Deborah Klein was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1951 and grew up in the coastal suburb of St Kilda. From 1973 she lived and worked in London, returning to Australia in 1980. In 2011 she began to divide her practice between Melbourne and Ballarat, moving permanently to the latter in late 2019.
The artist gained degree and post-degree qualifications from Chisholm Institute of Technology, Melbourne (1982-1984), Gippsland School of Advanced Education (1987-1988) and a Research MA from Monash University, Gippsland (1995-1997).
From 1987 she has held regular solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in Australia and internationally.
In 2009 she founded Moth Woman Press, through which she publishes her artist books and zines. Other activities have included sessional lecturing in the Printmaking and Drawing Departments at RMIT University, Melbourne (1999-2008).
Klein's practice encompasses painting, drawing, printmaking and book art. Her work has received numerous awards and is held in major public galleries, institutional, corporate and private collections in Australia and abroad.
Selected awards, commissions and residencies:
Artist-in-Residence, Geelong Grammar School, Vic, (2022);
APW George Collie Memorial Print Award, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne (2020);
Melbourne Athenaeum Library Artist-in-Residence, (2018);
Artist-in-Residence, The Art Vault, Mildura, Vic (2009, 2011, 2014, 2017);
Print Council of Australia Print Commission (1996, 1998, 2010, 2017);
Winsor and Newton Global Ambassador, Winsor and Newton Australia, (2016);
Special Guest Artist, Nature in Print, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne (2014);
Printmaker-in-Residence, RMIT TAFE, Melbourne (2007);
Small Tapestries, Victorian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne (2007);
Fleming Muntz Albury Art Prize (2002);
Rena Ellen Jones Memorial Print Award (1997,1998, 1999);
Jacaranda Drawing Prize (1996, 1998);
Grand Prize, Silk Cut Award for Linocut Printmaking (1997);
Geelong Acquisitive Print Prize (1997);
Australian Printmedia Award, University of Western Sydney, Macarthur (1996, 1997);
Artist-in-Residence, National Gallery of Victoria (1996);
Monash Graduate Scholarship (1995);
Australia Council Studio Residency, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (1993).