Godwin Bradbeer
Artist Profile
Biography
Terribilita
Essay by Dr Peter Hill
I was talking recently to an architect friend, who also collects art, and he told me he was “besotted” by the works of Godwin Bradbeer. He first came across them when he bought the Thames and Hudson big-as-a-phonebook monograph on his work, beautifully penned by Janet Mackenzie. He later viewed some of them in person, at James Makin Gallery in Collingwood. Godwin’s work has this effect on a wide range of people.
I’ve just visited his studio complex in Footscray, to view the monumental body of work being consigned to Sydney Contemporary art fair at Carriageworks (8-11 September, 2022). The studio has high ceilings and good light, both ideal for the large scale, museum quality, works for which he is known. Yet like Picasso and Lucien Freud, he can also produce remarkable small-scale, domestic works that are uncannily imbued with a sense of vast scale. A small head can appear like a huge planet, viewed from the dark side of the moon.
In conversation, Godwin rarely refers to his creations as either paintings or drawings, preferring to use the umbrella-term “artworks.” Indeed, his technique appears to be as androgynous as some of his subjects. We discuss a number of the works, before they leave on their journey north. We start with Terribilita, one of the oldest works in the grouping and the final one from his eighties’ series (completed in 1990). An asymmetrical work in which a powerful horse is framed by the same male figure, one prone beneath, the other hovering as if in levitation, above.
“Since the seventies, I’ve possessed a book of George Stubbs’ animal anatomies. It gave me encouragement to proceed with this work,” Godwin says, gesturing towards the horse. “The subject itself might be Saint Paul on the Damascus road before and after his epiphany, as well as a quotation from Caravaggio’s painting of that subject. It could also be a reference to the crucifixion from Salvador Dali’s viewpoint. The enigmatic doubled figure, I think, heightens its mystique.”
We now turn to Leap of Faith (2019), a superbly balanced diptych that embraces shared and personal mythologies. The bull references Godwin’s visits to Crete and the tradition of “bull leaping.” The acrobatic figure balancing on the horns – forearms piercing though the division of the frames like a diver breaking the surface tension of water.
“The ritual is a captivating spectacle that implies no obvious cruelty or tragedy,” Godwin says. “As I observe it, and have created it in different series, I am uncertain whether the bull jumpers are men or women, I suspect the latter. The imagery embodies energy and even a playful courage. The drawing remains ambiguous in its intention. I drew it with an empathy for the harassed bull, but I was also drawing it when women internationally were uniting against the assaults of unfettered bullying men.”
The two works we’ve already discussed lead naturally to the figure of Europa (2021). Godwin sketches in the long history and the contemporary events that have influenced this enticing work. “In Cretan and Greek mythology Europa was abducted and raped by Zeus, in the form of a bull. My Europa was previously installed to the left of the triptych featuring the charging bull. Her hand is raised in a halting gesture to silence the rage. At the time of making this work, as it was with Brexit then – and Ukraine now – I was anxious for Europe, and the theme seemed necessary to address.” He adds that he has always been inspired by Picasso’s etchings of the blind minotaur.
We now examine Apologia – 1000 Tears (1999 – 2016) which lies somewhere – and we all interpret artworks differently – between Vishnu and the dark matter of black holes and quantum theory. It seems appropriate at this stage to talk a little about the one-of-a-kind technique that Godwin has developed and perfected over decades.
“All these artworks are drawn in what was once called ‘freehand’, in graphite and waxed chinagraph pencil, and in pastel, which is usually crushed. At different stages, the drawings have been burnished with the sort of spoons you would find in an old cutlery drawer. The technical term is EPNS. That is, they are made from electro-plated nickel silver.” Further questioning reveals that the works have been painstakingly buffed with lambswool prior to “fixing.”
This work – which is one of my favourites – was made in two phases, spanning twenty years.
