, George Baldessin, Jan Senbergs and Jock Clutterbuck, Dent assisted in the printmaking process for Roger Kemp, John Olsen, Albert Tucker, George Baldessin and Tim Storrier.
In 1973, Dent travelled to London to further his studies, enrolling at the St Martins School of Art to focus on painting. He was encouraged by the printmaker Spencer Freight to go to Rome where he studied at the Academia Brittanica. On his return to Australia in 1975, Dent became a part-time lecturer in printmaking at RMIT (and later also at Prahran College) and was invited to exhibit in Twelve Australian Lithographers at the National Gallery of Victoria.
In 1982, Dent travelled to New York and then to Europe and from 1983 - 86 he lived and worked in Paris, France at the famous Lacouriere-Freleur Print Workshop. Dent undertook further travels in France and Corsica in the early 1990s and his return to Australia in 1992 saw him on extensive travels around Australia, including north to Arnhem Land.
Castlemaine Art Gallery held a retrospective of Dent's paintings and works on paper in 1994. From this time, Dent has continued to paint and exhibit, drawing inspiration from everyday objects as well as the landscape. The influence of his time in France is evident, particularly the technical skill of his printmaking and his use of tone and colour.
His work is represented in the following collections:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Parliament House Collection, Canberra
Ballarat Art Gallery
Benalla Art Gallery
Castlemaine Art Gallery
Mornington Peninsula Regional Art Gallery
Newcastle Region Art Gallery
Swan Hill Gallery
Warrnambool Art Gallery
LaTrobe University, Bundoora
Melbourne University
University of Queensland
South Australian School of Art
Arts Victoria Collection
Biblioteque Nationale de Paris, France