BLACK ART WHITE WALLS From 01 January to 28 February 2016 BLACK ART WHITE WALLS From 01 January to 28 February 2016 BLACK ART WHITE WALLS From 01 January to 28 February 2016 "The Adrian and Anne Newstead Indigenous Art Collection This exhibition draws on the extensive personal collection of Indigenous art accumulated by Adrian and Anne Newstead while working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists over the past 30 years. Adrian Newstead is a dealer, writer and consultant. He and Anne own the oldest Aboriginal art gallery in Australia." "[[20160630111124|left,no,,landscape]] Adrian and Anne began their involvement with the creation and subsequent bloom/boom of the Aboriginal art market in 1980. Their art collection is an intimate one, built through personal relationships, serendipity, and a keen sense of historical and cultural importance. It is a platform by which a different narrative can be told: that of art as an expression of relationships, culture, spirituality, the land and kinship. The Newstead Collection comprises more than 1000 canvas paintings, barks, artefacts, prints, posters and sculptures. It represents a linear history of Aboriginal art and craft from the earliest days of the movement, through to the establishment of the first art centres and, beyond this, into the mainstreaming of Aboriginal art and its national and international acceptance as a dynamic contemporary art movement. There is a strong emphasis on printmaking as Adrian Newstead was instrumental in initiating this medium amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. He published hundreds of limited editions, as well as organising and promoting Australian Indigenous prints on the international stage. This exhibition includes rare examples of early prints, as well as those by several of indigenous Australias most important printmakers. During Adrian and Anne Newsteads 30-year involvement, black art has moved inexorably onto white walls, subtly affecting the many millions of people who have come to live with and love it. Many would say that the Aboriginal art movement has been the single most effective vehicle in advancing understanding, empathy and reconciliation between black and white Australia. Viewing this beautiful show and reading the meanings of the works, and the circumstances under which they were collected, reveals the story of a very personal journey deep into the culture of Australias oldest inhabitants. Galleries the Exhibition Toured to: Grace Cossington Smith Gallery - 23 January - 30th March 2014 Wagga Wagga Regional Gallery - 7th April - 12th June 2014 Walker Street Gallery - 4th September - 8th October 2014 Moree Plains Gallery - 1st December - 29th January 2015 Manning Regional Gallery - 3oth January - 15th March 2015 Burrinja Regional Gallery - 4th July - 28th September 2015 Brunswick Regional Gallery - 16th October - 8th November 2015 Caloundra Regional Gallery - 20th January - 28th February 2016 [[20160630111252|left,no,,large]] [[CELL-ARTWORKS|20160630111552,20160630112025,20160630112039,20160630112147,20160630112132|N,N,hero,Y,3,Y]] [[CELL-ARTWORKS|20160630111939,20160630112008|N,N,hero,Y,2,Y]]"

Artist Profile for Judy Napangardi Martin < Back Judy Napangardi Martin Judy Napangardi Martin ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE JUDY NAPANGARDI MARTIN - BUSH POTATO DREAMING SOLD AU$5,000.00 JUDY NAPANGARDI MARTIN - WOMEN’S DREAMING SOLD AU$2,200.00 JUDY NAPANGARDI MARTIN - WOMEN’S DREAMING SOLD AU$430.00 JUDY NAPANGARDI MARTIN - BUSH VINE DREAMING SOLD AU$3,200.00 JUDY NAPANGARDI MARTIN - BUSH POTATO DREAMING SOLD AU$1,200.00 JUDY NAPANGARDI MARTIN - BIG TREE DREAMING Sold AU$0.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Judy Napangardi Martin ARTIST CV Market Analysis MARKET ANALYSIS Disclaimer: At Cooee Art Leven, we strive to maintain accurate and respectful artist profiles. Despite our efforts, there may be occasional inaccuracies. We welcome any corrections or suggested amendments. Please contact us with your feedback .

HERMANNSBURG SALON 17 Thurlow St, Redern, NSW 2016 04 July to 30 July 2022 Viewing Room HERMANNSBURG SALON Artists from the Hermannsburg School 04 July to 30 July 2022 17 Thurlow St, Redern, NSW 2016 Some people think Oh! Only dot painting really has meaning. Landscape is only pretty coloured rocks and trees. We only want dot paintings. But these hills have meaning and we have stories too, the landscape artists. We also talk about where the different Dreamings come from, and where they meet up and so on. We have two ways of painting: sand painting and landscapes. For us they both have the same Dreaming story. The landscape painting we do, it shows the country. We don’t just paint anything, that’s not our way. We are inspired by the country and the Dreaming as we paint' - Jillian Namatjira Long before desert acrylic dot paintings were first created by the Pintupi men in Papunya, romantic depictions of the desert were painted by the Arrernte people at the tiny Hermannsburg mission in the Northern Territory. These paintings captured the subtleties of colour, as the desert changes from the soft tones of summer heat, to the rich colours of the early morning and late evening light. Fifty years later these images have become synonymous with our vision of the Australian outback. Albert Namatjira, the founder of the Hermannsburg watercolour painting school, introduced painting to number of Arrernte artists, including his sons Enos and Oscar, as well as the three Pareroultja brothers who joined him on his painting expeditions. This was the first significant transitional art movement to emerge from Aboriginal Australia. Interestingly, the majority of images of this desert country are painted from a slightly elevated point of view, as if the artist was looking down ever so slightly. The majority of paintings lack a central focal point, whereby the composition is anchored as well as balanced with a visual emphasis on the edges. There is neither a dominance of forms, or a visual hierarchy between them. This exhibition is made up of selected works from the late 1960’s and 70’s from two private collections. The watercolours highlight the intense connection of these artists to their country and spurs in observers a deep-seated recognition of this country; Australia’s heart beats under each brushstroke. VIEW CATALOGUE VIEW VIDEO EX 238

