Richard Bell (born 13 December 1953) is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

artist and political activist. He is one of the founders of proppaNOW, a

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

-based Aboriginal art collective.

Early life

Born in 1953 in

Charleville, Queensland Charleville () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Charleville had a population of 2,992. Geography Located in southwestern Queensland, Aust ...

, Bell is a

Kamilaroi The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous Australians, Indi ...

man. He engaged in political activism in Redfern,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, in the 1970s, in causes such as

Aboriginal self-determination Indigenous Australian self-determination, also known as Aboriginal Australian self-determination, is the power relating to self-governance by Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. It is the right of ...

. His art continues to reflect this.

Themes and media

Bell works in many media:

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...

, installations, text art and

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

. His subjects are largely based on various Indigenous rights issues: the effect of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

on Aboriginal people in Australia, which has rendered their history invisible;

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

; and the complex issues surrounding the production of Aboriginal art.

Career

In 2003, Bell co-founded the Indigenous art collective proppaNOW, with

Jennifer Herd Jennifer Herd is an Australian Indigenous artist with family ties to the Mbar-barrum people of North Queensland. She is a founding member of the ProppaNOW artist collective, and taught at the Queensland College of Art in Brisbane, where she c ...

, Vernon Ah Kee, Fiona Foley and others. In the same year, his work came to the attention of the wider public for ''Scientia E Metaphysica (Bell's Theorem)''. In 2006, the Queensland art critic Rex Butler profiled his work for '' Australian Art Collector'' magazine. Bell caused controversy in April 2011 after revealing that he had selected the winner of the prestigious Sir John Sulman Prize through the toss of a coin. In 2011 Bell was interviewed in a digital story and

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

for the

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

's James C Sourris AM Collection. In the interview Bell talks to art historian Rex Butler about the development of his artistic practice, about winning the NATSIAA award, and the artist group proppaNOW. In March 2012, Bell won a court case against a person who had issued a take-down notice in 2011, for "unjustifiable threats of

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

infringement", and was awarded A$147,000 in damages, setting "an important precedent". In 2013 he presented the eight-episode TV series ''Colour Theory'' on

National Indigenous Television National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...

. His

self-portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

was a finalist of the 2015

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

. Bell created a new series of paintings and an installation for display at ''

documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...

'' 15, a major exhibition in Germany, in 2022.

Significant works

''Bell's Theorem'' (2003)

Bell came to the attention of the wider community after his 240×540 cm painting ''Scientia E Metaphysica (Bell's Theorem)'' won the 2003 Telstra

National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) is Australia's longest running Indigenous art award. Established in 1984 as the National Aboriginal Art Award by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darw ...

(NATSIAA). It prominently featured the text "Aboriginal art. It's a white thing". In his

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

accompanying the work, Bell pointed out inequities that had existed in the Aboriginal art industry for a long time.

''Pay the Rent'' (2022) / ''Embassy'' (2013)

Bell's work ''Pay the Rent'', aka ''Embassy'', a replica of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, was first displayed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 2013. In 2022, ''Pay the Rent'' debuted at

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

for '' Documenta fifteen''. Bell says that the work "represents a number calculating how much money the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

owes Aboriginal people — and that's just for the rent of the place". The interior of the ''Embassy'' tent functions as a display space, in which videos and other archival materials are shown, and for hosting public talks and performances, and informal conversations. The work has travelled across the world, addressing local differences in race and politics through talks and screenings. ''Pay the Rent'' has since been erected at Performa 15 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and at the 2019

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

in 2019. In mid-2022, the work was installed on

Friedrichsplatz The Friedrichsplatz in Mannheim is one of the most completely preserved neo-Baroque and Art Nouveau structures in Germany. It was laid out in the years following the completion of the Mannheim Water Tower in 1889. Water features On the out ...

