Pope Alice + Einstein (seated)
Luke Roberts
- Sitter: Peter Bellas (with Pope Alice)
- Medium: Digital Photograph
- Dimensions: 110 x 90 cm
- Representation: Milani Gallery
About the artist
Luke Roberts studied at the Queensland College of Art and received his Masters of Fine Art from Queensland University of Technology in 2001. He has had two solo shows at the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane. His portrait of Mary MacKillop was a prizewinner in Mary Mackillop: A Tribute, Powerhouse, Sydney. The portrait now hangs in the Diocesan Centre at St Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane. He has been a finalist in both the Archibald Prize and the Moran Prize. In 1996-97 Roberts was the Australian Fellow at MoMA PS1, New York, and an Australian representative in the 13th Biennale of Sydney (2002) and the 2nd Asia-Pacific Triennial (1996). Roberts has received major public art commissions form the BBC and the Queensland Government. In 2019 his work featured in The National at Carriageworks and AGNSW. His work is represented in major galleries throughout Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia, as well as internationally, including the Renia Sofia, Madrid.
About the sitter
Peter Bellas is synonymous with the best of Brisbane’s contemporary artists. Born and raised in Brisbane he grew up in West End and went to Brisbane State High. In the mid-1980s he established Bellas Gallery in Adelaide Street before moving to James Street, and later Woolloongabba, where it became Bellas Milani Gallery. Wherever he went Peter established a strong stable of extraordinary artists who felt supported and encouraged by his singular approach to contemporary art. As a result he has had an enduring influence on local and national culture promoting the work of significant Queensland and interstate artists, many of them whom we could traditionally call ‘trailblazers’. Peter retired in 2009 however his legacy lives on in the many artists who were part of his stable who continue to work today and through the Peter and Julie Bellas Art Bursary. This was established in 2007 and is awarded annually to three Brisbane State High year 12 students, who wish to pursue studies in the Visual Arts beyond school.
