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Gordon Bennett

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Since first coming to fame in the late '80s, Gordon Bennett has been widely recognised for his contribution to contemporary art. Much of his work is based on alternative ideas of post-colonial Australia, and questioning cultural identities within this framework. Guided by a post-modern aesthetic, Bennett often makes use of semiotics and strong visual language. Consistently challenging racial labels and preconceptions, he created the alter ego John Citizen, a stereotypical Australian male whose pop-art-inspired work is markedly different from Bennett's usual fare.

Bennett's formal art education came relatively late in life, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Queensland College of Art completed at age 33. He quickly went on to establish himself as an artist, holding his first solo exhibition in 1989 and winning the Moet and Chandon Australian Art Fellowship in 1991 (at the time Australia's richest prize for young artists). Since then he has held more than 50 solo exhibitions and has achieved international recognition for his work, which is now held in all major public art collections in Australia.

This self-titled exhibition is Bennett's first major survey and presents work from the past 20 years of his career. The collection, comprising 85 pieces, includes paintings from his Notes to Basquiat series and work by John Citizen.

Kashmir Brummel, October 2007