John Dent

Biography

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

Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

1977 Studio Exhibition, Highlands Lane, Melbourne

1978 Susan Gillespie Galleries, Canberra

1980 Harrington Street Gallery, Hobart

1981 Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney

1982 Greenhill Galleries, Perth

1982 Stuart Gertsman Galleries, Melbourne

1984 Stuart Gertsman Galleries, Melbourne

1984 Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney

1985 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney

1986 Gertsman/Abdallah Gallery, Cologne, Germany

1987 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney

1989 Realities Gallery, Melbourne

1990 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney

1992 Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

1993 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney

1994 John Dent Retrospective 1973 - 1993, Castlemaine Art Gallery

1998 John Dent, Recent Paintings, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

2000 John Dent: Life of Four Wheels, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

2021 John Dent: Between Two Countries, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

2024 John Dent, Recent Paintings, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

2026 John Dent: Gouaches, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

Selected Group Exhibitions:

1978 6th Biennial MPAC Prints Acquisitive, 14 Sep - 14 Oct

1978 Selected Works from the Michell Endowment, National Gallery of Victoria, 7 Dec 78 - 11 Feb 79

1979 Nine Printmakers, Melbourne University Gallery

1981 Contemporary Australian Prints since 1975, National Gallery of Victoria, 5 June - 20 Sep

1982 Directions Now, Ministry for the Arts, touring regional Victoria

1984 Art Basel, Switzerland

1987 Melbourne Printmakers, Lithographs, etchings, relief prints and screenprints by 25 Melbourne artists, touring regional Victoria

1988 Congress Square Gallery, Portland, Maine, USA

1988 Rogaland Kunstnersenter Gallery BFK, Norway

1990 Aspects of France: The Australian Artists' View, Castlemaine Art Gallery, 3 Nov - 2 Dec

1992 Australian Modernism: The Complexity and the Diversity, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

1994 The Changing Face of Melbourne 1941 - 1993, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

Achievements, Collections & Commissions

1977 Georges Invitation Art Prize

1978 Georges Invitation Art Prize

1980 St Catherine's Art Prize, Melbourne

1982 Ansett Invitation Art Award, Hamilton City Art Gallery

1989 Finalist, Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales

1992 Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales

1992 Henri Worland Memorial Print Award 1972 - 1992, A Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition, Warnambool Art Gallery

1995 Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales

1999 Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales

Bibliography

McKenzie, J., Drawing in Australia, Contemporary Images and Ideas, Macmillan, 1986

Hayes, S. & Gervasoni, C., Artistic Insights. Australian Artists and their diverse use of themes, Harcourt Brace Jonanovich, 1993

Grishin, S., Contemporary Australian Printmaking, An Interpretative History, Craftsman Press, 1994

Perry, P., John Dent Retrospective 1973 - 1993, Castlemaine Art Gallery