Biography

Bill Meyer, an established middle generation artist has lived and worked in Europe, Israel and U.S.A. whilst maintaining a studio base in rural Australia.
In a career of thirty years Meyer has used photography, and devised sound works using a multitude of electronic and acoustic instruments as part of installation and performance pieces. He has painted complex murals, has made paper, published poetry, and has conducted workshops for children and adults in forests, schools, public galleries and community centres. He has published more than 300 editions of etchings, screen prints and lithographs.
As a master print-maker, Meyer established a small fine art editioning studio in London during the seventies when he also worked with World Union of Jewish Students. He has worked with major Australian artists at Port Jackson Press publishing in Melbourne. During the eighties, whilst a committee member, and later as president of the Print Council of Australia, Meyer curated travelling exhibitions including the controversial “PRINT AS OBJECT”. He also created “GAPSCAPE”, an exhibition of his prints and drawings which toured twenty four regional Australian galleries. In 1995 he participated in “THE WANDERING JEW, MYTH & METAPHOR”, curated and toured for the Jewish Museum of Australia.
As a teacher he has instructed and lectured on contract and as a guest artist at schools, art colleges and universities in England, U.S.A. and Australia.
Meyer has received grants and sponsorship from the British Council, the Australia Council, and from State Arts organisations for community projects in Wagga, N.S.W., and Camperdown, Victoria. Another grant brought Meyer to the Victorian Arts Centre for a multi media performance and installation piece. His work is in public, corporate, and private collections
Born in Australia in 1942, Meyer graduated from Melbourne University in art history and language and then from the National Gallery Art School, Victorian College of the Arts, completing his formal art training at the Royal College of Art in London. Research at the New York Y.I.V.O. Institute, as well as Yeshiva and Kollel learning has provided much of the conceptual underpinning of Meyer’s artwork. He has been a frequent visitor to Israel, where, during the ‘80s and ‘90s he was resident at the Mishkenot Sha’ananim artists’ studios in Jerusalem.
The theme of the wanderer recurs as metaphor and biography. Themes of forests as sanctuary and places for spiritual growth, family histories, and the sense of MAKOM, special place, interact with aspects of transience, exile and holocaust. Meyer the wanderer reinvents himself during each new journey. This metamorphosis is recorded on small etching plates, camera and notebook. The ostensible subjects, Australian landscape, rocky Judean hills, alley walls, barbed wire in Jerusalem, or in Berlin, are really psychological landscapes.
Biography.

1942: Born, Melbourne, Australia.
1964-7: BA, University of Melbourne.
1969: Travel: Europe and Israel.
1968-71: National Gallery Art School, Melbourne.
1972: Royal College, London.
1972-9: Lives in London and New York.
1981-3: Lectures in Printmaking, Deakin University, Geelong.
Victorian College for the Arts (V.C.A.).
Melbourne State College.
1982-4: Regional Galleries tour of Australia.
(GAPSCAPE: Prints and Drawings).
1984: Artist in Residence, City of Wagga Wagga and Riverina College, N.S.W.
1984: Travels through India.
1984: Artist in schools (A.I.S.), Camperdown High School, Victoria.
Mural project: "Stony Risings".
Lectures in Printmaking, (R.C.A.E., Wagga), Artist in residence, Wagga.
1985: Curates "Print as Object", travelling exhibition.
1986: Travels India.
1985-7: 3-dimensional prints performance and sound experiments.
1986-92: Artist/Printmaker with Port Jackson Press.
Long-term, site specific Bushland Sculpture park project
1989-90: Guest artist at Mishkenot Sha’ananim for Jerusalem Foundation.
1992-93: Europe and Israel.
1994: Artist/Printmaker with Chrysalis Publications.
1995: Europe and Israel. Studio work at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Jerusalem.
1996-7: Wandering Jew exhibition, Australian regional gallery tour.
1997-2000: Printmaking projects with Port Jackson Press, Australasia.
1998: Studio work at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Israel. Travel and research in Eastern Europe.
1999-2004: Travel throughout Australia including Kakadu and the Kimberley, Exhibitions and travel in Europe, the Middle East and Israel.

One-Man Exhibitions.