“In 1998, I commenced a series of monumental ‘gazing’ artworks, as I called them” Godwin explains. “It was an extensive series that I titled Imago. The faces and heads gazed outward. At rare intervals I made several, out of many, that bow their head in supplication or apology, and gaze inwardly. Hence the title Apologia.
And what is the history of this particular one, I wondered?
“Apologia -1000 Tears was initially made around the year 2000. The work seemed to require something from the breadth of the entire visual field, not just the face. A veil of tears would focus the conception. It was years before I made that intervention, but it was the right decision. The ‘tears’ are transparent acrylic impasto and I counted out 1000 of them. But there are a few additional ones. And in our many cultures there has been much to grieve over that twenty-year period.”
Godwin is a great synthesiser of both technique, personal history, and an expanded field of cultural references. Perhaps this comes from him never really having a particular sense of place, so much as a sense of history, from his early childhood. Before the age of five, he had lived in Dunedin (where he was born), Glasgow, and then Melbourne.
Like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, his art contains multitudes of classical references along with vignettes from many of the world’s great religions. He is as androgynous and shape shifting as David Bowie, and as narcissistic (in a positive sense) as Mick Jagger. I mention this, because such an expansive vision needs to be fed, and viewers are interested in where the sustenance is coming from. I know Godwin to be a talented musician, often jamming with fellow artist and friend Jon Cattapan. He is also a gifted poet.
When I returned home to Euroa, later that evening, there was a welcome email from Godwin waiting for me. “I thought this might be of interest as a bit of background to the first work we discussed. It’s a poem I wrote called Terribilita.”
I will leave you with the final verse:
There in that pavilion encircled by the flora
Recanting like a saint, repenting like Saint Peter
Dazzled by vermillion shimmering the aurora
The day becomes a nightmare, the dark
terribilita
Dr Peter Hill is an artist, writer, and independent curator
2022
Godwin Bradbeer is widely regarded as one of the country’s seminal drawing-based artists. Among his many career achievements, in 1998 he won the Dobell Drawing Prize and in 2018 was honored with a major monograph by Thames & Hudson. His work is held in the collections of the Australian National Gallery, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide.
Terribilita
Essay by Dr Peter Hill
I was talking recently to an architect friend, who also collects art, and he told me he was “besotted” by the works of Godwin Bradbeer. He first came across them when he bought the Thames and Hudson big-as-a-phonebook monograph on his work, beautifully penned by Janet Mackenzie. He later viewed some of them in person, at James Makin Gallery in Collingwood. Godwin’s work has this effect on a wide range of people.
I’ve just visited his studio complex in Footscray, to view the monumental body of work being consigned to Sydney Contemporary art fair at Carriageworks (8-11 September, 2022). The studio has high ceilings and good light, both ideal for the large scale, museum quality, works for which he is known. Yet like Picasso and Lucien Freud, he can also produce remarkable small-scale, domestic works that are uncannily imbued with a sense of vast scale. A small head can appear like a huge planet, viewed from the dark side of the moon.
In conversation, Godwin rarely refers to his creations as either paintings or drawings, preferring to use the umbrella-term “artworks.” Indeed, his technique appears to be as androgynous as some of his subjects. We discuss a number of the works, before they leave on their journey north. We start with Terribilita, one of the oldest works in the grouping and the final one from his eighties’ series (completed in 1990). An asymmetrical work in which a powerful horse is framed by the same male figure, one prone beneath, the other hovering as if in levitation, above.
“Since the seventies, I’ve possessed a book of George Stubbs’ animal anatomies. It gave me encouragement to proceed with this work,” Godwin says, gesturing towards the horse. “The subject itself might be Saint Paul on the Damascus road before and after his epiphany, as well as a quotation from Caravaggio’s painting of that subject. It could also be a reference to the crucifixion from Salvador Dali’s viewpoint. The enigmatic doubled figure, I think, heightens its mystique.”