, in front of Fridericianum, a museum in

, Germany, as part of the international

quinquennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

exhibition '' Documenta fifteen''. ''Pay the Rent'' / ''Embassy'' was displayed in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

on the forecourt of the Art Gallery of South Australia, as part of Tarnanthi, on 22–23 October 2022. It was accompanied by film screenings and talks, as part of the

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

's new visual arts programme. In May to June 2023 the installation appeared at London's

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

museum, installed in the infamous Turbine Hall. In June 2024, ''Pay the Rent'', and ''Embassy'', were presented at the RISING: festival in

. The canvass ''Embassy'' tent was erected in Melbourne's

Federation Square Federation Square (marketed and colloquially known as Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street ...

as part of 'The Blak Infinite' program surrounded by painted protest signs reminiscent of the original. The tent hosted screenings of Bell's films, ''Bell’s Theorem'' (2022) and ''No Tin Shack'' (2022), as well the documentary film '' Ningla A-Na''. ''Pay the Rent'' was exhibited at the

State Library Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

Awards

*2003: Telstra

for ''Scientia E Metaphysica (Bell's Theorem)''

Exhibitions

Group

Bell's work has been included in many significant group exhibitions, including: * 1992, 2008 and 2016: Biennale of Sydney * 2006:

Institute of Modern Art The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is a public art gallery located in the Judith Wright Arts Centre in the Brisbane inner-city suburb of Fortitude Valley, which features contemporary artworks and showcases emerging artists in a series of group and ...

, Brisbane (''Positivity'') * 2007: the first National Indigenous Art Triennial at the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

* 2015: the 8th

Asia Pacific Triennial The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is an art museum located within the Queensland Cultural Centre in the South Bank precinct of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. Opened on 2 December 2006, the GOMA is Australia's l ...

at QAGOMA * 2022: ''

'' 15, Kassel, Germany (joined by Aboriginal artist, Gary Foley, Canadian Indigenous curator Wanda Nanibush, and Brisbane-based Indigenous youth collective Digi Youth Arts) * 2024: RISING: festival, Melbourne

Solo

Solo exhibition A solo show or solo exhibition is an art exhibition, exhibition of the work of only one artist. Rather than a group of artists who collaborate to form an exhibition. The artwork may be paintings, drawings, etchings, collage, sculpture, or photogr ...

s include: *2021: first major solo exhibition, at Sydney's

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), formerly the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, is located on George Street, Sydney, George Street in The Rocks, Sydney, The Rocks neighbourhood of Sydney. The museum is housed in the Stripped Cl ...

*June 2022: first major European solo show at the

Van Abbemuseum The Van Abbemuseum () in Eindhoven is one of the first public museums for contemporary art to be established in Europe. The museum’s collection includes key works and archives by Joseph Beuys, Marc Chagall, René Daniëls, Marlene Dumas, Shee ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

, The Netherlands, for which Bell wrote a follow-up to his 2002 ''Theorem'', titled "Contemporary art. It's a white thing" *2022: exhibition and commissioned work for the Castello di Rivoli in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Italy, a replica of the shack he grew up in near Charleville, which was demolished local authorities in 1967

Collections

Bell's Archibald Prize entry, ''Me'', is in the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

's art museum. Other works are held in many collections, including: *

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

(NGV), Melbourne * Queensland Art Gallery , Gallery of Modern Art

References

External links

Richard Bell profile
Kooriweb
Richard Bell
at the

(NGV), Melbourne
Richard Bell
at the

Richard Bell digital story, educational interview and oral history
John Oxley Library,

, 19 April 2011. Richard Bell talks to Rex Butler about the development of his artistic practice, about winning the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award and the artist group Proppa Now
Portrait of an artist: Richard Bell. James C. Sourris AM Collection of Artist Interviews
State Library of Queensland Vimeo {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Richard Australian Aboriginal artists 1953 births Living people Artists from Queensland 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists 21st-century Australian painters 21st-century Australian male artists Archibald Prize finalists Australian male painters People from Charleville, Queensland