James Fardoulys (1900-75) is Queensland's most significant naive artist. Born in Kythera, Greece he came to Australia at the age of 14 and worked in cafes and on properties in western Queensland before settling in Brisbane, where he drove taxis for the next 29 years. Fardoulys began to paint seriously after his retirement and was encouraged by members of the contemporary Art Society (Queensland Branch) and a leading art critic, Dr Gertrude Langer. By the time of his death he had established a significant reputation. He was awarded the Caltex Warana Prize in 1964 and 1969 and has his first solo exhibition at the Johnstone Gallery, Brisbane in 1966. Exhibitions followed at the Bonython Gallery, Sydney (1967), the Design Arts Centre, Brisbane (1968 and 1969), and he posthumously shared an exhibition with fellow naive artist, Charles Callins, at the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (1976). Fardoulys's works are engaging, minutely detailed and brightly coloured. His subjects include his cat Doula, exotic birds and his early life in western Queensland and incidents from Australia's colonial past.

  Fardoulys-Gallery-media-release.pdf
  Newspaper Articles-Art Exhibition.pdf