Doreen Chapman - A New Perspective

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

OPENING

Friday, 3 May 2019 - 6-8pm

DURATION

Friday, 3 May - Saturday 1 June

LOCATION

Engine Room 2, Turner Galleries 470 William Street, Northbridge, Western Australia, 6003

ABOUT Birth Date | 1971 Skin | KARIMARRA Clan | MARTU Language Group | MANJILYAJARRA Place of Birth | JIGALONG Home | WARRALONG

Biography as told by Doreen’s mother, Maywokka May Chapman:

“Been born Jigalong. Big sister for my son, Dennis Thomas. [S]He been come this way, Hedland. Doreen, me, from Karntimarta. I been bring him here. Little girl [s]he start painting, Warralong. [S] he looking… looking… [s]he quick painter, quickly, looking, looking. No fishing, no hunting, no car, painting, painting every day eh? You been bring ‘em, [s]he painting, painting, painting! (laughs)” Maywokka May Chapman (mother)

Doreen Chapman, Spinifex Hill Studios. Photograph by Nils Friedrich

PREFACE A New Perspective is Martu artist Doreen Chapman’s second solo exhibition, following from her self-titled debut solo show at FORM Gallery, Perth, in 2016. The exhibition showcases very recent works, mostly painted during a period of inspired output during early 2019. While containing many of Chapman’s trademarks, including her love of bright pastel colours, and her depictions of aeroplanes and bush turkeys, these works highlight a number of recent trends in her practice. This includes a more minimal approach to composition, and references to Western art tradition, represented in this case by her interpretation of Van Gough’s iconic Sunflowers (1887-1888).

Compositionally, the works comprising “A new perspective” are sparser than much of the artist’s early output, containing wide fields of luminous colour, many of them poised between figurative art and abstraction. Chapman’s works speak to the past and future; her figures could be interpreted as ancient spirit beings, contemporary characters, or futuristic visitors – one work in this collection, Untitled (Gollum), is a portrait of the Lord of the Rings character inspired by a miniature plastic figurine the artist viewed at her doctor’s office.

Chapman’s trademark pastel palette, use of expressive, rapid brushwork, and playful approach to narrative here strike a unique balance between traditional and modern Aboriginal life.

Untitled (Gollum) 18-1182 Acrylic on canvas 61 x 51 cm $600

Untitled (Sunflowers) 19-200 Acrylic on canvas 91.5 x 76 cm $1,300

Untitled 18-604 Acrylic on canvas 71 x 71 cm $1,025

Untitled

Untitled

19-156 Acrylic on canvas 71 x 101.5 cm

19-214 Acrylic on canvas 71 x 101.5 cm

$1,300

$1,300

Untitled 18-1119 Acrylic on canvas 61 x 91.5 cm $1,200

Untitled 18-1130 Acrylic on canvas 40.5 x 45.5 cm $520.00 Untitled 18-1120 Acrylic on canvas 71 x 61 cm $1,200

ARTIST’S BIOGRAPHY Born in Jigalong in 1971, Martu artist Doreen Chapman has spent her life moving between the Western Desert communities of Western Australia’s vast Pilbara region. She has spent the majority of her adult life in Warralong community and now frequently visits Port Hedland to access services and see family. When in town she paints at Spinifex Hill Studios. As a deaf woman, painting is a crucial form of communication and storytelling for Chapman.

Untitled 19-92 Acrylic on canvas 40.5 x 76 cm $620

Untitled 19-268 Acrylic on canvas 40.5 x 76 cm $620

Untitled

Untitled

19-204 Acrylic on canvas 61 x 91.5 cm

18-140 Acrylic on canvas 61 x 101.5 cm

$1,200.00

$1,250

Untitled

Untitled

19-154 Acrylic on canvas 76 x 76 cm

19-274 Acrylic on canvas 76 x 76 cm

$920

$920

Untitled 19-61 Acrylic on canvas 45.5 x 61 cm $520

Untitled 19-276 Acrylic on canvas 101.5 x 51 cm $1,100

Untitled 19-163 Acrylic on canvas 71 x 61 cm $1,200

Untitled

Untitled

19-319 Acrylic on canvas 40.5 x 30.5 cm

19-301 Acrylic on canvas 61 x 91.5 cm

$350

$1,200

CV Cossack Art Award 2018 | Cossack, WA

Cossack Art Award 2015 | Cossack, WA

Hedland Art Awards 2018 | Courthouse Gallery, WA

Hedland Art Awards 2015 | Courthouse Gallery, WA

Doreen Chapman 2016 | FORM Gallery, Perth, WA

Dessert Mob 2017 | Araluen Arts Center, Alice Springs NT

Living Water 2011 | National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne NT

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Community Life 2017 | Martumili Gallery, Newman, WA

Martumili Group Exhibition 2010 | AP Bond Gallery, Adelaide, SA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS A New Perspective May 2019 | Turner Galleries, Perth, WA

Paru - Spinifex Hill Artists May 2019 | Artitja Gallery, Perth, WA Born Strong 2019 | Harvey Art Projects, Idaho, USA Midwest Art Prize 2019 | Geraldton, WA Ancient Stories, New Narratives 2018 | Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, NSW Good Enough! The Art of Spinifex Hill Artists 2018 | Paul Johnstone Gallery, Darwin, NT Pujiman - Spinifex Hill Artists and Martumili Artists 2018 | Touring Exhibition, WA

Cossack Art Award 2017 | Cossack, WA Hedland Art Awards 2017 | Courthouse Gallery, WA Revealed 2015 2016 | Gallery Central, Perth, WA Mandjar Art Exhibition 2016 | Mandurah Performing Art Centre, WA Cossack Art Award 2016 | Cossack, WA Hedland Art Awards 2016 | Courthouse Gallery, WA We Call It Home - Spinifex Hill Artists 2015 | FORM Gallery, Perth, WA

Before and After Science 2010 | Art Gallery of South Ausralia, Adelaide Biennial

AWARDS Best Painting by a Pilbara Artist 2017 | Cossack Art Award Best Painting by an Indigenous Artist 2017 | Hedland Art Awards Kathy Donnelly Judges Award 2016 | Hedland Art Awards Best Painting by an Indigenous Artist 2016 | Cossack Art Award est Painting by an Indigenous Artist B 2015 | Cossack Art Award

THANK YOU For sales enquiries, please contact us at Spinifex Hill Studios:

08 9172 1699 mail@spinifexhillstudio.com.au 18 Hedditch St South Hedland, WA