Rew Hanks

Rew Hanks is a renowned Sydney based printmaker and teacher. A fascination with the cultural history of Australia, peppered with sly wit and social commentary, and an execution of his medium to an unparalleled excellence, places Hanks at the pinnacle of Australian art. His craft is intellectually engaging and visually unique. Researching deeply into history; the formality of Hanks’ hand belies a contemporary playfulness. These works require looking and learning to unpack their layered meanings. They show the possibility of contemporary art to both revisit the past and shape our understanding of ourselves. At the core, Hanks is a storyteller, ensuring the complexities of our shared history are reinvigorated.

Rew Hanks has held solo exhibitions since 1982 in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra. His work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Art Gallery of South Australia and several significant regional and tertiary collections.

Hanks has a Master of Fine Arts from the College of Fine Arts, University of Sydney. Internationally, Hanks has been awarded the Megalo International Print Prize (2020), Trienniale Print Prize in the 4th Bangkok Triennale International Print and Drawing, Bangkok, Thailand (2015), First Prize in the 9th Kochi International Triennial Exhibition of Prints, Kochi, Japan (2014), First Prize in the IV International Print Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey (2011) and Grand Prize in the 8th Bharat Bhavan International Biennal of Print-Art, Bhopal, India (2008).

Nationally, Hanks has been awarded the Lerida Estate Acquisitive Prize (2020), Freemantle Arts Centre Print Award (2019), Burnie Print Prize (2019), First Prize in the City of Hobart Art Prize (2014), Grand Prize in the Open Section, Silkcut Award for Linocut Prints, Melbourne (2013) and First Prize in the Geelong Print Prize, Geelong, Victoria (2008). Hanks has been a finalist in the Blake Prize (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010) and the Basil Sellers Prize 5 at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne (2016). His work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Art Gallery of South Australia, Artbank and several significant regional and tertiary collections.