We now turn to Leap of Faith (2019), a superbly balanced diptych that embraces shared and personal mythologies. The bull references Godwin’s visits to Crete and the tradition of “bull leaping.” The acrobatic figure balancing on the horns – forearms piercing though the division of the frames like a diver breaking the surface tension of water.
“The ritual is a captivating spectacle that implies no obvious cruelty or tragedy,” Godwin says. “As I observe it, and have created it in different series, I am uncertain whether the bull jumpers are men or women, I suspect the latter. The imagery embodies energy and even a playful courage. The drawing remains ambiguous in its intention. I drew it with an empathy for the harassed bull, but I was also drawing it when women internationally were uniting against the assaults of unfettered bullying men.”
The two works we’ve already discussed lead naturally to the figure of Europa (2021). Godwin sketches in the long history and the contemporary events that have influenced this enticing work. “In Cretan and Greek mythology Europa was abducted and raped by Zeus, in the form of a bull. My Europa was previously installed to the left of the triptych featuring the charging bull. Her hand is raised in a halting gesture to silence the rage. At the time of making this work, as it was with Brexit then – and Ukraine now – I was anxious for Europe, and the theme seemed necessary to address.” He adds that he has always been inspired by Picasso’s etchings of the blind minotaur.
We now examine Apologia – 1000 Tears (1999 – 2016) which lies somewhere – and we all interpret artworks differently – between Vishnu and the dark matter of black holes and quantum theory. It seems appropriate at this stage to talk a little about the one-of-a-kind technique that Godwin has developed and perfected over decades.
“All these artworks are drawn in what was once called ‘freehand’, in graphite and waxed chinagraph pencil, and in pastel, which is usually crushed. At different stages, the drawings have been burnished with the sort of spoons you would find in an old cutlery drawer. The technical term is EPNS. That is, they are made from electro-plated nickel silver.” Further questioning reveals that the works have been painstakingly buffed with lambswool prior to “fixing.”
This work – which is one of my favourites – was made in two phases, spanning twenty years.
“In 1998, I commenced a series of monumental ‘gazing’ artworks, as I called them” Godwin explains. “It was an extensive series that I titled Imago. The faces and heads gazed outward. At rare intervals I made several, out of many, that bow their head in supplication or apology, and gaze inwardly. Hence the title Apologia.
And what is the history of this particular one, I wondered?
“Apologia -1000 Tears was initially made around the year 2000. The work seemed to require something from the breadth of the entire visual field, not just the face. A veil of tears would focus the conception. It was years before I made that intervention, but it was the right decision. The ‘tears’ are transparent acrylic impasto and I counted out 1000 of them. But there are a few additional ones. And in our many cultures there has been much to grieve over that twenty-year period.”
Godwin is a great synthesiser of both technique, personal history, and an expanded field of cultural references. Perhaps this comes from him never really having a particular sense of place, so much as a sense of history, from his early childhood. Before the age of five, he had lived in Dunedin (where he was born), Glasgow, and then Melbourne.
Like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, his art contains multitudes of classical references along with vignettes from many of the world’s great religions. He is as androgynous and shape shifting as David Bowie, and as narcissistic (in a positive sense) as Mick Jagger. I mention this, because such an expansive vision needs to be fed, and viewers are interested in where the sustenance is coming from. I know Godwin to be a talented musician, often jamming with fellow artist and friend Jon Cattapan. He is also a gifted poet.
When I returned home to Euroa, later that evening, there was a welcome email from Godwin waiting for me. “I thought this might be of interest as a bit of background to the first work we discussed. It’s a poem I wrote called Terribilita.”
