Trevor Nickolls
Dubbed the "father of urban Aboriginal art", by Brenda L Croft, Trevor Nickolls has inspired and influenced many other artists. He and Rover Thomas represented Australia at the Venice Biennale in 1990, the first Indigenous artists to do so.
Trevor Nickolls is featured in all the major State Galleries in Australia and the National Gallery as well as corporate and private collections; while overseas a number of his works are in museums and collections in Europe, Canada and the US.
Since the 1970’s Trevor Nickolls has created art that is unique in style, incorporating some stylistic elements of traditional Aboriginal art such as dot painting and rarrk, in combination with imagery from diverse sources like comic books and the works of masters in the history of art. The resulting works contain sometimes complex iconography with multiple layers of meaning and sometimes combining tragedy with a wicked sense of humour.
A major theme for Trevor Nickolls’ art is Dreamtime to Machinetime, a theme which articulates cultural transition from the traditional Aboriginal cultural heritage of the Dreamtime into the world of mechanisation and technology. The work presents interactions between these two different worlds and shows the dilemma of living in both.
Trevor Nickolls Art
Medium: Most paintings are painted in acrylic on Belgium linen – enquire for details.
 |
 |
 |
| 1. Self Portrait with Boab Tree - 2010, 91cm x 91cm | 2. Ahead of the time: the first contact - 2009, 91.5cm x 91.5cm | 3. Self portrait with Alice and the Tin Man – 2010, 91cm x 91cm Inspired by a trip to Alice Springs, the painting combines a dual self portrait within an Australian landscape. |
 |
 |
| 4. Revenge of the Storm Boy - 2010, 142 cm x 151cm (detail)
A painting in progress. |
5. Kiss of Creation - 2009, 205x140cm This painting is about the kiss that is the beginning of the creation process in all nature. The milky way at the top of the painting is a significant Aboriginal creation concept connected to birth. The animism in the painting shows trees with hands reaching out with elements that are human as well as spiritual. |
 |
 |
Brush with the Lore - 2010, (detail) |
6. Brush with the Lore - 2010, 187cm x 140cm |
 |
 |
 |
| 7. Uluru - 2010, 61cm x 91.5cm | 8. Warmun water spirits - 2004, 76 cm x 46 cm | 9. Rover driving - 2010, 61.5cm x 81.5cm |
 |
 |
 |
| 10. Magpies playing at home- 2006, 38 x 38.0cm | 11. Hippy Picnic - 2010, 81.5cm x 61cm | 12. Bird and hand - 2010, 30 x 30cm |
 |
||
| 13. Turkey Creek Spaceship | 14. Mother earth and father space kissing- 2009, 76 cm x 46 cm | 15. Dreaming in a landscape |
 |
 |
 |
| 16. Man, machine, spirit head - black and blue pen, 1980 approx 17 x 11cm | 17. Nunga Spirituality - charcoal on paper 2006, 50cm x 70cm | 18. Waterhole with birds - charcoal on paper 2006, 50cm x 70cm |
 |
 |
 |
| 19. Landscape with tree - drawing, pen on paper 1980, approx 18 x 12cm | 20. Walkabout - 1973, Limited edition, hand printed, black and white 1/5 image size 56 x 81cm, framed 83cm x 111cm | 21. Walkabout - 1973, Limited edition, hand printed, multicolour background, image size 56 x 81cm, framed 83cm x 111cm |
HOME | TREVOR NICKOLLS | PAINTINGS FROM BURMA | EAST-WEST CONVERSATIONS