BIOGRAPHY

1950
Born Sydney, Australia

1969-72
Bachelor of Science (Architecture) with First Class Hons and University Medal, University of Sydney

1976
Cité Internationale des Arts Residency, Paris 

1976
Owen Tooth Cottage Residency, Vence

1977-83
Founding academic staff member, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney

2001-09
Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

2005
Awarded a Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa), University of New South Wales, Sydney
 

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2024
The First 40 Years, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 10 February – 2 March
New Acquisitions from the Mosman Art Collection, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney, 23 February – 24 March

2023
Continuum, Barossa Regional Gallery, 8 December 2023 – 5 February 2024
Imants Tillers: The Mosman Years, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney, 11 November 2023 – 4 February 2024 (solo exhibition)
Remembering the Unknown, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney 24 October – 25 November 2023 (solo exhibition)
Unfinished Journey, Embassy of the Republic of Latvia, Canberra, 14 November 2023 (solo exhibition)
After de Chirico, Arc One Gallery, Melbourne, 27 May – 1 July 2023 (solo exhibition)
Photography and the Performative, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney, 23 April – October 2023

2022
Journeys through the Tate Collection, Tate Liverpool, 15 February 2022–June 2023
Travelling stories: A Tribute to Michael Nelson Jagamara, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, 17 June–23 July
ES_TEXT, Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga, curated by Elita Ansone and Leonards Laganovskis, 4 February–1 May
Light & Darkness, Chau Chuk Wing Museum, January – November

2021
As soon as tomorrow, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 26 November–18 December (solo exhibition)
Fierce Paradise, Bett Gallery, Hobart, 30 July–21 August (solo exhibition)

2020
Terra Nullius, Milani Gallery, Brisbane, 3–24 October (solo exhibition)

2018
Journey to Nowhere, Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga, 6 July—30 September (solo exhibition), curated by Elita Ansone

2017
Meeting Place: Imants Tillers and Michael Nelson Jagamarra, Parliament House, Canberra, 17 August—12 November, curated by Justine Van Mourik 

2015
Pop to popism, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1 November—1 March 2015, curated by Wayne Tunnicliffe
Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, 5 December—15 May 2016, curated by Robert Leonard

2016
Black, White & Restive, Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, 28 May—7 August 2016, curated by Una Rey
Living Waters, part of Taba Naba – Australia, Oceania, Arts by People of the Sea, Musée     
Océanographique de Monaco, Monaco, 24 March—30 September, curated by Erica Izett

2014
Dreamings: Australian Aboriginal Art meets De Chirico, Museo Carlo Bilotti, Rome, 4 July—2 November, curated by Erica Izett and Ian McLean
The Skullbone Experiment: A Paradigm of Art and Nature, Tasmanian Land Conservancy, Launceston, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Inveresk, 15 March—18 May; UNSW Galleries, College of Fine Art Gallery, curated by Philip Wolfhagen and Catherine Wolfhagen, Sydney, 18 July—30 August

2013
Mémoires Vives; Une Historire De L’Arte Aborigène, Musée D’Aquitaine, Bordeaux, 15 October—30 March 2014.
Australia: 200 Years of Australian Landscape Art, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, 21 September—8 December, curated by Kathleen Soriano

2012
The Loaded Ground: Michael Nelson Jagamara and Imants Tillers, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University Art Gallery, Canberra,  16 August—23 September, curated by Nancy Sever

2010
Dual Worlds: Dadang Christanto and Imants Tillers, Jan Manton Art, Brisbane, 4 November—23 December

2009
The Long Poem, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia, Perth, 12 February—19 April (solo exhibition), curated by John Barrett-Lennard

2007
New Horizons: The Collection of the Ishibashi Foundation, Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo, 9 February—13 April
Let's call it a living room, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan

2006
Imants Tillers: one world many visions, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 14 July—16 October (solo exhibition), curated by Deborah Hart
Prism: Contemporary Australian Art, Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan, 7 October—3 December, curated by Tomoko Nakayama
2006 Clemenger Contemporary Art Award, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 24 August—22 October
Zones of Contact: 15th Biennale of Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 8 June—27 August, curated by Charles Merewether

