"Grace" Painting

Born Melbourne, Australia, 1950 Geoff Todd had his first solo exhibition in 1969 at the age of 18. In 1984 after a long career in teaching art, Geoff Todd travelled across Australia to Arnhemland in the Top End where he worked for two and a half years with traditional Aboriginal artists and while the experience caused a new direction in his painting, it also stimulated the desire in him to travel abroad. In 1987, he relocated from Maningrida to Batchelor where he was the Art Lecturer at Batchelor College and in 1989 moved to Darwin and lectured in Sculpture and Drawing at the Northern Territory University. During his time in the Top End, the proximity of Indonesia beckoned and there he found a people committed to life, religion, festival and art, an ideal environment for an artist who has always used the human form as an integral and inspirational role in his work. The work Geoff completed in Indonesia attracted much interest and has been purchased by numerous collectors throughout Australia and Indonesia. In Indonesia, his work is featured in the Duta Art Foundation, Jakarta; the Rudana Museum, Bali; the Museum Diponegoro, Tegairejo, Yogyakarta; and Museum Diponegoro, Magelang, Java. In 1999, Geoff held an exhibition at the Benteng Vredeberg (Dutch Fort) in Yogyakarta, which was opened by Prince Prabukusomo. The public response in Indonesia to his exhibition resulted in articles appearing in The Bulletin (Australia) and Indonesian newspapers such as the Jakarta Post, Kedaulatan Rakyata, Suara Merdeka, Yogya Post, Bernas and a cover story in the publication Mistik, all acclaiming his work and establishing him as a respected artist within Indonesia. Indonesia was the first stepping-stone to further and continuous overseas travel which allowed him to pursue opportunities to find time and space to work and exhibit with renewed inspiration. Overseas, his work has been included in contemporary art exhibitions across the United States, Austria, Hong Kong, Italy and Indonesia. In private collections his work is held by well-known identities within Australia and celebrities such as William Shatner of Star Trek fame. In Australia he is represented in the public collections of the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory as well as many regional institutions.