GEORGE BALDESSIN
George Baldessin was born in North Italy, moving to Australia in 1949. He studied at RMIT from 1958 to 1961 and later at the Chelsea School of Art in London in 1962. He continued further study at the Brera Academy of Fine Art Milan from 1962 – 63. During the 1970’s Baldessin worked in a studio on Collins St in Melbourne with fellow artists Roger Kemp, Fred Williams and Jan Senbergs.
During his life Baldessin was awarded the Alcorso Sekers Travelling Scholarship for sculpture in 1966, the Maitland Prize for prints in 1967 and 1970, prizes at the Ljubljana Biennale of Printmaking in 1967 and the Second International Biennale of Drawing in Yugoslavia in 1970. He won the Geelong Print Prize in 1970 and the Comalco Invitation Award for sculpture in 1971.
A studio and print workshop was founded at Baldessin’s studio in St Andrews, Victoria and in 1998 a Baldessin Foundation Travelling Scholarship was established for travelling sculptors. In 2009 Australian Galleries published George Baldessin: Paradox and Persuasion, a monograph on the artist’s work.
Baldessin is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; all state galleries and regional galleries including Ballarat, Geelong, Mildura, Mornington, Sale, Warrnambool, Newcastle, Fremantle, Launceston and University collections including Melbourne University, Monash, Hobart and internationally at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
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