1969: Matzoh Stomp. Gallery Lanae @ Balwyn Cinema International, Victoria
1971: Crossley gallery, Melbourne.
City Art Gallery, Shepparton,
National Gallery of Victoria, gallery society rooms.
1972: Institute of Contemporary Art, London.
1973: Bonython Gallery, Sydney.
Paperpoint Gallery, London.
Exeter University, Devon, U.K.
Crossley Gallery, Melbourne.
1974: Romy Goldmuntz Centre, Antwerp.
1975: Israel linke, Amsterdam,
Painting box gallery, Zurich
1976: De Vaart, Hilversum.
Institute of Contemporary Art, London.
University of Surrey, (Guildford), U.K.
1977: Galerij Luka, Boechout (Antwerp).
1980: Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria.
1981: Realities Gallery, Melbourne.
1982: Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney.
1982-4: GAPSCAPE; Australian Regional Galleries Tour, (19 Regional Galleries).
1983: Solander gallery, Canberra.
1984: Bonython-Meadmore Gallery, Adelaide,
Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery (Performance/Installation).
1986: "Art Gallery Interplay", Victorian Arts Centre.
1986-9: Gretz Gallery Melbourne, (three solo shows; works on paper).
1992: Mini retrospective, Prints; Convent Gallery, Daylesford, Victoria.
1993: The Jerusalem Etchings: Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne.
1995: Israel Prints and Paintings, Convent Gallery, Daylesford.
1996: Landscapes- Rituals and Memory, Convent Gallery, Daylesford.
1998: Israel, 50 years celebrations, Yom Haatzmaut; Etchings at Jewish Museum of Australia.
1999: Survey, 30 years. RETROSPECTIVE at Convent Gallery, Daylesford, Victoria, INSTALLATIONS; Visual mythologies in a forest, Castlemaine Biennial Arts Festival, THE JERUSALEM DRAWINGS, A.R.T. Gallery Melbourne; PREVIEW; Days of Creation, Jewish Museum Melbourne.
1999: Selected Screenprints from the HIRSH donation, Jewish Museum of Australia.
2001: Photo essay; Days of Creation; Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam.
2003: A Special Place Ha Makom, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria.
2005; A Special Place Ha Makom, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, .N.S.W.
2005; A Special Place. Ha Makom, at the Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne, Victoria.

Group Exhibitions.

1962 Eastside Gallery Melbourne. (with Bob Jacks & Allan Brown).
1971: Young Australian Printmakers, Print Council of Australia Travelling Exhibition (Australia and SouthEast Asia). Gallery Artists Crossley Gallery, Melbourne.
Survey, Bonython Gallery, Sydney.
Shepparton City Art Gallery, Shepparton.
1972: Survey, Bonython Gallery, Sydney.
1973: Graphics and Film, Jewish Artists at Romi Goldmuntz Centre, Antwerp.
Space Open Studios, London.
1974: Ashiyagaway International Biennale, Japan.
1975: Space Open Studios, London.
1976: Grafiek Kunstmesse, Basel.
A.I.R. artists, A.I.R. Gallery London.
Graphics De Beyerd, Breda, Holland.
1977: Urban landscape, British Council travelling exhibition, U.K.-Europe.
Calligraphers, Musee de Beaux Arts, Brussels.
1978: Younger British Printmakers, Campbell and Franks, London.
N.I.A.S. Gallery, Perth. W.A.
1980: Mitchell Endowment purchase exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Works on Paper, Burnie City Art Gallery, Tasmania.
Selected Works from Deakin University Collection, @ The Mill, Geelong.
1981: Mornington Drawing Purchase Exhibition, Victoria.
Fremantle Print Award Exhibition, W.A.
Contemporary Australian Printmakers, Raya Gallery, Melbourne and Singapore.
Capitol Permanent Award, Geelong Regional Gallery, Victoria.
Henri Worland Print Purchase, Warrnambool.
1982: Survey 4, Geelong Gallery, Victoria.
Mitchelton Print Exhibition, Direction Now, Benalla and Shepparton Regional Art Galleries.
Seven Artists, Victorian College for the Arts gallery, Melbourne.
Print Council of Australia Travelling Show.
Swan Hill Regional Gallery, Drawing Purchase prize Exhibition.
1983: "Images of Women", Melbourne University Gallery.
Art Peace, C.I.C.D. Show, Iceberg Gallery, Melbourne.
1983: Works on Paper, Ellimatta Gallery, Sydney.
1984: Hardware Street Push, Roar Studios, Melbourne.
Print Council Mini Print tour.
Victorian Print Makers, 1984, Achai, Japan.
1985-6: Geelong Art Gallery- "Survey, Surveyed".
"Australian Prints, 1985", touring USA.for Print Council of Australia.
Miniature Art; Raja S2.D.O. Gallery Melbourne.
1987: Larry Rawling, Master Screen Printer- 20 years of Australian Screen Printing,
(ACCA-Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne).
Tynte Gallery, Adelaide.
1988: Views through Monotype. Anima Gallery, Adelaide.
Dempsters, Melbourne.
Jewish Arts Festival- Prints and Sculpture, Melbourne.
Art Now, Israel & Australia, United Israel Appeal at Linden Gallery, Melbourne.
1989: "A View of Colour". Prints by eight major Australian artists (Blackman, Boyd, Mitchell, Majzner, Meyer, Pugh, Hodgkinson, Rankin), Gryphon Gallery, Melbourne University.
1990-1992: Group shows in Australian galleries organised by Port Jackson Press.
1992: Mini-print show, Jewish Artists, Bnai Brith, Melbourne.
1993: Jewish Artists, Westpac Gallery, Melbourne.
Major Printers and Printmakers (Blackman, Boyd, Brack, Meyer, Pugh, Rankin), Solander Gallery, Canberra.
Gallery Israel-Linke, Amsterdam.
1994: Group show, Wiregrass Gallery, Eltham, Victoria.
1995: “The Wandering Jew”. Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne.
1996-7: “The Wandering Jew”. Touring Australian Regional Galleries.
1997: Cornucopia, A.R.T. Gallery Eden, Melbourne.
2000: New Visions of Land, A.R.T. Gallery Eden, Melbourne.
1999- 2002: “We Are Australian”, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, & tour of ten Australian Public galleries, also Durban, South Africa.
2001: “Collaboration”, Artists and Master printmakers, Port Jackson Press, Australia.
Works on Paper, Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne.
2002: “Shabbat”, Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne.
2003: Kosher Culture – Jewish Community Festival, St. Kilda, Victoria.
Under the Covers – Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne.
2004: Return of the White Bull, (Mistake Creek), Geelong Regional Gallery.

