King is recognised as one of Australia’s foremost contemporary printmakers. As well as completing residencies in France, Morocco, India and Antarctica, he has won numerous awards, including the WAMA Art Prize (2023), National Print and Drawing Prize (2022), Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award (2022) and Muswellbrook Drawing Prize (2019). His work can be found in public collections at the British Museum, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and Art Gallery of New South Wales, among others.

This concept of the artist book has continued to evolve in King’s practice, extending into his purely two-dimensional works. In study for dawn chorus #1, the book is no longer a physical object but a painted illusion—layered into the composition to evoke depth and structure. Also including appropriated painted imagery from well known colonial artists such as William Strutt, and works of historical significance. Through this technique, he creates a compelling spatial tension, where flat surfaces hold the weight of form, history, and narrative. At once an artwork and an object of layered narratives, it invites the viewer to consider not only what we read, but how we read the world around us.

Senior Printmaker at the Australian Print Workshop since 1994, King’s work is elegant, evocative and esteemed. For collectors of contemporary prints and natural history, this work would sit comfortably in the collection of a history buff or bibliophile, adding—both physically and creatively—to that ever-growing to-be-read pile.

Martin KING (1957 - )
'study for dawn chorus #1'
watercolour on drafting film on paper
Image Size: 56 x 75 cm
Framed Dimensions: 65 x 85 x 5 cm
Signed: Signed and titled within image

Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Excellent

(c) The Artist or Assignee