Suzanne O’Connell Gallery presents “BOB” a solo exhibition by Bob Gibson in conjunction with Tjarilirli Art and Kaltukatjara Art.

Bob Gibson has been painting with Tjarlirli Art since 2007 and is one of the centre’s most dynamic artists. His energetic and vibrant personality is reflected in his unique painting style, vivid colours and spirited mark making. These contemporary explorations sing with a deeply rooted connection to family, country and Tjukurrpa.

Born at the Papunya settlement in 1974, Bob spent his early years in the epoch-defining environment of the emerging Papunya Tula movement. His mother, Mary Gibson, also a prominent Tjarlirli artist, was born and raised pre-contact in the country surrounding the Kurlkurta region west of Tjukurla. Bob would spend much of his childhood immersed in this country when his family left Papunya to move back to these ancestral homelands for many years, before relocating again in the 1980s, to establish the community of Tjukurla.

Bob received permission to paint his father’s country of Patjantja - a remote site in the Pintupi lands on the edge of the Gibson Desert. Upon joining Tjarlirli Art a year after its establishment in 2006, he quickly began exploring his own style, characterised by whirlwind movement, quick, spontaneous brushstrokes, dynamic shapes and bold colours. Bob paints with his whole being engaged and present in the moment – he paints on his feet, moving around the canvas painting from each side. With swift movements and split-second decisions on colour and composition, he is in conversation with the canvas and the paintings emerge organically.

His electric energy, cheeky sense of humour and unique perspective towards life are present in his work and other artists will often stop what they are doing to watch Bob paint. He is well loved and respected figure within his community, walking everywhere with a characteristic light-footedness.

Bob’s paintings are colourful and contemporary, but the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) he paints is ancient. In this lies a very important aspect of his work and life: the intersection of a traditional worldview with the present-day experience of life in a remote community. Bob’s artistic practice challenges binary conceptions of Aboriginal Art, delivering work that is both culturally significant and electrifyingly current.