Robert Bridgewater
Australia Council for the Arts Residency
2000
Robert Bridgewater is an Australian artist living and working in Melbourne. Robert’s carved and incised wooden sculptures can be monumental, or delicate in scale; requiring from the artist brute force and strength, but also patience and care. Whether timber, or bronze, the surfaces of his sculptures proudly display the methodical marks of the Robert’s hand, retaining their link to the labour of production and more broadly to historical traditions of object making. He transforms patterns from a wide range of cultural sources into repeated motifs, affording his work an archetypal quality – one that is immediately engaging.
Robert has been the recipient of a number of awards including the National Gallery of Victoria Trustees Award (1992); a Post Graduate Encouragement Award (1994) and the Kangaroo Sculpture Award (1995). He has been a finalist in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award (2011); the McClelland Sculpture Survey and Awards (2010); and the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award (2005, 2003 & 2000). A major work was included in Shelter: On Kindness at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology as part of the Melbourne Festival (2010) and Robert has recently been invited to participate in the Fifth Palmer Sculpture Biennial, South Australia (2012). He has completed a series of commissions, including works for The Westin, Perth (2018); Banksia Apartments, New Quay (2018); Park Hyatt, Sydney (2014); Point Leo Sculpture Park, Merricks (2011); RMIT University, Melbourne (2010); RACV, Melbourne (2010); Grand Hyatt, Melbourne (2008); Burswood Casino, Perth (2006); and Edgewater Estate, Melbourne (2002). Robert’s work is held in a number of public and private collections including Monash University Art Collection, Melbourne; Artbank, Sydney; and Victoria University, Melbourne.
Australia Council for the Arts
Since 1992, the Australia Council for the Arts has partnered with Acme to provide London work/live residency opportunities for Australian visual artists. These residencies are located at Acme's Fire Station in Poplar, E14. Application and selection is undertaken directly by the Australia Council for the Arts.
For more information visit australiacouncil.gov.au
