Artist Statement

Paddy Bedford (c1922 - 2007) senior Gija artist, born Bedford Downs station in East Kimberley Solo Exhibitons: 1998 My Country, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne VIC 2000 Paddy Bedford, Chapman Galleries, Canberra ACT 2000 My Mother’s Country, My Father’s Country, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney NSW 2000 Selected Recent Works, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne VIC 2001 Paddy Bedford, Raft Artspace, Darwin NT 2002 Significant Paintings, GRANTPIRRIE, Sydney NSW 2003 Walking on the Line, GRANTPIRRIE, Sydney NSW 2004 Rolling the Swag, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne VIC 2005 Heart of Blackness, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne VIC 2005 Black Note, Short Street Gallery, Broome WA 2007 Paddy Bedford, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney NSW 2009 AAMU, Paddy Bedford:Crossing Frontiers, Utrecht, The Netherlands Selected Group Exhibitions: 1998 Paintings from the Jirrawun Aboriginal Community, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney NSW 1998 Jirrawun Artists from Crocodile Hole, Jemma Stowe, Perth WA 1999 My Country, Northern Territory University Gallery, Darwin NT 1999 Painting Country, William Mora Galleries Melbourne VIC 1999 Jirrawun Artists, Chapman Galleries Canberra ACT 1999 Mapping Our Countries, Djamu Gallery, Australian Museum at Customs House, Sydney NSW 2000 Land Mark: Mirror Mark: Prints by Aboriginal artists from the collection of the Northern Territory University, Drill Hall Gallery Australian National University; later at Columbia State University USA; Kluge – Ruhe Collection of Aboriginal Art University of Virginia USA 2000 Opening 2000, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne VIC 2000 Gaagembi – Poor Things, William Mora Galleries Melbourne VIC 2000 Christmas Exhibition, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney NSW 2000 East Kimberley Exhibition, Framed Gallery, Darwin NT 2001 Four men, Four Paintings, Raft Artspace, Darwin NT 2001 Ochre – Short Street Gallery, Broome WA 2002 Blood on the Spinifex, Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, Melbourne VIC 2002 Rhapsodies in Country, GRANTPIRRIE at Art Miami, Miami USA 2003 Jirrawun Jazz, Raft Artspace, Darwin NSW 2003 Journey to Now: John Kaldor art projects and collection, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide SA 2004 Talking about Abstraction, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, University of New South Wales College of Fine Arts, Sydney NSW 2004 Spirit and Vision – Aboriginal Art, Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg, Austria 2004 2004: Australian Culture Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne VIC 2005 Beyond the Frontier, Sherman Galleries, Sydney NSW 2005 Jirrawun in the House: A Contemporary Vision from the East Kimberley, Parliament House, Canberra 2006 Jirrawun Artists, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne VIC 2006 Land Marks, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne VIC 2013 Landmarks and Law Grounds: Men of the Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA Collections: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin National Gallery of Australia, Canberra National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Private collections in Australia and internationally

City

East Kimberley

Region

WA