I will leave you with the final verse:
There in that pavilion encircled by the flora
Recanting like a saint, repenting like Saint Peter
Dazzled by vermillion shimmering the aurora
The day becomes a nightmare, the dark
terribilita
Dr Peter Hill is an artist, writer, and independent curator
2022
Godwin Bradbeer is widely regarded as one of the country’s seminal drawing-based artists. Among his many career achievements, in 1998 he won the Dobell Drawing Prize and in 2018 was honored with a major monograph by Thames & Hudson. His work is held in the collections of the Australian National Gallery, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025
‘Tabula Rasa’ / ‘School Days’, Parallel Project, Melbourne
2024
‘Solitaire: The Performance Suite’, La Capitale Galerie, Paris, France.
2023
‘Studio Triage’, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2022
Solo presentation, James Makin Gallery, Sydeny Contemporary
2021
’The Fragile’ BMG Art. In conjunction with Adelaide Festival, Adelaide
2019
‘Beasts: Early and Recent Drawings’, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne.
2018
‘Drawn to the Dark’ Curator Michael Brennan, Noosa Regional Gallery, Queensland
‘Godwin Bradbeer’ Exhibition and Thames and Hudson monograph launch. James Makin Gallery,
Melbourne
2017
‘Godwin Bradbeer in Seoul’, Space Zero Gallery, Sangmyung University, Seoul, Korea
‘Godwin Bradbeer, Stigma and Enigma. A Survey exhibition’. Deakin University, Melbourne
‘Episodes: Then & Now’, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2015
Art Stage Singapore, International Art Fair, Singapore
Delinquent Sublime: Early and recent works, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2014
Recent works, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2013
Pentimenti, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2011
Intermezzo, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
Crimes Against Modernity: Selected Drawings 1975 – 2011 Adelaide Central Gallery, SA.
2010
Gravitas James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2009
Portraits in Exile Ardel Gallery of Modern Art, Bangkok, Thailand
2008
Soliloquy James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2007
Aspects of the Metaphysical Body Annandale Galleries, Sydney.
2006
– Godwin Bradbeer – The Metaphysical Body – A Survey Curator Kirsten Lacey -Shepparton
Regional Gallery, VIC
McClelland Art Gallery and Sculpture Park,VIC
Orange Regional Gallery, N.S.W.
Icon Museum of Art, Deakin University, Melb., VIC
Latrobe Regional Gallery, VIC
Grafton Regional Gallery, N.S.W.
Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney, N.S.W.
Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, N.S.W.
2005
Godwin Bradbeer – Selected Works Blacksphere Fine Art Gallery, Melbourne
2004
Godwin Bradbeer – Selected Works. Blacksphere Fine Art Gallery, Melbourne
Human Shield, MOA Gallery, Heyri Art Valley, Paju, Korea
Human Shield 11, Byuk Kang Hall of Arts, Kaywon Arts School, Seoul, Korea
2002
Godwin Bradbeer – Selected Works, Annandale Galleries, Sydney
2001
The Vessel of the Self, Photographs 1968 – 78, Bulle Galleries, Melbourne
Man of Paper, Phyllis Palmer Gallery, La Trobe University, Bendigo
2000
Apologia/Olympia, BMG Art, Adelaide
1999
Apologia, Bulle Galleries, Melbourne
Imago, John Batten Gallery, Hong Kong
1998
Verisimilitude, Victoria University Gallery, Melbourne
Man of Errors, Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
1995
Fear of Painting, Paintings and Drawings. Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
Disegno Interno, BMG Art, Adelaide, Drawings 1991-95
1994
Empirical Paintings, R.M.I.T. Faculty Gallery, Melbourne
1993
The Human Abstract, Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
1992
An Illustrators Lullaby, David Ellis Fine Art, Melbourne
1990
Imitation of Light, David Ellis Fine Art, Melbourne
1987
Ornaments of Mercy, Gerstman- Abdallah Fine Art International, Melbourne
Ash Cartoons, Holdsworth Contemporary Galleries, Sydney
1986
Black Drawings, Gerstman- Abdallah Fine Art International, Cologne, West Germany
1985
Catholic Sorrows, Gerstman- Abdallah Fine Art International, Melbourne
1983
Empirical Memos, Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Melbourne
1981
Ghosts, Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Melbourne
1979
Acts of Love, Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Melbourne
1977
Godwin Bradbeer – Recent Drawings, Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Melbourne
ART FAIRS + BIENNALES
2017
‘2017 Jeonnam International Sumuk pre – Biennale’ , South Korea.
Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, (James Makin Gallery)
2016
Art Stage Singapore, (James Makin Gallery)
2015
Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, (James Makin Gallery)
2014
Melbourne Art Fair, (James Makin Gallery)
2011
Korean International Art Fair (KIAF), Seoul, Korea, (James Makin Gallery)
2004
The Fifth Australian Drawing Biennale, The Drill Hall, Australian National, University, Canberra
The Melbourne Art Fair, (John Batten Gallery)
2002
The Melbourne Art Fair
2000
The Melbourne Art Fair
1988
Los Angeles Contemporary Art Fair, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
1984
The International Art Fair, Basle, Switzerland. “Art 15 ‘85”
SELECTED INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
2024
‘Solitaire: The Performance Suite’, La Capitale Galerie, Paris, France.
2019
Jour et Nuit, Nicol Rodriguez and Godwin Bradbeer, Galerie La Capitale, Paris, France
Godwin Bradbeer and Bernard Le Quellec, Galerie Hoge Bomen, Veurne, Belgium
Hands Across the Pacific, Australian Curator: Prof Ian Howard, Ningbo Museum of Art, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China.
2018
When Continents Meet No2, Curator; Nicol Rodriguez, Galerie La Capitale, Paris
2017
Jeonnam International Sumuk pre-Biennale, Curator; Seung- mi Lee, Mokpo, South Korea.
2011
Year of Friendship Australian Artists Seoul Exhibition, Seoul, KOREA
2006
19 Australian Artists , Curated Robert Godfrey., Elizabeth Holden Gallery, Warren Wilson College, Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.A.
24 Hours Human Centre, Sangmyung University, Je Ju Island, Korea
Between Longitude 18’ 63” Dongduk Gallery, Insadon, Seoul, Korea
2005
Gong – ju International Arts Festival, Gong – ju Art Museum, Gong – ju, Korea
2004
Gong- ju International Festival of Arts, Gong – ju Art Museum, Gong – ju, Korea
Works on Paper, John Batten Gallery, Hong Kong
2003
Love Letter to China, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Art, Sydney, Touring Xian and Beijing China
1999
Works on Paper, Contemporary Australian Artists from RMIT. College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
Works on Paper. Contemporary Australiam Artists from RMIT. College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University, Korea
1985
Gallery Artists, Gerstman-Abdallah Fine Art Int., Cologne, West Germany
1976
Recent Australian Photography, through South-East Asia, Japan, Pakistan, India and Africa department of Foreign Affairs- Touring Exhibition
SELECTED TWO AND THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2019
Jour et Nuit, Nicol Rodriguez and Godwin Bradbeer, Galerie La Capitale, Paris, France
Godwin Bradbeer and Bernard Le Quellec, Galerie Hoge Bomen, Veurne, Belgium
2008
The Axe Creek Project, Gallery Infinart, Victoria. Peter Schipperheyn and Godwin Bradbeer
2007
Lux in Tenebris Lucet RMIT School of Art Gallery, Melbourne. Installation Drawings andProjected Works. Irene Barberis and Godwin Bradbeer
2000
Precieux Paradigms, Westbank Gallery, Australian Academy of Design, Melbourne,Bridget Heller and Godwin Bradbeer
1999
Facsimile, Project Space, RMIT, Melbourne. Warren Breninger and Godwin Bradbeer.