2002
Kunst Nach Kunst (Art After Art), Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, Germany, 18 August—3 November, curated by Peter Friese. Featuring John Leder, Art + Language, Martin Kippenberger, Sigmar Polke, and Andy Warhol (among others) 

2001
Empatia (Empathy: Beyond the Horizon), Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland, curated by Marketta Seppala and Imants Tillers
Osaka Triennale 2001: 10th International Contemporary Art Competition, Contemporary Art Space, Osaka, Japan (awarded Silver Prize) 

1999
Towards Infinity: Works by Imants Tillers, Museo de Arts Contemporaneo de Monterrey, Mexico, 24 September—7 January 2000 (solo exhibition), curated by Charles Merewether
Home and Away: Contemporary Australian and New Zealand Art from the Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland, 4 June—22 August
The Rose Crossing: Contemporary Art in Australia, Sherman Galleries touring exhibition, Brisbane City Gallery, Brisbane, 8 September—23 October 1999; Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong, 29 November—20 December 1999; Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, 10 February—28 March 2000, curated by Gene Sherman

1998
Five continents and a city, Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, November 1998—February 1999, curated by Yu Yeon Kim
Expanse: Aboriginalities, Spatialities and the Politics of Ecstasy, University of South Australia Art Museum, Adelaide, 4 September—3 October, curated by Ian North

1997
In Place (Out of Time): Contemporary Art in Australia, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, curated by David Elliott and Howard Morphy

1996
Spirit and Place: Art in Australia 1861-1996, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 21 November 1996–3 March 1997, curated by Nick Waterlow and Ross Mellick
Systems End: Contemporary Art in Australia, Oxy Gallery, Osaka, 19 April—19 May; Hakone Open-Air Museum, Tokyo, 31 May—28 July; Dong-Ah Gallery, Seoul, 20 September—16 October; Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan (with separate catalogue), November, curated by William Wright  
Osaka Painting Triennale, Osaka Mydome, Osaka 
The World Over/Under Capricorn: Art in the Age of Globalisation, City Gallery, Wellington; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

1995
Diaspora in Context: Connections in a Fragmented World, Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland, 18 June—20 August; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1 September—30 November; Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand, 17 December 1995–25 February 1996; Waikato Museum and Art Gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand, 16 March—5 May (solo exhibition), curated by Marketta Seppala
Australian Art 1940-1990: from the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, The Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan, 28 July—3 September

1994
Antipodean Currents: Ten Contemporary Artists from Australia, John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Washington DC, 9–16 October; Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York, 21 June—6 August 1995, curated by Julia Robinson

1993
Identities: Art from Australia, Taiwan Museum of Art, Taipei, Taiwan, 11 December 1993–29 February 1994; Wollongong City Art Gallery, Wollongong, 29 April—5 June 1994, curated by Deborah Hart
Looking at Seeing and Reading, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney, 1—31 July; Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, 31 March—30 April 1994; Monash University Gallery, Melbourne, 19 May—25 June 1994, curated by Ian Burn

1990
Art from Australia: Eight Contemporary Views, Gedung Seni Rupa Nasional, Jakarta, 30 August—16 September 1990; National Art Gallery, Bangkok, 4 October 1990; Metropolitan Museum of Manila; National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, April 1991; National Gallery, Singapore, June 1991, curated by Alison Carroll
Latvian Art, National Art Gallery, Riga, 30 June—6 October
L'été Australien à Montpellier, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, 30 June—13 September

1989
Imants Tillers: 19301 or as of October, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 25 February—9 April; Govett-Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth, 13 May—11 June (solo exhibition), curated by Jenny Harper
Imants Tillers, Bess Cutler Gallery, New York (solo exhibition)

1988
Imants Tillers: works 1978-1988, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 7 April—22 May; The Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, 11 June—10 July; Orchard Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland, 10 November—8 December (solo exhibition), curated by Iwona Blazwick
Australian Biennale: From the Southern Cross, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 19 May 1988, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, curated by Nick Waterlow
Advance Australian Painting, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland; National Art Gallery, Wellington, curated by Andrew Bogle
Stories of Australian Art, Commonwealth Institute, London, curated by Jonathan Watkins
Redux: Michael Bidlo, Sherrie Levine, Doug Huebler, Phillip Taaffe, Richard Pettibone, Imants Tillers, Maloney Gallery, Los Angeles
Creating Australia: 200 Years of Art 1788-1988, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 October—27 November 1988; Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, curated by Daniel Thomas
Edge to Edge: Australian Contemporary Art to Japan, National Museum of Art, Osaka; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 23 October 1988; Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, 20 February—25 March 1989; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, curated by Judy Annear

