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 work thoughtfully engages with the art historical concept of the artist’s book — taken quite literally here, as the physical book becomes the very support for the image itself. By co-opting the book as medium, King blurs the boundaries between image, object, and artwork, prompting a reconsideration of what constitutes a book, a print, or a piece of art. The result is not merely visual, but sculptural—its dimensionality arising from the materiality and physical structure of the book itself. The book becomes a container, not only of pages but of meaning. Each page offers a singular visual or conceptual moment—one page, one idea—but together, they imply an unfolding narrative. How many more pages hold the story? And in the process of deciphering a work of art, how long is a piece of string? This approach mirrors the development of both an artistic and process of reading: the incremental, page-by-page exploration of ideas, where the turning of each leaf reveals further layers of complexity.

Senior Printmaker at the Australian Print Workshop since 1994, King’s work is elegant, evocative and esteemed. For collectors of contemporary prints and birds, 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 - )
'the birds arrive and are greeted by a herald vo. 1'
screenprint on paper
Unique State
Image Size: 24 x 65 cm (height x width)
Framed Dimensions: 36 x 77 x 7 cm (height x width x depth)
Signed, dated and titled under image

Condition: Excellent

(c) The Artist or Assignee