Page 79 - Annual Review 2010

ReVeAL 79
gordon bennett | australia b.1955 | Number twelve 2007 |
synthetic polymer paint on linen | Left panel: 183 x 152cm; right
panel: 183 x 152cm | the James c sourris collection. gift of
James c sourris through the queensland art gallery foundation
2010. donated through the australian government’s cultural gifts
program | collection: queensland art gallery
gordon bennett
Number twelve 2007
gordon bennett is a leading
contemporary queensland artist.
while he describes his background as
aboriginal australian, he uses a range
of techniques, forms and references
from euro-australian art history.
bennett is well known for figurative
work with multiple references to art
history, australian colonial history
and contemporary politics, but he
surprised audiences in the early
2000s by beginning a series of purely
abstract paintings.
these works draw on the traditional
use of non-representational patterns
in indigenous art, often referred to
complex spiritual and mythological
matters. Number twelve recalls
the natural colours widely used
in indigenous cultures —red and
yellow ochres, white from pipe clay
and black from charcoal — but here
bennett also refers to the history of
abstraction since world war two,
and implicitly challenges his own
(uncomfortable) relationship with
both traditions.
this work was a gift of James sourris,
through the queensland art gallery
foundation.