Robert Todonai was born on April 11, 1963, at Port Augusta, South Australia. As a child his natural talent for art was recognised, and his drawing and painting were encouraged by his parents throughout his childhood. He never considered any other career path, and set out to become and artist as soon as his school years were completed. He began his journey as a professional artist by joining the artists of the Science-Art Research Centre at Berri, in the Riverland of South Australia. At the same time he undertook external tertiary studies in applied mathematics, in order to further his interest in the relationship between art and science. He was influenced by the work of the Australian Heidelberg School and became recognised for his mastery of narrative impressionism. Although better known for his paintings of the Australian Outback, he is equally proficient in most areas of painting and works across a wide variety of subjects including portraits and science-art abstracts. He receives commissions on a regular basis. Robert Todonai usually prefers to paint in oils on stretched canvas, Belgian linen or primed hardboard, either on location or from sketches.
He built his studio by hand from stone and salvaged timbers beams, in Northern New South Wales, near Mt Warning. The studio was jointly owned and constructed with artist-colleague, Robert Pope, and has been the subject of numerous television and magazine articles. The building was called The Castle on the Hill, and operated studios for its resident artists, Bed and Breakfast accommodation and was the headquarters of the Science-Art Research Centre of Australia, an Australian Government Approved Research Institute. Todonai is the Treasurer of the Centre and was recipient of an award from the combined Councils of the Riverland Region of South Australia, recognising the potential of the Centre’s work for the betterment and advancement of humanity. He has been involved in a number of Science-Art Centre publications regarding the pioneering of a new Renaissance in Australia, in which art and science are reunited in the discovery of a universal science of creativity and life. These books include, Two Bob’s Worth, launched in 1989 in Los Angeles by the Hollywood Thalian Society, and The Science-Art of the 21st Century Renaissance, published in 2014.
For over thirty years his work has been promoted by some of Australia’s major art galleries, representing Australia’s most well known painters. Throughout the 80s and 90s he participated in a major series of touring exhibitions entitled, Australian Art Masters - Past, Present and Future, and was a feature artist at the Waltzing Matilda Centenary Exhibition at Winton, in 1995. His work has also received acclaim through the media, with his paintings being awarded as prizes to contestants on the television game shows, Sale of the Century and Wheel of Fortune. As well as in Australia, he has exhibited overseas including the Pacific Design Centre in Hollywood, and the Dyansen Galleries on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, by invitation of the Thalian Society of Hollywood. As a result of these exhibitions, the Thalians awarded him a Decree of Artistic Excellence and a Star in their Walk of Fame. In 2010 he was made an artist-representative of the Florentine New Renaissance Project in Italy.
He has been commissioned by the Bradford Exchange to paint artworks celebrating such topics as Australia’s Heroes of Gallipoli, The Man from Snowy River and the Battle for Australia Commemorative Plate, for reproduction on commemorative collectables, distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand. The Bradford Exchange inducted him into their Hall of Fame in recognition of his contribution to their development of Australian art.
Robert Todonai’s work is represented in many art collections throughout the world. He is listed in the Art Reference volumes, A Buyer’s Guide to Australian Art and Artists and Galleries of Australia.
Selected exhibitions
• Grosvenor Place Foyer, Central Sydney, 1999.
• Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, 1998.
• Arica Gallery, Dalkeith, WA, 1997.
• Tweed River Regional Art Gallery, ‘Professional Artists of the Tweed’ exhibition,
1994.
• Feature Artist, Australian Outback Exhibition, Western Galleries, Toowoomba, Qld,
1996.
• Feature Artist at the Waltzing Matilda Centenary Exhibition, Winton, Qld, 1995.
• Griffith Fine Art Gallery, Murwillumbah, NSW, 1995,1996.• Queensland Art Brokering Service’s touring exhibition; Australian Art Masters, Past,
Present and Future,1996.
• Studio Star Gallery Darwin, 1987, 1991, 1993.
• DeVorzon Gallery, Pacific Design Centre, Hollywood, USA, 1989.
• Dyansen Galleries, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, 1989.
• Elder Fine Art Galleries, Adelaide, SA, 1988–1993.
• State Education Centre, Adelaide, SA, 1984.
• Tweed River Regional Art Gallery, Siteworks Exhibition, 2001.
• Escape Gallery, ‘The Golden Mean’ exhibition, 2010.
• Gold Coast City Gallery, ‘War and Peace’ exhibition, 2015.
• Escape Gallery, ‘Speed on Tweed Retrospective’ exhibition, 2015.
• Gold Coast City Art Gallery, ‘War and Peace’ a collaboration between artists from
Turkey and from Australia, 2015
• ‘First Biennial Quantum Art’ exhibition, Noble College Chemical Pharmaceutical,
Rome, Italy, 2016
Selected Awards and Achievements
• Treasurer of the Science-Art Research Centre of Australia Inc (Uki, NSW).
• Resident Artist to the Town of Loxton, SA, 1988.
• Awarded title “Earl of Lock” from the Hutt River Province, WA.
• Listed in Artists and Galleries of Australia (current edition).
• ‘Decree of Artistic Excellence’ and inclusion in the Hollywood Thalians Walk of
Fame.
• Listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World 1996…
• Listed in 2000 Outstanding Artists and Designers of the 20th Century, International
Biographical Centre Publication, Cambridge, UK.
• His paintings have appeared as prizes on the television gameshows, Sale of the
Century and Wheel of Fortune.
• Artwork selected for reproduction throughout Australia and New Zealand by the
Bradford Exchange.
• Co-ordinator of the Science-Art Festival, NSW, 2000, 2004.
• Artist in Residence, Tweed River Regional Art Gallery ‘Siteworks’ project, 2001.
Artist representative of the Florentine New Renaissance Project, Italy, 2010, 2011.
Represented by the Park West Galleries in Michigan and Florida, who presented his artwork to an international audience through their art auctions on cruise ships.
• Bachelor of Computer Studies, RMIT University