Maureen Black
MAUREENBLACK
PAINTER/PRINTMAKER
|4aureen has always been interested in man's relationship to his surroundings. Since moving to
Sussex from London, in 2001, she has been influenced by the sea and monolithic grandeur of the
South Downs. she tries to capture this in her etchings using aquatint and chinJ collee.
After ten years in Brighton, Maureen moved with her husband along the coast so she is still able
to draw inspiration from the superb scenery of the Cuckmere valley and the ever changing light
on the cliffs of Seaford Head.
when she moved to Brighton she was delighted to discover the Brighton Independent
Printmakers, now BIp Art, and was able to continue working on her etchings and dryprints. She
was introduced to monotype by Ian Brown and, through this new medium was able to develop
new ways with layers of colour more akin to painting.
Maureen Black was bom and educated in Blackheath. She studied painting and lithography at
Goldsmiths and later Embroidery Design with Constance Howard, gaining National Diplomas in
both subjects. In the 70's she discovered etchings at Morley College.
She has exhibited in many mixed shows including the Royal Academy, Bankside open 1990,
Royal West of England Open Print Ex 1994, Printrnakers iouncil, fFestival Hall 1986, National
Theatre, Entirely Intaglio 1989, concourse Gallery Barbican 1992, whitechaper open
1984/85/86/87 and annually with the National Society of Painters, sculptors and printmakers.
She was a founder member of the Greenwich Printnakers' Association, and since l99l has been
a member of the National Society of Painters, Sculptors and Printrnakers. Maureen took part for
many years in the Greenwich Festival opening her studio to the public. With the Greenwieh
printmakers she exhibited in Australia, New Zealand, USA and ianada. In 1991 she helped
organise one of the first Anglo-Russian Print Exhibitions showing at Woodlands Gallery,
Blackheath and Orleans House, Richmond - and attending the ret even in the Moscow
Artists House in 1994. Other exhibits have bgen hung in Smiths Square 1993, Lyttleton Gallery,
National Theatre 1993/94, Heffers Gallery in Cambridige 1994 and the Contemporary Show at the
Concourse Gallery in 1996.
As a long time resident of Greenwich with her background in the arts she was the ideal leader for
the Greenwich Millennium Embroidery Project. unier her guidance a team came together once a
week to embroider the eight panels- depicting the meticulously researched historic landscape and
figures from the area's past ftom 0 - 2000: a task that took-four years. Maureen left a legacy
which has been much valued and is now permanently on show at thi Greenwich Heritage Centre.
Her work is included in the following public collections - The National Maritime Museum at
Greenwich; schools collection, Yorkshire, Cambridge, Coventry and National Museum of
Wales; the University of Surrey, Graphotek Berlin and the print .collections of Greenwich and
Lewisham.
Maureen has travelled extensively in Europe, visited China and Canada; and gained a lot of her
material from looking and drawing people in their environment.