Our sun-filled third floor gallery has been glowing with stunning artworks of both exceptional aesthetic merit as well as historical significance since October last year. By dedicating this expansive space solely to museum-quality pieces, our collection has grown significantly as we continue to acquire special works by those artists who have marked their place within the history of the Aboriginal art movement. Private collectors have come forward with paintings they have had hidden away in dark storerooms to contribute to this gallery, some having never been on public display. Community owned and run art centres have also provided us with their most ‘superstar’ paintings. Our collection continues to expand and evolve in exciting ways. 

Representing a host of Australia's greatest master artists from across the central desert of Australia, this gallery functions as an opportunity to acquire the best of contemporary Aboriginal art in an inviting and informative environment. By virtue of both cultural and artistic importance, the works could take pride of place in both museums and public galleries anywhere in the world. Leading indigenous artists represented here include Clifford Possum, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Turkey Tolson, Mick Namarari, Johnny Walangkura, Billy Stockman and many many more.

Three recent additions to our Collectors’ Gallery:

Patrick Mung Mung,  NGARRGOOROON - WAPMM461/08, natural ochre pigment on canvas, 120 x 180cm, $16,550

The staff were thrilled to acquire this striking, yet subtle ochre work by Warmun’s Patrick Mung Mung. Soft and delicate tones in sand and teal are contrasted with rich and deep browns, marouns and charcoal. The dot work outlines the undulating landscape of the Warmun region and ads a shimmering effect on the eye. The naïve style trees give a skewed perspective on the land, adding further character to the bold design. This is a strong work by Patrick Mung Mung, clearly displaying all he is capable of as an artist.

Patrick Mung Mung  is a senior artist, and respected elder of the Warmun Community in the East Kimberley. Painting since 1991, Patrick’s intricate knowledge of his country and cultural memory are powerfully linked in his work.  Patrick’s work is strongly influenced both aesthetically and thematically by the previous generation of Warmun artists, which include the famous Rover Thomas and Paddy Jaminji.

Eubena Nampitjin, Lucy Yukenbarri, Muntja  Nungura (collaboration)  - KARYANKGU (rockhole), MALIKI, TJINJULLU (soakwater)
ELMX645/96, acrylic on linen, 120 x 180cm, $29,300

What a rare and special collaborative piece by three highly acclaimed Balgo artists; Eubena Nampitjin, Lucy Yukenbarri and Muntja Nungura. All three artists depict their Dreamings in unique aesthetics, yet mutal tones and colours binds the three sections of this painting together into an extraordinary harmony and unity. The rich colours and linear shapes combine to create an artwork that has been beaming from one of our most prominent positions in the Collectors’ Gallery for the past weeks. 

The small Aboriginal Community of Balgo, Western Australia has produced some fantastic artists since the inception of an artist cooperative. Linked by both the Great Sandy desert and the Tanami Desert the artists draw from a rich cultural history in their work. 

Pansy Napangardi, Willy Wag Tail - PNAX001, acrylic on linen, 122 x 183cm, $16,500

In this recent acquisition, Warlpiri artist Pansy Napangardi depicts her Willy Wag Tail Dreaming in a dynamic yet balanced design. The symmetrical lines guide the eye into the concentric circle at the centre. The mix of warm and cool colours, all marked intricate dot work, creates a colour tension that shimmers and varies in different lighting conditions. 

Pansy Napangardi grew up on a mission settlement at Haast Bluff in Central Australia. She moved to Alice Springs in 1989, where she is now considered to be one of the foremost artists from Alice Springs. Pansy, with her sister  Eunice Napangardi, commenced painting on canvas very early in terms of the history of the movement. Although it has been said that Aboriginal women have only been painting since the 1980's, Pansy began recording her dreamings in the early 1970's at the start of the Papunya Art Movement and reportedly observed some senior male Papunya artists there to develop her technique.  Her paintings represent the fertility and glory of her traditional land, making a statement about the relationship of the her people and the land. Pansy's work gives voice to her traditional beliefs and symbolises a triumphal cultural statement by the once near defeated people of the Central Australian Desert. In 1989 Pansy won the 6th National Aboriginal Art Award and in 1993 won the Northern Territory Art Award. She is held in major collections throughout Australia, including the National Gallery of Victoria, The Queensland Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, amongst others.

All are available for purchase, complete with associated documentation, photos and videos where available. 

As the Register at Kate Owen Gallery I take an immense pleasure in receiving and displaying new works from Utopian women Rosemary Petyarre (Pitjara), Gloria Tamerre Petyarre (Pitjara) and Jeannie Petyarre (Pitjara) (Petyarre does not signify a surname, rather a skin group within the Anmatyerre language).

Situated almost three hundred kilometres north–east of Alice Springs (In The Northern Territory) Utopia, a former cattle station, became renowned in the 1970’s for its batik: a skill passed down from a group of women (including Rosemary Petyarre) who had travelled to Indonesia to learn different techniques in textile designs.

