Richard Bell (artist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Bell
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| Born | December 13, 1953 Charleville, Queensland, Australia
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| Nationality | Australian |
| Known for | Painting, contemporary Indigenous Australian art |
| Awards | National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award |
Richard Bell (born 13 December 1953) is an Aboriginal Australian artist. He is also known for speaking up about important issues. He helped start a group called proppaNOW, which is a collective of Aboriginal artists in Brisbane.
Contents
About Richard Bell
Early Life and Activism
Richard Bell was born in 1953 in Charleville, Queensland, Australia. He is a Kamilaroi man, which is an Aboriginal nation.
In the 1970s, when he was younger, he was involved in political activities in Redfern, Sydney. He supported causes like Aboriginal self-determination, which means Aboriginal people having control over their own lives and communities. His art still shows these strong beliefs today.
Artistic Style and Messages
Richard Bell uses many different ways to create his art. He makes paintings, video art, large installations, text art (art made with words), and performance art (art that involves actions or events).
His art often talks about issues important to Indigenous people. He explores how colonialism (when one country takes control of another) has affected Aboriginal people in Australia. He also looks at identity and the interesting challenges around making Aboriginal art.
Richard Bell's Career Highlights
Starting proppaNOW
In 2003, Richard Bell helped create an Indigenous art group called proppaNOW. He started it with other artists like Jennifer Herd, Vernon Ah Kee, and Fiona Foley. This group helps Aboriginal artists work together and share their ideas.
Winning Awards and Recognition
Also in 2003, his painting Scientia E Metaphysica (Bell's Theorem) became very well known. It won the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA), which is a big award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
In 2011, Richard Bell was interviewed for a special collection at the State Library of Queensland. He talked about how his art developed and about winning the NATSIAA award.
In March 2012, Richard Bell won an important court case. He was awarded money because someone had unfairly tried to stop his art from being shown, claiming copyright issues. This case helped set an important example for artists' rights.
In 2013, he hosted an eight-episode TV show called Colour Theory on National Indigenous Television.
His self-portrait was chosen as a finalist for the 2015 Archibald Prize. This is a famous art prize in Australia for portraits.
In 2022, Richard Bell created new paintings and an installation for documenta 15. This is a very important art exhibition held in Germany every five years.
Important Artworks
Bell's Theorem (2003)
Richard Bell became widely known after his large painting, Scientia E Metaphysica (Bell's Theorem), won the 2003 Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award. The painting famously included the words "Aboriginal art. It's a white thing." With this artwork, Bell wanted to highlight unfairness in the Aboriginal Australian art world.
Pay the Rent / Embassy (2013)
One of Bell's most famous works is Pay the Rent, also known as Embassy. It is a copy of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which is a protest site in Canberra. This artwork was first shown in Melbourne in 2013.
In 2022, Pay the Rent was shown at Documenta fifteen in Kassel, Germany. Richard Bell explains that this artwork shows how much money the Australian Government might owe Aboriginal people, like rent for using their land.
Inside the Embassy tent, visitors can watch videos and see historical materials. It also hosts talks and performances, and people can have informal conversations there.
This artwork has traveled around the world. It helps people discuss differences in race and politics in different places.
Pay the Rent has been set up at Performa 15 in New York City and at the 2019 Venice Biennale.
In mid-2022, the work was placed in front of the Fridericianum museum in Kassel, Germany, as part of the Documenta fifteen exhibition.
Pay the Rent / Embassy was also shown in Adelaide in October 2022. It was part of Tarnanthi, an art festival. Film screenings and talks were held alongside it.
In May and June 2023, the installation was displayed at London's Tate Modern museum, inside its famous Turbine Hall.
In June 2024, Pay the Rent and Embassy were part of the RISING: festival in Melbourne. The Embassy tent was set up in Federation Square. It was surrounded by painted protest signs, just like the original Tent Embassy. The tent showed Bell's films, Bell’s Theorem (2022) and No Tin Shack (2022). It also showed the documentary film Ningla A-Na. The Pay the Rent artwork was also shown at the State Library Victoria.
Awards and Exhibitions
Awards
- 2003: Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award for Scientia E Metaphysica (Bell's Theorem)
Group Exhibitions
Richard Bell's art has been shown in many important group exhibitions, including:
- 1992, 2008 and 2016: Biennale of Sydney
- 2006: Positivity at the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
- 2007: The first National Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia
- 2015: The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial at QAGOMA
- 2022: documenta 15, Kassel, Germany. He was joined by other artists and curators.
- 2024: RISING: festival, Melbourne
Solo Exhibitions
His solo exhibitions (shows featuring only his work) include:
- 2021: His first big solo exhibition, at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
- June 2022: His first major solo show in Europe at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. For this show, Bell wrote a new statement called "Contemporary art. It's a white thing."
- 2022: An exhibition and a special artwork for the Castello di Rivoli in Turin, Italy. This artwork was a copy of the small house he grew up in near Charleville. That original house was taken down by local authorities in 1967.
Art Collections
Richard Bell's Archibald Prize entry, Me, is kept at the University of Queensland's art museum. Other artworks by him are held in many important collections, including:
