5 - 24 april 2016
at Au s t r a l i a N Ga l l e r i e s SYDNEY
at Au s t r a l i a N Ga l l e r i e s SYDNEY
invites you to the opening Tuesday 5 April 2016 6pm to 8pm 15 roylston street Paddington NsW 2021 To be opened at 6.45pm by Adrian Newstead OAM and Stuart Purves AM Current until sunday 24 april 2016 Open 7 days 10am to 6pm t 02 9360 5177 sydney@australiangalleries.com.au australiangalleries.com.au cooeeart.com.au Cover: Daniel Walbidi Tali and Warla 2015 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen 205 x 171 cm
Rover Thomas Jabanunga Rainbow Serpent 1996 natural earth pigments on canvas 180 x 270 cm
Prince of Wales Body marks 2000 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen 60 x 45 cm
the story of the modern aboriginal art movement is one of the most exciting and transcendent chapters in the history of contemporary australian art. Within the space of just 50 years indigenous artists transformed the perception of their culture from something of strictly ethnographic interest, into one of the world’s most dynamic contemporary art movements. the assumption that their cultures were in ruins, with the last remnants almost wholly integrated into the dominant white society, was blown apart by the rise of aboriginal artists to their current status. Today, high quality polymer paints, imported Belgian linen, and the finest art papers are as likely to be used as materials gathered from the immediate environment. From its origins in rock painting, body art, ceremonial regalia, low relief sand sculpture and utilitarian objects, aboriginal material culture has moved into the shrines of contemporary art and significant art collections all over the world. Coo-ee art Gallery has traversed this terrain for over 30 years and is now the oldest exhibiting aboriginal art gallery in australia. the founding Director, adrian Newstead OaM, has worked with revered elders and cultural custodians in the tiwi islands, arnhem land, the Kimberley, the far reaches of the tanami Desert to the torres strait islands. australian Galleries has its own rich history. since 1956 it has been intimately associated with many of australia’s greatest non-indigenous artists including arthur Boyd, sidney Nolan, Brett Whiteley, Jeffrey smart, William robinson, Garry shead and tim storrier. today, stuart Purves aM walks in his parent’s founding footsteps, representing many of australia’s most prominent contemporary painters and sculptors. “I am of the opinion that the Australian Aborigine is probably the best artist in Australia. Recently we toured Australia, and the Aboriginal art amazed me. The Aborigine has a wonderful, dreaming philosophy which all Australian artists should have.” Sidney Nolan in The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, December 17 and 23, 1949
For this exhibition at australian Galleries, Coo-ee art Gallery has sourced works from local and international private collections and remote aboriginal art communities, showcasing the very best the movement has to offer. they include a number of major masterpieces. rover thomas was historically the most successful male artist of the aboriginal art movement. Created in 1996, two years before his death, Jabanunga Rainbow Serpent has been described as one of his greatest artistic achievements. it depicts the disembodied entrails, and vital organs of the Big rain Jabanunga, the Dreamtime rainbow serpent. Following its destruction of Darwin on Christmas Day 1974 the rainbow serpent travelled overland wreaking havoc. in a radical departure from literal landscape, the concentric circles represent both his eyes and vital organs, and specific sites in the Pilbara, where the Rainbow Serpent penetrated the Ophthalmia ranges, west of Mount Newman, on his subterranean journey to the sea. these sites are currently mining tenements. this painting has been in a single private collection since first exhibited in 1996. Bill Whisky painted for just 4 years during the latter part of his life when his renown as a traditional healer and cultural elder was at its zenith. His country John Mawurndjul Milmilngkan 2012 natural earth pigments on bark 205 x 68 cm
Naata Nungurrayi Marrapinti 2012 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen 182 x 244 cm
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Bill Whisky Tjapaltjarri Rockholes near The Olgas 2008 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen 184 x 275 cm
was Kata tjuta better known as the Olgas, near uluru in Central australia. Here his cockatoo ancestor fought an epic battle leaving visual traces across the landscape. Whisky’s paintings depict the sacred pools, subterranean streams and the natural circular amphitheatre created by the sweep of wings as the entangled birds crashed to the ground. Blues, yellows, reds and greens, always tempered by cockatoo white, represent the subterranean water and wildflowers that grow in profusion after rain. The major work in this exhibition was a finalist in the National aboriginal art award and was exhibited in Parcours des Mondes, in Paris. Kathleen Petyarre’s My country, 1999 was created by the artist at the peak of her career. intimately over-painting linen carefully pre-soaked with acrylic paint, she applied a galaxy of fine dots that built upon each other to produce subtle variations of tone underscored by areas of compelling shadow. the vibrant surface remains sheer, yet soft, with its suggestion of underground watercourses. subtle variations evoke a numinous presence underpinning the life and structure of the earth-toned expanse. Kathleen Petyarre won the National aboriginal art Freddie Timms Victory hollow 1997 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 120 x 120 cm
award in 1998 and was the People’s Choice in the seppelt’s Contemporary art award the following year. showered with plaudits, her biographer Dr. Christine Nicholls wrote that she ‘draws upon the indigenous to create the international’. in 2001, this delicate masterwork was featured in her solo retrospective Genius of Place, at sydney’s Museum of Contemporary art. it has appeared in numerous publications on the artist since that time. Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa (Mrs Bennett dec. 2013) and Naata Nungurrayi are represented in this exhibition by two exceptional canvases. Both artists were amongst a small group that shaped the aboriginal women’s painting movement in the early 1990s. their paintings depict sites where ‘living water’ can be found deep in the Western Desert. Naata’s geometric style was developed at Papunya amongst the Pintupi men in the 1980s, while her looser, organic, painterly technique emerged during the women’s painting camps of the early and mid 1990s. Natta prefers pale creamy ochres to impart a calming softness to her paintings, while Nyurapayia favoured the strong contrast of black and pale yellows/creams set in relief against a red ground. Both women have applied thick impasto paint to mould the rich and textured surface of their paintings. this imparts the feel for the earth that underscores their spiritual and cultural connection to these sacred places.
Tommy Watson Untju alkata 2015 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen 112 x 102 cm
Without a doubt, the two most exciting living aboriginal artists continuing to paint are octogenarian tommy Watson, and Daniel Walbidi. though there is 50 years difference in their ages, both are renowned for paintings rendered in vibrant colour. tommy’s Ngayuku Ngura / Anumara Piti – My Country, 2013 is evocative of light waves, and explosions. the painting seems to shift and shimmer out of description. tommy’s paintings have been described as ‘incandescent’, an interesting and revealing use of a term defined as ‘shining or glowing with heat’. Particularly apt, because ‘hot’ is the term that, again and again, is used to describe the artist himself. Daniel Walbidi is also an artist whose works are in high demand. He creates no more than 10 works each year with a waiting list 3 years long. employing familiar yet striking motifs Walbidi, is inspired by the modern world and contemporary art practices. Now 32 years of age, he strives to keep his culture and traditions alive and evolving. these are just a few of the exciting works Coo-ee art has selected for its exhibition at australian Galleries. two galleries, each with a long and distinguished history, combine to show the very best of australian aboriginal art.
Kathleen Petyarre My country 1999 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen 182 x 182 cm
Gloria Petyarre Bush medicine 2002 synthetic polymer paint on linen 200 x 300 cm
Jan Billycan Kirriwirri 2005 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 165 x 106 cm
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