Print Commissions.

"Schone Wohnen" (Hamburg), 1973, screen print edition.
Port Jackson Press (Sydney), 1979; screen print portfolio.
Port Jackson Press (Melbourne), 1982, 1986-1992; editions, etchings & screen prints.
Print Council of Australia, 1984, 1986 -Members prints.
Victorian Art's Centre Trust, 1986.-Multimedia Print Installation/Performance.

Awards and Grants.

1970: Australian Experimental Film and TV fund, 1970.
1974: British Council.
1976: British Council.
1982: Visual Arts Board, Australia Council: Publication grant.
1982: Swan Hill, Drawing Purchase Prize.

Public Collections.

ANZ Banking Group, Victoria.
Australian Bankers Association
Art Bank Australia.
Australian Broadcasting Commission, S.A.
Australian National Gallery, Canberra.
B.R.T. (Belgium Radio and Television).
BHP collection.
British Council Collection.
Burnie City Art Gallery, Tasmania.
City of Gleneira Art Collection, Melbourne.
Deakin University, Geelong.
Federal Airports Corporation, Melbourne Airport.
Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne.
Latrobe University, Melbourne
Launceston City Art Gallery, Tasmania.
Macquarie University, NSW.
National Gallery, Melbourne.
Perth University, W.A.
Peter McCallum Hospital collection, Melbourne
Queensland State Art Gallery.
Regional Art Gallery, Wagga Wagga, N.S.W.
Regional Gallery, Bathurst, N.S.W.
Regional Gallery, Broken Hill, N.S.W.
Regional Gallery, Geelong, Vic.
Regional Gallery, Hamilton, Vic.
Regional Gallery, Warrnambool, Vic.
Regional Gallery, Rockhampton, Qld.
Regional Gallery, Shepparton, Vic.
Regional Gallery, Woolongong, N.S.W.
Regional Gallery, Bendigo.
Tate Gallery, London.
University of Melbourne.
University of NSW.
Victorian Education Department.
Westpac Banking Corporation.

Bibliography.

Allan McCulloch, "Encyclopaedia of Australian Art", 1985.
Max Germaine, "Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Zealand", Lansdowne Press, 1984.
Susan McCulloch, "Encyclopaedia of Australian Art, (Revised Edition), 1994
Lillian Wood, Directory of Australian printmakers, 1982, revised 1986. Print Council of Australia.

ARTICLES & REVIEWS

Australian Jewish News; reviews & features (A.F.M./archive file 1968-2004).
Australian & Overseas daily papers; reviews & features, (A.F.M./archive file, 1961-2004).
Catalogue Essays by curators & art authorities (A.F.M./archive/pubtext, 1961-2004).
Eva Eden; Bill Meyer. Imprint. (P.C.A.) 1999.
Lloyd Marsh; Street-Non Street. Praxis M #6, 1984, Perth W.A.
Stephanie Wallace; Bill Meyer, Printmaker. Imprint magazine, P.C.A. 1983
Prof. Jaynie Anderson; Essay to Sequential Analysis & other prints 1973, London
Susan McCulloch-Uehlen; Bill Meyer, -A Survey, 1969-1999.
Rabbi Dr. Shimon Cowen; The Jerusalem Drawings.

PUBLICATIONS; (TEXT, IMAGE. & ELECTRONIC MEDIA) by Bill Meyer.

Exhibition catalogues with artist’s essays (A.F.M. /archive files 1961-2004).
GAPSCAPE, Bill Meyer Prints & Drawings, 1982. Melbourne
INSIDE THE GAP, installation, catalogue notes, Wagga- Wagga City Art Gallery, 1984
SUBWAY GRAFFITI, AN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE- BILL MEYER, Praxis M #6 Perth, 1984.
PRINT AS OBJECT (the book). Curated for Print Council of Australia.1985
Illustrations to REFLECTIONS by Yvonne Fein, Generation, A Journal of Jewish Life vol 4 #3 1994. Melbourne.
Illustrations & occasional poems by Bill Meyer in Generation between 1994-1998.
DAYS OF CREATION; photo-essay, Generation, A Journal of Jewish Life, October 1997.
Music C.D.s; Sound compositions and music created & performed by Bill Meyer. Twenty albums digitally remastered & edited at Rhythm Boy Studio by Robert Bell with the artist.2002-2003.
D.V.D.; A SPECIAL PLACE, HA MAKOM. Film, Text, Music, Poems, & Virtual Gallery. Created by Robbie Simons of Quixotic films from the artist’s work. Ha Makom.

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