Artbank’s latest exhibition in their new Sydney gallery is an exhibition of paintings by the acclaimed aboriginal artist, Robert Campbell Jnr, selected from his body of work across two decades – the 1980s and 1990s. ‘History Painter’ is the exhibition’s title and has been curated by Djon Mundine OAM – an influential writer, critic and independent curator who helped revolutionise the way contemporary Aboriginal art is presented and understood.
The collection of 25 works painted on canvas and board was inspired by Artbank’s significant holdings of Campbell Jnr’s paintings which are known for their frank and sophisticated recording of personal memories intertwined with stories of Australia’s colonial past and the continuing brutality of racism throughout the 20th century.
Mundine has been able to bring together works from both public and private collections, as well as Artbank, to amass a show which powerfully illustrates Campbell Jnr’s compelling vision, as rich in graphic symbolism and colour as they are moving and elegant in terms of their thought provoking narratives. This is the first time they have been exhibited en masse in over two decades, and it presents a rare opportunity to view the work of this remarkable Indigenous Australian artist, the importance of which is being increasingly recognised.
Djon Mundine OAM says: “Robert Cambell Jnr was an untrained artist in a Western sense; a naïve artist who told his stories through pictograms, a form of sign language so to speak. This is how I’ve always seen Robert’s work: as trying to diplomatically tell an oral history story that official histories don’t always tell truthfully. Robert’s story and legacy is his ability to telegraph these stories through his own powerful and unique visual language.”
Born in Kempsey in 1944, Campbell Jnr later returned to his hometown in the 1980s to pursue his artistic passion. It was there that he went on to develop the distinctive style which later led to his works being shown prominently both in Australia and internationally. Today his works are held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). Campbell Jnr died in 1993.
Artbank
20 February to 23 May, 2015
Sydney
Welfare, Don’t take my Kids, 1987, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 97.5 x 126.5cm
Courtesy the Artbank collection
