Luke ROBERTS
BIO
Australian Painters on the Nature of Creativity
Luke has exhibited publicly since 1975. His first major public exhibition Pope Alice presents Luke Roberts was in 1980. He exhibited at Bellas Gallery and then BellasMilani Gallery from 1987-2005 Philip Bacon Gallery 2006 and is currently represented by Milani Gallery, Brisbane and John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne.
Luke studied drawing at the Julian Ashton School in Sydney and Fine Art at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Queensland University of Technology in 2001.
From 1984-1987 he lived and worked in Europe.
He has received various public art commissions from the Queensland State Government and the Brisbane City Council.
Luke was a featured actor in Tracey Moffatts film Bedevil. The character drew on his performance work investigating the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
He is also both an adviser to, and patronized by Her Divine Holiness Pope Alice and fosters Her mission to Planet Earth as Camerlingo, tour manager, Master of Wardrobe, and Senior Curator of the Papal Wunderkammer. He has pioneered various embassies and consulates for her Divine Holiness around the globe including New York, Tokyo, Rome and Amsterdam. http://www.popealice.com
Luke was a regular contributer to Heyoka Magazine http://www.heyokamagazine.com
Testimonial
Paul Andrew’s ARI REMIX project collaboration is a significant undertaking. I believe it’s important these untold stories are put on the public record. I have archival material, including slides and photographs, ephemera etc- that can be digitally copied to accompany the interview. The State Library of Queensland – Queensland Memory- Archives has already begun to accession a large part of my own artistic archive.
Because of the political atmosphere and the lack of opportunities for artists I left Queensland in early 1984 to live in Europe. Whilst living in Queensland as an artist up until 1984 I was working in various media including painting, photography, performance, wearable art and
film and was focused on various subjects in my professional practice including sexuality, spirituality, and kitsch. From my perspective E.M.U. in 1979-1981 heralded the beginning of a series of ARIs.
Before leaving Brisbane I was aware that O’Flate/One Flat had been established. Up until that time there was a great sense of isolation for artists in the city. ARIs allowed artists a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, a sense of the future and provided hope and possibilities and camaraderie.
We independently established a place to exhibit our work, to network and to meet other contemporary artists. This was invaluable at the time as there were no venues, institutions or galleries that would even consider exhibiting or promoting local contemporary art. I was
fortunate to have an exhibition at the Institute of Modern Art in 1982 during an intervening period when the institute was administered by a Queenslander. It is disconcerting, disappointing and indicative of the cultural amnesia that artists endure here in Queensland
that documentation and ephemera from this era has not been collected and published.
I understand that Paul’s ARI REMIX project is an invaluable way to change this sad state of affairs and acknowledge the contribution that was made during this unique era. This is already beginning to happen thanks to Paul collaborative work on Stage One during the last two years.
ARI REMIX is designed as an online project and from my point of view this online model and method is a fantastic and vital way to record and remember this history.
Today, despite the odds, I still work as an artist. I consider the time working with other artists at E.M.U. as an extraordinarily vital time long gone and in many ways naïve and innocent. We
were oblivious to what Brisbane was to develop into and unaware that the tidal wave of time would obliterate much of its traces. E.M.U. provided me with an invaluable creative experience that continues to
serve me well in my professional work and in my daily life.
During the short period of time that E.M.U. operated as a space (1979 – 1981) I was able to achieve a number of significant milestones in my career. In 1980 my exhibition ‘Pope Alice presents Luke Roberts’ opened at Spring Hill Art Gallery. It was accompanied by three
performance works; one in King George Square and three at the gallery (opening night plus two media events). The media events were the Hayden Sargent Report (Channel 10) and a
press conference, resulting in evening news coverage on at least two channels. This kind of local coverage was not only unique in my career, but most artists could only dream of today.
In light of our activity and visibility I met others that were to have an impact on my life. Nigel Rice invited me to take a lead role in his all-male version of ‘Who’s Afraid of VirginiaWoolf?’ I met Scott Redford and later established the QLD ARI AGLASSOFWATER with him in
1989. I also met artist Tedd Riggs, who curated a show of my work at the IMA in 1982.
Thank you for supporting ARI REMIX.
Art Practice Keywords:
Artist
Artist Role Keywords:
Collaboration/ Collaborator names Keywords:
E.M.U, AGLASSOFWATER, Georgina Pope, Ross Wallace, Hiram To, Scott Redford, Paul Andrew and many other artists
Collections:
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Griffith University, Brisbane
Kamloops Art Gallery, British Columbia, Canada
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
Various Private Collections
CV
Select CV
The Veto of Reason, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane
1990
Wunderkammer, State Library of Queensland
Objects of My Affection, Site, Brisbane
1989
Without Closure, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane
Artist’s Videos, National Arts Week, Brisbane
1988
Logic Assassinates, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane
1987
1+1=3, ongoing photographic work
1986
Plan 9, The Compartners, Amsterdam
Touring Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs
1985
Name Dropping, St. Olofspoort, Amsterdam
1984 – 86
Touring Exhibition, Queensland Arts Council
1984 – 85
Der Kunstler Als Narcis/Das Leben Ist Kunst Ist Kitsch, Screening and Discussion of the Artist’s own films, Hannover Fachhochschule + Braunsweig Film Academie, Fed Rep. Germany and performance series , “Alles Alice Ueber…”
1984
Alpha Centenary, commemorative envelopes, Australia Post
1982
Luke Roberts, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
1980
Pope Alice Presents Luke Roberts, Spring Hill Gallery, Brisbane