Gordon Bennett: Be Polite follows the exhibition of largely unseen works on paper by one of Australia’s most visionary and critical artists, Gordon Bennett (1955–2014). The exhibition and publication are the first to present the work of Bennett since his untimely death.

Join us to launch this important publication, which brings together three newly commissioned essays by art historian Ian McLean and curators and arts writers Helen Hughes and Julie Nagam alongside documentation of Bennett’s works on paper and a selection of paintings and other pieces to which they relate. Books will be available to purchase for $33.00.

Gordon Bennett: Be Polite is edited by Aileen Burns and Johan Lundh and published by Sternberg Press in partnership with Institute of Modern Art. The selection of works are drawn from the Estate of Gordon Bennett, comprising drawings, acrylic/gouache and watercolour paintings, poetry, and essays from the early 1990s through to the early 2000s; a period that produced work of remarkable force and revealed the artist’s working methods, research focuses, and ultimately his ambitions for his work.