1978
Vitreous and Aqueous Humour, Photography and Printmaking, (with Warren Breninger and Jamie Bradbeer), Gryphon Gallery, Melbourne
The Way of Flesh, (with Warren Breninger and Rennie Ellis).Gryphon Gallery, Melbourne
1976
Eyelid on Eyelid (with Warren Breninger and Jamie Bradbeer). Brummells Gallery of Photography, Melbourne
Fragments of the Human Race, Godwin Bradbeer and Warren Breninger. Drawing and Sculpture. Gryphon Gallery, Melbourne
1975
Mortal Trash is Immortal Diamond. Godwin Bradbeer and Warren Breninger. Brummells Gallery
of Photography, Melbourne
1973
Warren Breninger and Godwin Bradbeer, Monash University Student Union,
Paintings and Drawings. Melbourne
1971
Photographs – Warren Breninger and Godwin Bradbeer Icarus Gallery, Photographic Exhibition, Melbourne
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
The Dobell Prize for Drawing, National Art School, Sydney
2021
Amplify, Collingwood Yards, Melbourne
2020 – 21
National Works on Paper, Mornington Regional Gallery, Victoria
2019
The Line, BMG Art, Adelaide, South Australia
Hands Across the Pacific, Australian Curator: Prof Ian Howard, Ningbo Museum of Art, Ningbo,Zhejiang Province, China
Delineation, Hawthorn Town Hall Gallery, Melbourne
2018
When Continents Meet No2, Curator; Nicol Rodriguez, Galerie La Capitale, Paris
2017
Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, Sydney. Represented by James Makin Gallery.
Jeonnam International Sumuk pre-Biennale, Curator; Seung- mi Lee, Mokpo, South Korea.
2012
The Dobell Prize for Drawing, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2011
Brummels: Australia’s first gallery of photography, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria
The Dobell Prize for Drawing, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2010
The Melbourne Art Fair, James Makin Gallery
Drawing Out Festival and Conference of Drawing, RMIT University, Melbourne
2009 The Winter Collection 2009, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
New Figuration, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2008
The Dobell Prize for Drawing, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
The Winter Collection 2008, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2007
Keep It In The Ground, Anti Uranium Mining Exhibition, Collingwood Gallery, Melbourne
Australian and International Works on Paper, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
Bodies and Minds, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
The Dobell Prize for Drawing, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2006
Crisis,Catharsis and Contemplation Curated by David Rastus. St Patricks Cathedral, Melbourne
Float Curated by Louiseanne Zahra, Project Space, RMIT Melbourne
The Dobell Prize for Drawing, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
The Jacaranda Drawing Prize, Grafton Regional Gallery and touring regional galleries N.S.W.
2005
The Dobell Prize for Drawing’ Art Gallery of N.S.W.
2004
Male Order, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, N.S.W.
The Fifth Australian Drawing Biennale, The Drill Hall, Australian National, University, Canberra
The Dobell Prize for Drawing, Art Gallery of N.S.W.
2003
Sex and Death, Stephen McLoughlin Gallery, Melbourne
The Dobell Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
Reunion, The Art of Sixteen Graduates, George Paton Gallery, University of Melbourne
Reclaiming the Mainstream, Art and Humanist Ideals, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne
Works on Paper, Annandale Galleries, Sydney
2002
The Dobell Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
RMIT Samyung Faculty Exchange Exhibition, Samyung University, Seoul, Korea
Recent Aquisitions, Australian National Gallery, Canberra
First Birthday Exhibition, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne
2001
Liberty, RMIT Storey Hall Gallery, Melbourne
The Male Nude – A Private View, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2000
The Dobell Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
Identities, La Trobe University, Bendigo
1999
The Dobell Drawing Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Exposures, Linden Gallery, Melbourne
Australian Paper Art Awards, George Adams Gallery, Victorian Arts Center, and touring Canberra, Sydney and Perth
Kedumba Invitation Drawing Award, N.S.W.