1987
Paintings for Venice: Australia at the 42nd Venice Biennale, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (solo exhibition)
The Australian Bicentennial Perspecta, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 14 October—29 November 1987; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 5 March—17 April 1988; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, September 1997—October 1988; Wurttembergische Kunstverein, Stuttgart, March—April 1989, curated by Anthony Bond
Avant Garde in the Eighties, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 23 April—12 July, curated by Howard Fox
Modern Art since 1984, Nexus Contemporary Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia, featuring Vikky Alexander, Bill Chambers, Clegg & Guttmann, Julia Fenton, Michael Jenkins, Martin Kippenberger, Steven Parrino, Imants Tillers and Tyler Turkle. Curated by Louise E. Shaw, Virginia Wright, Ronald Jones and Robert Nickas.
State of the Art, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, curated by Sandy Nairne
Heroics: A Critical View, Walter Philips Gallery, The Banff Centre, School of Fine Arts, Banff, Alberta, Canada, featuring Ida Applebroog, Sara Diamond, Viola Frey, Leon Golub, Stephen Hutchings, Imants Tillers, curated by Daina Augaitis

1986
42nd Venice Biennale: Imants Tillers, Corderie at the Arsenale, Venice, 29 June—28 September (solo exhibition), curated by Kerry Crowley
Australian Appropriations: The Recent Paintings of Imants Tillers, Vollum College Center Gallery, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, United States (solo exhibition)
6th Biennale of Sydney: Origins, Originality and Beyond, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 16 May – 6 July, curated by Nick Waterlow
Contemporary Issues III: Works from the Collection of Robert and Nancy Kaye, Holman Hall Art Gallery, Trenton State College, New Jersey
When Attitudes Become Form, Bess Cutler Gallery, New York (with Richard Artschwager, Jennifer Bolande, Steven Parrino, Allen Ruppersburg, Philip Taaffe, Julia Wachtel and others), curated by Robert Nickas

1985
Production: Re-Production, Gallery 345, Art for Social Change, New York, featuring Philip Taaffe, Sturtevant, curated by Robert Nickas

1984
An Australian Accent: Three Artists from Australia, curated by John Kaldor, P.S.1, New York, 15 April—10 June, touring to: The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Synthetic Art, Harm Bouckaert Gallery, New York

1983
Imants Tillers: White Aborigines, Matt's Gallery, London, 23 October - 30 October, curated by Paul Taylor (solo exhibition)
Tall Poppies: An Exhibition of Five Pictures, University Gallery, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, curated by Paul Taylor
Recent Australian Painting: A Survey 1970-1983, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, curated by Ron Radford
VOX POP: Into the Eighties, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, curated by Robert Lindsay

1982
Eureka! Artists from Australia, Serpentine Gallery, London; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, curated by Sandy Nairne and Sue Grayson
Popism, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, curated by Paul Taylor
Documenta 7, Kassel, West Germany, curated by Rudi Fuchs and Germano Celant

1981
Australian Perspecta 1981: A Biennial Survey of Contemporary Australian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, curated by Bernice Murphy

1979
3rd Biennale of Sydney: European Dialogue, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 12 April–27 May, curated by Nick Waterlow

1975
13th Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil
Conversations with the Bride, South American tour of Australian works in Bienal de São Paulo 

1973
Recent Australian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, curated by Daniel Thomas and Frances McCarthy
Object and Idea: New Work by Australian Artists, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, curated by Brian Finemore
Sculpturescape '73 (Fifth Mildura Sculpture Triennial), Mildura Arts Centre, Mildura

SELECTED COMMISSIONS

1987
The dome of the Federation Pavilion, Centennial Park, Sydney (collaboration with Alec Tzannes)

1991
Founding donors commission, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

2002
The Attractor and Eight Women, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW (collaboration with Alec Tzannes)

