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When Geoff Todd was living and exhibiting in Bali in the 1990‘s, someone asked him 'Where are the lush trees and vegetation in your paintings?' as though this was what was important in conveying the nature of ‘place.’

However, for Todd it is the people, the faces, that evoke our humanity and place, a sense of where we are from, and where we belong.

He travels widely and is constantly making sketches or notes, as he calls them. In the absence of a sketchbook, he uses drink coasters and boarding passes, anything with a blank space, and more recently, his iPad. These notes, along with his own mental images, are later called upon, and even his briefest sketch speaks volumes about people and their place in the world. They are timeless, universal and most importantly, moving.

As a younger artist Todd was represented by some of the best southern galleries in Australia (Holdsworth in Sydney, Stuart Gerstman & Christine Abrahams in Melbourne, Robert Steele in Adelaide). In those days there were only a handful of highly regarded commercial art galleries in the major cities, The National Gallery of Australia has about 35 pieces of his work in their prints and drawings collection. In 1984 the National Gallery of Victoria bought 21 paintings from his ‘Dictionary” exhibition at Christine Abrahams Gallery; a month later Todd moved to the Northern Territory, ignoring his artistic success, to become art adviser on the remote Aboriginal community of Maningrida, where he remained for a number of years. For this reason, much of his later work may never have been seen in the southern states, unless perhaps on the walls of a collector.

Since leaving Melbourne in the early eighties, he has consistently drawn from and been inspired by the people he has met and in doing so, created an impressive volume of work. Some of the most striking images are those of Aboriginal women and children, and many of these images are currently being compiled for a book to be published later this year.

Geoff Todd has exhibited regularly throughout his productive career, both here and overseas. He has an impressive 100 solo exhibitions documented on his cv.

In 2012, Greg Cavanagh, NT Coroner & Todd art collector said of his long-time friend on ABC 7.30 report:

“His drawings of Aboriginal children. . . they’re fantastic. I think he’s made more of a contribution, in terms of being able to paint, describe, leave a catalogue of Darwin life, by way of his art, than anyone I know.”

In this exhibition, Geoff Todd’s subjects look out from the paper and canvas, imploringly. They are simultaneously studied and spontaneous. With a stick of charcoal and some splashes of colour, he captures a gesture & evokes an emotion and leaves us with an undoubtable sense of place, in his often confronting, sometimes provocative drawings.