The Fabric of Labour, Bulle Galleries Melbourne
1998
Stigma, University of Technology of Sydney, Group Show, Touring Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Bendigo, La Trobe Valley, Hamilton and Swan Hill
RMIT Artists, Hong Kong Arts Cente, Hong Kong
The Dobell Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (WINNER)
Metamorphosis, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Group Show
The Dobell Drawing Prize Exhibition, The George Adams Gallery, Victorian Arts Center, Melbourne
1994
R.M.I.T. Masters Students, Australian High Commission, Limkokwing, Kuala Lumpor
The Nude, Heide Park & Art Gallery, Melbourne
1990
Artists at Phillip at La Trobe, La Trobe University Art Gallery, Melbourne
1986
The Figure, The Andrew and Lillian Pederson Invitation Drawing Prize, Queensland Art Gallery
Directors Choice, R.M.I.T. Gallery, Melbourne
Selected Contemporary Drawings, Heide Park and Art Gallery
1985
Oz Drawing Now, Holdsworth Contemporary Galleries, Sydney
1983
The L.J Harvey Memorial Prize for Drawing. Queensland Art Gallery
1983
New Art, N.G.V., Selections from the Michell Endowment
1980
Acquisitions for the Philip Morris Collection (Photography), Art Gallery of South Australia
Drawn and Quartered, Photographs, Acquisitions, Art Gallery of South Australia,
Australian Contemporary Photography
1977
George’s Invitation Prize, Melbourne
1976
New Generation Victorians. Mornington Peninsula Arts Center
1971
Recent Photography, Icarus Gallery, Melbourne
1969
Strines Gallery, Melbourne, Group Exhibition
Student Works. Argus Gallery, Melbourne
1968
Zetetic 2. Argus Gallery, Melbourne
AWARDS/GRANTS/PRIZES
2023
Finalist, Dobell Drawing Award, Art Gallery of New South Wales
2011
Finalist, Prometheus Art Award
2004
GIAF Award, Gong – ju Art Museum, Gong – ju, Korea
1999
Acquisitive Award, Australian Paper Art Awards, George Adams Gallery
1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 Finalist, The Dobell Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
1998
First Prize, The Dobell Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
1996
Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Prize, Grafton Regional Gallery
Finalist, The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Touring Exhibition
First Prize, Jacaranda Aquisitive Drawing Prize, Grafton Regional Gallery
1994
Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
Acquisitive Award, Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
1991
Dominique Segan Castlemaine State Drawing Prize
First Prize, Dominique Segan Castlemaine State Drawing Prize
1982
Visual Arts Board Grant
1976
Essendon City Council Painting Prize Acquisitive
First Prize, Essendon City Council Painting Prize Acquisitive
ARTWORKS
-
Godwin Bradbeer Canary in a Coal Mine
2025
Drawing- chinagraph, silver oxide and pastel on paper
80 x 116 cm
$14,000.00
ENQUIRE →
-
Godwin Bradbeer Carbon Profile
2016
Chinagraph, silver oxide and pastel on paper
152 x 122 cm
$33,000.00
ENQUIRE →
-
Godwin Bradbeer The lodger revisited
2015
Drawing- chinagraph, silver oxide and pastel on paper
197 x 126 cm
$35,000.00
ENQUIRE →
-
Godwin Bradbeer Imago Helix (panel 1)
2013
Drawing- chinagraph, silver oxide and pastel on paper
153 x 114 cm
$22,000.00
ENQUIRE →
-
Godwin Bradbeer Canary in a Coalmine #2
2005/2025
Drawing- chinagraph, gesso and pastel on paper
78 x 60 cm
$8,500.00
ENQUIRE →
-
Godwin Bradbeer Imago Apologia 1000 tears
1999-2016
Drawing- chinagraph, silver oxide, pastel and acrylic medium on paper
161 x 131 cm
$36,000.00
ENQUIRE →
-
Godwin Bradbeer Terribilita
1990
Drawing- chinagraph, silver oxide and pastel on paper
268 x 245 cm
$130,000.00
ENQUIRE →