2013
Written in Water (Hymn to Sydney), Commonwealth Bank Building, Martin Place, Sydney

2014
Avenue of Remembrance, Tapestry, First World War Galleries, The Australian War Memorial, Canberra
 

SELECTED MONOGRAPHS

2022
Imants Tillers, Credo: Selected Essays, Giramondo Publishing, Sydney, 2022

2018
Elita Ansone and Mark Ledbury (eds), Imants Tillers: Journey to Nowhere (exh. cat), Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga and Power Publications, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2018

2009
John Barrett-Lennard, The Long Poem (exh. cat.), Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia, Perth, 2009 

2006
Deborah Hart (ed), Imants Tillers: one world many visions (exh. cat.), National Gallery of Australia: Canberra, 2006

2005
Shoosh! A History of the Campfire Group, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, curated by Michael Eather

2003
First Beijing International Art Biennale, Beijing, China (awarded Prize for Excellence)  

2002
Graham Coulter-Smith, The postmodern art of Imants Tillers: appropriation `en abyme', 1971 - 2001, Fine Art Research Centre, Southampton Institute and Paul Holberton Publishing: London, 2002

1999
Charles Merewether, Towards Infinity: works by Imants Tillers (exh. cat.), Mexico: MARCO Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterray, 1999. 

1998
Wystan Curnow, Imants Tillers and the `Book of Power', Craftsman House: Sydney, 1998  

1995
Diaspora in context: connections in a fragmented world. Imants Tillers makes a painting by Georg Baselitz, Joseph Beuys, Bernhard Blume, Carlo Carra, Giorgio de Chirico, Mike Kelley, Byatutas Landsbergis, Colin McCahon, Arnulf Rainer, Nicholas Roerich and Isidore Tillers, Pori, Finland: Pori Art Museum, 1995

1989
Jennifer Harper, Imants Tillers 19301, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1989 

COLLECTIONS

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, New Zealand
Australian Embassy, Paris
The Australian War Memorial, Canberra
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria
Barossa Regional Gallery
Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo
Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra
The Chartwell Collection, Hamilton, New Zealand
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, Christchurch, New Zealand
Floridablanca Collection, Madrid
The Global Center for Latvian Art in Cēsis
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
High Court of Australia Collection, Canberra
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki
Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga
Lila and Gilbert Silverman Collection, Detroit
The Loti and Victor Smorgon Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Monash University Collection, Melbourne
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterray (MARCO), Mexico
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Newcastle Art Gallery, New South Wales
Orange Regional Gallery, New South Wales
Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra
Pori Art Museum, Finland
Prudential Insurance Company Collection, New York
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Sakai City Collection, Osaka, Japan
Sordello/Missina Collection
TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, Victoria
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
Tate Modern, London
University of Technology Art Collection, Sydney
University of Western Australia Art Collection, Perth
Wagga Wagga Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales
Westpac Bank Collection, New York
Westpac Corporate Art Collection, Sydney
Warrnambool Art Gallery, New South Wales
Wollongong City Gallery, New South Wales
Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia
Numerous corporate and private collections in Australia and internationally

AWARDS

2022
University of Sydney Alumni Award for Cultural Contribution

2018
Award of Honour, Kulturas Fonda. Awarded by the World Association of Free Latvians

2016
First Prize, The Gold Award, Rockhampton Art Gallery, Rockhampton

2013
The Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

2012
The Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

2005
Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa), University of New South Wales, Sydney

2003
Prize for Excellence, First Beijing International Art Biennale, China

2001
Silver Prize, Osaka Triennial 2001, Osaka, Japan 

1999
First Prize, 1999 Visy Board Art Prize, Barossa, South Australia

1997
Lowenstein Sharp Arts 21 Fellowship, Melbourne

1996
Bronze Prize, Osaka Painting Triennial, Osaka Triennial, Osaka
SCEGGS Redlands Inaugural Prize, Sydney   

1994
Sakai City Prize, Osaka Print Triennial, Osaka Triennial, Osaka
First Prize, Prime Television Painting Prize, Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle

1993
Grand Prize, Osaka Painting Triennial, Osaka Triennial, Osaka

1991
First Prize, Aberdare Art Prize, Ipswich City Council Regional Gallery, Ipswich 

1981
First Prize, John McCaughey Memorial Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

1973
University Medal for Bachelor of Science Architecture (First Class Hons), University of Sydney

1968/7
Awarded position at the Professor Harry Messel International Science School, Summer