Robert Fielding (b. 1969) is a contemporary artist of Pakistani, Afghan, Western Arrente and Yankunytjatjara descent, who lives in Mimili Community in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. As his gallerist states: 'Fielding combines strong cultural roots with contemporary views on the tensions between community life and global concerns. He confidently moves across different mediums, whilst pushing aesthetic and conceptual boundaries in central desert art. His works explore overlooked stories to create a stronger future'. Through his art practice, Fielding seeks to combine 'the cultural potency of the old with the spirit of the new, creating strong foundations for our community and culture to continue growing from.'
In addition to his art practice, Robert has developed skills across curating, writing and exhibition installation. As a finalist in the Macquarie Group Foundation First Nations Emerging Curator Award 2017, he was offered the opportunity to participate in an international exchange to Canada. As a participant in the Australia Council for the Arts' Signature Works Innovation Lab, he conducted research in museum archives across Australia. Working in installation, painting and photography, Fielding’s first international solo exhibition was staged at the Fondation Opale in Switzerland in late 2018. Fielding has been a finalist multiple times in prizes including the National Works on Paper Prize (Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery); the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA), the Bowness Photography Prize, and the Desart Photography Prize. He has won the NATSIAA Telstra Work on Paper Award twice (in 2015 and 2017); he won the Desart Photography Prize in 2015 and the Banyule Award for Work on Paper in 2019. His work continues to be shown in exhibitions across Australia and internationally, most recently in Ceremony: National Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia (2022), the Tarnanthi tour of KulataTjuta (Many Spears) at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, France, in 2020, and in the exhibition (un)learning Australia at Seoul Museum of Art. Fielding’s works are represented in a number of major public collections, such as those of the NGA, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Parliament House and Artbank.
