born strong
Gloria Nyangulya Katie Nalgood Doreen Chapman
COVER IMAGE: Gloria, Untitled, 36 x 26� (91 x 71 cm), acyrlic on linen, catalog #19-72 RIGHT: Doreen Chapman in the studio
Born Strong Born Strong, presented by Harvey Art Projects, showcases 33 new acrylic paintings from Nyangulya Katie Nalgood, Doreen Chapman and Gloria, three contemporary artists working at the Spinifex Hill Studios in Western Australia. This exhibition marks the first time the artists have exhibited in the United States of America. All three are part of the Spinifex Hill Artists (SHA), an indigenous artist collective on Kariyarra Country in the Pilbara region in the North West of Australia. SHA is a unique indigenous art group in a national context as it does not have a dominant language group or signature style. In a cultural and curatorial sense it is potentially challenging to exhibit such diverse artists alongside one another. In their content and aesthetic, however, the art of Nalgood, Chapman and Gloria is not only, or possibly best, defined by their indigeneity. Nyangulya Katie Nalgood (b.1946) is a Walmajarri elder who has spent much of her life moving between Looma in the Kimberley region and South Hedland in the Pilbara region. In the late 1970s she married Nyaparu (William) Gardiner (1943-2018) and their six children have grown up with strong Pilbara and Kimberley connections. Over the past four years, Nalgood has matched the strong creative application of her late husband and has developed and refined her naïve landscapes and fauna studies. Her most notable forays into the contemporary Australian arts landscape have been her bird collaborations with her children Zenith and Crystal Gardiner, which last year captured audiences at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair and TARNANTHI Art Fair, both major events on the Australian arts industry calendar. 2018 was an expansive year for Nalgood with her first solo exhibition Jirrugu Wanti (All the Birds) at Galerie Zadra in Luxembourg, and professional trips to Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Alice Springs. Gloria (b.1975) is a Martu artist working within a powerful matriarchal tradition that emerged in the Western Desert in the early 2000s. While Gloria’s work shows glimpses of the styles of Nora Nungabar and Nora Wompi, two late and significant artists of the region, she also might be located alongside other contemporary Australian abstract artists such as Todd Hunter, Gemma Smith and Sally Gabori,
BACKGROUND IMAGE: Doreen Chapman, Untitled (detail) acrylic on canvas 36 x 36” (91 x 91 cm) catalog #17-132
none of whose work she has seen. Gloria’s loose brushwork and pastel palettes have attracted critical attention for their highly affecting presence. In the past year she travelled to Perth for her first solo exhibition and was selected as a finalist in the 2018 Hadley Art Prize. Doreen Chapman (b.1971) is an emerging Manjilyjarra artist who works both with SHA and Martumili Artists. Profoundly deaf since birth, Chapman is a non-verbal artist who has earned independence and a new status within her communities since her paintings started appealing to both critical and commercial audiences in 2014. In this time she has won five major awards in Western Australia and travelled to Perth for her debut solo exhibition in late 2016. Chapman is an ambidextrous painter who mainly uses round brushes, fingers and thumbs to complete large artworks at speed. Her subject matter mainly focuses on flora and fauna, abstract patterning, and the imitation of other artist’s styles she sees in the studios, in books or online. Most notable of these ‘imitation’ works was an experimental series inspired by iconic paintings from the Western tradition including da Vinci, Kahlo, Klimt and van Gogh. Rather than the ethnographic, mapping or Tjurkupa (Dreaming) stories that international audiences might be accustomed to seeing from indigenous Australia, the artists in Born Strong are showing a different sort of experience. While Nalgood, Chapman and Gloria come from different language groups, their work is fresh and contemporary and is united by bold, joyous palettes and flowing, confident brushwork. Also linking the three artists is the Spinifex Hill Studios, a calm and neutral community place that has supported the daily practice of these artists and many more since opening in 2014. Born Strong is a significant and exciting moment for each artist, and the Spinifex Hill Artists as a group, as they gain professional exposure in a country a long way from home. Harvey Art Projects gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Greg Taylor, Maddie Sharrock & Nicole Leuchter in mounting this special USA exhibtion. Of course the show cannot go on without our three leading ladies -- Gloria, Katie & Doreen who we sincerely thank for sharing their extraodinary worlds with us here in the United States.
Gloria
Gloria L-R Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-020 Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-814 Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-963 Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-450 Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-214 Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-453 Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-044 Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-213 Untitled, acrylic on linen, 12 x 12“ (30.5 x 30.5 cm ) catalog #18-818
Gloria, Untitled, acrylic on linen, 28 x 36� (71 x 91 cm ) catalog #19-72
Gloria, Untitled (detail), acrylic on linen, 48 x 36� (122 x 91.5 cm) catalog #19-01
Gloria, Untitled, acrylic on linen, 60 x 36� (152 x 91.5 cm) catalog #17-875
Nyangulya Katie Nalgood
Nyangulya Katie Nalgood, Willy Wagtail, acrylic on linen, 26 x 36� (61 x 91.5 cm) catalog #18-481
Nyangulya Katie Nalgood (R-L) Red Capped Robin acrylic on linen, 26 x 36” (71 x 71 cm) catalog #18-265 Willy Wegtail, acrylic on linen, 16 x 16 (40 x 40 cm) catalog #18-473 Purple Crowned Fairy Wren, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36 “(91 x 91 cm) catalog #18-192 Fairy Wren, acrylic on linen, 24 x 28” (61 x 71 cm) catalog #18-488
On view 26 June- 3 August 2016 Sun Valley, USA 391 First Ave N Ketchum ID 83353 USA info@harveyartprojects.com | Phone (208) 309-8676 Back cover: Nyarapayi Giles Images courtesy Tjarlirli Art Copyright 2016 Harvey Art Projects USA & Tjarlirli Art Nyangulya Katie Nalgood, Brolga’s Dancing, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36” (91 x 91.5 cm) catalog #18--728
Nyangulya Katie Nalgood, Northern Rosella, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36� (61 x 105.5 cm) catalog #18--199
Nyangulya Katie Nalgood, Rainbow Bee-eater, acrylic on linen, 28 x 36� (61 x 91 cm) catalog #18--115
Doreen Chapman
Doreen Chapman, Untitled, acrylic on linen, 48 x 36� (122 x 91cm) catalog #17-158
Doreen Chapman, Untitled, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36� (91 x 91cm) catalog #18-809
Doreen Chapman, Untitled, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36� (91 x 91cm) catalog #17-132
Doreen Chapman, Untitled, acrylic on linen, 28 x 36� (71 x 91cm) catalog #17-142
On view March 6th - April 30th 2018 On view March-April 2019 in Sun Valley All images courtesy Greg Taylor & Spinifex Hill Artists Essay courtesy Greg Taylor 659 Sun Valley Road Ketchum ID USA 208 309 8676 | info@harveyartprojects.com
HARVEY ARTPROJECTS