This selling exhibition presents a selection of lithographs produced by Muka Studio. Started in 1984 in Grey Lynn, Auckland by Frans Baetens and Magda van Gils, for 27 years it was a workshop dedicated exclusively to printing lithographs in the traditional way, from lithographic stones.

​

Initially the studio operated two small lithographic presses and artists were invited to produce their work in cooperation with Frans and Magda. In 1986 the purchase of an original semi-automatic ‘Voirin’ press dramatically increased the capacity of the workshop. From then on, every year, selected national and international artists were invited to the studio and hosted in a flat annex to the workshop.

​

Muka thus gained not only a name for the quality of its printmaking and the originality of its worldwide projects, but also for its hospitality and cuisine. The studio regularly commissioned artworks which went on sale exclusively at Muka Gallery in Ponsonby. The studio also specialised in producing sets of original lithographs on demand for individuals and institutions, hotels, and museums. Muka lithographs now feature in almost all major public and private collections, with substantial representations in Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand and Auckland Art Gallery.

On 30 September 2011 Frans and Magda retired and after 25 years of faithful service, the Voirin press and other studio items found a new home in Gore at the East Gore Art Centre.

 

A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of these works will go towards art projects within the Gore Arts and Heritage Precinct.