Rosemary, Gloria and Jeannie’s artwork all encompass the same theme of the “Bush Medicine Leaves” receiving international and domestic recognition, and exhibiting in collections in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.  

Rosemary Petyarre (Pitjara) Yam Seed Dreaming - RPEG0150	Jeannie Petyarre (Pitjara) Bush Medicine Leaves - JPEG0200	Gloria Tamerre Petyarre (Pitjara) Bush Medicine Leaves – GPEG0067

Medicine leaves are traditionally used in the alleviation of skins ailments and it is little wonder that their painted representations have become popular in Western Art Therapy for their calming qualities, and rejuvenating aesthetic. The leaves are traditionally dried on the desert floor, and drank hot in a ceremony overseen by a bush doctor; the artworks encapsulate the process of drying out the leaves, with a repetitive pattern creating an optical allusion: capturing the traditional imagery and symbology of Utopian culture.

These expressive and gestural works invoke a sense of fluidity and energy, brought on through their vibrant colour and lively composition.

He was invited to Oprah Winfrey's private party, welcomed her to Australia with a smoke ceremony, painting, dance and digeridoo music; he has danced for Bill Clinton's daughter, received a standing ovation from the Saudi Arabian National Guard and performed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic games! 

Now his impressive resume will be complete as he will paint and perform at Kate Owen Gallery this week!!!

Kurun is a renowned artist, digeridoo player and dancer, but most of all he is known for his iconic Aboriginal Artwork.  He will be painting new works in the gallery, is happy to be photographed and you may even be lucky enough to buy an artwork you have seen him paint.  Kids especially will enjoy this experience.

Most of all, Kurun is a warm and friendly guy who is great to talk with - he straddles Australia's cultures with true Indigenous-Aussie spirit, and loves to talk about his art, his culture and his music.  View some of Kurun Warun's Aboriginal Art or read his biography. 

The two paintings below are 'Lee Moo Pareeyt (Dry Water)' and 'Black Boy', both 72 x 200cms.

We are pleased to invite you to join us for a Christmas drink and to watch/meet with Kurun, tomorrow and Saturday (23 & 24 December), from 12 - 5pm for a little break from the silly season whirlwind.  All are welcome.

Warmun artist Patrick Mung Mung with a valuable painting by his father that was salvaged from the town's flooded art centre and restored to its former glory.
Picture: Stuart McEvoy Source: The Australian

AS floodwaters raced through the remote West Australian community of Warmun in March, the manager of the local arts centre thought its collection of historic paintings would be safe.
"We just couldn't imagine the water would go that high," said Maggie Fletcher, manager of Warmun Art Centre in a remote region of the Kimberley.

"There were about 400 (works from Warmun's pioneering artists) in a back room and just about everything got some kind of water damage. Some paintings ended up on the ground in the mud, and they were pretty badly damaged."

Shortly after the floods, the University of Melbourne transported 187 damaged paintings from Warmun to its Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, where they were stabilised.

In Melbourne this week, Patrick Mung Mung said he was happy to see one particular work, painted by his father, restored to its original state.

 ...The untitled painting, by George Mung Mung, is part of the archival collection of works by Warmun's early artists, including Hector Jandany, Queenie McKenzie, Paddy Jaminji and Jack Brittain.

Patrick Mung Mung, himself an artist, said the staff at the centre had done a good job of repairing his father's painting, which had been covered in mould and mud after the floods.

"I think it's all right. They washed all of it off and it's still the same," he said.

The work tells the story of a massacre at Horse Creek, east of Warmun. "In that place a lot of people got killed - they were burned," Mung Mung said.

On Tuesday night, Mung Mung and three other Gija elders arrived in Melbourne to give cultural advice on the restoration of the works.

The elders will also attend a fundraising dinner at the University of Melbourne tonight.

Ms Fletcher said about $100,000 was needed to finish restoring the collection and return it to Warmun.

"(The paintings) were done to show the children. They want them back to keep telling their children because now those old people who did them aren't with us any more," she said. "They're talking about having a big corroboree when the collection comes back to Warmun."

A work by Patrick Mung Mung will also go under the hammer on November 13 at Stills Gallery in Sydney, in an auction held by the Aboriginal Benefits Foundation to raise money for the art centre.

"We are getting a new building put up for the collection, so it's up high and safe," Ms Fletcher said.

"But we need money to fit the building out."

Mung Mung was working as a stockman when his father was painting. He started making his own art in 1998.

When the art centre was inundated, a number of Mung Mung's works were in the main gallery, which was flooded. "None of (Patrick's) works were actually lost and there's been a few that he's been able to repair," Ms Fletcher said. "There was one that I thought was gone but I found it stuck in between a table and a fence. He has fixed it up and it looks terrific."

Article by: Bridget Cormack From: The Australian, October 21, 2011 12:00AM