Marketa Kemp

I am a Melbourne based artist, working primarily in printmaking, charcoal and oils. The majority of my work is based on locations I have personally visited, I always try to capture how it ‘felt’ rather than how it ‘looked’ and leave the rest up to the viewer to interpret in whichever way they feel it to be meaningful to them. It is always a very personal affair.

As an artist, I find inspiration in landscapes that have left a deep impression on me, in places rich in atmosphere, hidden life, and mystery.

My aim to make the viewer feel something, whether it be happiness, melancholy, reflection, or distant memory.

Education

Although mostly self taught, I have studied with various artists and institutions in Australia and overseas, including The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts in Greece and Australian artist Wayne Viney who introduced me to printmaking in 2017. Printmaking, monotype in particular, has quickly become my passion.

Artist's Statement

“Dear art lovers, thinkers and musers …

My name is Marketa Kemp, I am an overseas born artist now permanently living in Melbourne.

I grew up in Czech Republic and life in the 80’s and 90’s was very simple. Even though the country was deeply under a communist regime at the time, I had the freedom to swim in wild rivers, browse unspoiled woodlands and really connect with nature. As a young child I played the piano, visited the opera on regular basis and lived in a gothic castle for two years when I left high school. Despite limitations imposed by the communist regime at the time, life was an adventure, and art was very much part of my upbringing.

I came to Australia in 1996, had a young family and was trying to figure out how to make something of my life, something useful. Being an artist did not exactly fall into that category. I wriggled my way into the corporate world and didn’t really pick up a paint brush until 2007 when I bought a large blank canvas in the local Op shop.

And what a life changing moment that was…

I painted and painted and painted, really badly for a really long time.

I started going to life drawing classes, completed a semester at the Aegean Centre for the Fine Arts in Greece and upon my return to Australia I looked for artists who inspired me. In 2017 I met Wayne Viney, Australian printmaker who introduced me to monotype printmaking medium.

Printmaking has very quickly become my passion. I love the unpredictable nature of the process and the fact that each print is unique, no multiple editions. In the work I create I apply a number of rather unique techniques, while trying to remain true to the aspects of traditional printmaking.

So, what is a monotype?

Monotype is a type of printmaking made by painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface was historically a copper plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic and Perspex. The image is then transferred onto a paper by pressing the two together, using a press, brayer or by techniques with which most printmakers started exploring this medium, such as rubbing with the back of a wooden spoon or the fingers. Monotypes can also be created by inking an entire surface and then removing ink to create a subtractive image, using various tools, such as rags, brushes, cotton tips, credit cards and anything that has the potential to create an interesting texture.

The process produces a unique print – a ‘one-off’.

As for inspiration, I love the Australian landscape of the hidden kind. When I look around, I become immersed in my surroundings, become part of the landscape itself. I try to tune into the way the place makes me feel, remembering the smells, the sound, temperature, time of day.

Even though the majority of my work is based on real locations I have visited, I always try to capture how it ‘felt’ rather than how it ‘looked’.

When working in my home studio I use my etching press to print the work, which is not exactly portable (think a piece of rather heavy machinery made of steel and iron two men cannot lift). I will do a sketch or a small paining on location, take a photograph as a reminder of some of the detail which I might not capture in the sketch and take it all back to my studio. I feel that copying photographs is a little pointless (my personal opinion) and the artwork generally turns out flat, soul-less and overworked. The way I like to work is to make an ‘impression’ of what I saw and leave the rest up to the viewer to interpret in whichever way they feel it to be meaningful to them. I will not try to create a copy of the landscape, but rather an imprint of emotions using tone and mood. Often these come through and translate into something very personal in the mind of the viewer, creating a link to one’s own experiences and memories. It is always a very personal affair.

My aim to make the viewer feel something…”

- Marketa Kemp

Over the past years Marketa was a finalist in several art prizes, including the inaugural International Monoprint Prize at Megalo Print Studio in Canberra, FPS Australian Monoprint Prize, and the Omnia Art Prize. At VAS she has won the Third Prize in the 2024 Nada Hunter Portrait Award and was awarded the Highly Commended recognition in the 2025 Autumn Select exhibition.

Marketa is currently represented by Queenscliff Gallery and PG Gallery in Victoria and Mesh Art Gallery in Chicago.