THE HERMANNSBURG COLLECTION SEMINAR From 22 July to 23 July 2016 Viewing Room THE HERMANNSBURG COLLECTION SEMINAR From 22 July to 23 July 2016 Join Adrian Newstead as he delves into the history of Albert Namatjirra and the entire Hermannsburg School of artists. Expand your knowledge about this fascinating area of Australian art history. Drinks and nibbles will be served throughout the day. Saturday 23rd July 2016 2 - 3 pm $20 per person RSVP essential - click here Drinks and nibbles will be served all day so if you can not make the seminar make sure you don't miss this fascinating survey of desert watercolours spanning 60 years. View the entire exhibition online

Artist Profile for Jimmy Pike < Back Jimmy Pike Jimmy Pike ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE JIMMY PIKE - TWO SISTERS AND ONE SISTER IN LAW SOLD AU$4,500.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Jimmy Pike Born at Kurntikujarra in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia during the Second World War, Walmajarri artist Jimmy Pike was just 13 when his people became some of the last to walk into the European-owned cattle stations that were gradually taking over their desert environment. He became a stockman at Cherrabun station near Fitzroy Crossing, and learnt to ride horses and round up cattle. (Pike's English-language name was borrowed from that of a famous Australian jockey). Nearly twenty years later, he found work as a carpenter building community housing for the Aboriginal settlement at Fitzroy Crossing. A tribal murder in 1980 resulted in his imprisonment in Fremantle, and it was here that he came into contact with the techniques and materials of contemporary art practice. Art teachers Stephen Culley and David Wroth immediately recognized the extraordinary power of his early artistic explorations, including bright texta colour drawings and vigorous linocut designs. ‘We didn’t teach Pike how to make art, he had that intuitive ability already. All we did was open a few doors for him,' they said (As quoted by Counsel 1997: 56). In Fremantle, memory and imagination had helped him to bring the lost years of his childhood back to life and he became determined to renew those sacred connections. It was in prison too that Pike met Pat Lowe, a British-born woman working as a community welfare officer who had dreamed of coming to Australia as a child and had taught in East Africa. On his release in 1986 Pike and Lowe married, and together they returned to his desert homeland where they lived for the next three and a half years. From here he continued to collaborate with Culley and Wroth, who had formed Desert Designs, a conceptual design company that transposed Pike’s traditional imagery and patterns onto fabric, clothing and domestic items. While decorating the body and useful objects fitted well with Aboriginal traditions, Desert Designs managed to maintain the creative and cultural integrity of Pike’s interpretations of ancient iconography while offering a range of new interpretive possibilities. With Jimmy as their artistic leader, the company worked with a number of other artists and created a new industry that developed throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, ethically manufacturing and licensing Aboriginal designs for some of the world’s most prestigious companies including Sheraton, Hermes, and Oraton amongst others. This created the income that enabled Jimmy Pike to live a free and independent life as an artist in his own country. For here, in the unique physical and spiritual setting of his desert homeland, was the wellspring of Pike’s dynamic creativity, which became identified with its compelling, sinuous line and intense colour. Many of his paintings and prints represented maps and narratives about this country and incorporated decorative patterns his people used on spears, boomerangs or utensils. Yet Pike also brought an individual perspective to his subject matter, which gave his work a very contemporary flavour. His two-dimensional flattened figures and energetic designs conveyed a hard-edge modern sensibility. While he imparted his knowledge and expressed his deep feelings for his ancient traditions, he carried this a step further by responding to more immediate experiences and ideas that fed into his rich and active imagination. Rediscovering and maintaining the sacred sites and waterholes that once sustained his family’s nomadic journeying became Jimmy’s passion and helped him to consolidate the mythological world of ancestors and Dreaming stories that were his people’s spiritual source. When they were not exploring or hunting, Jimmy continued painting and Pat started to write. At home, far away from the hustle and bustle of the rag trade and the fickle art market, Jimmy continued to paint on his rough work table made from old planks, under a brush shade structure, driving 180 kilometres into Fitzroy Crossing every few weeks to drop off the work and pick up supplies. One of the many creative results of his time with Pat Lowe in the desert was Jilji 1990, a fascinating account of desert life and desert living, written by Lowe and illustrated by Pike. It was the first of several collaborations. During the eighties, when the Australian art world was beginning to open its eyes to the different styles and strands of contemporary Aboriginal art, Jimmy Pike’s work was exhibited alongside other Kimberley artists but just as readily fitted in shows featuring the younger urban artists emerging from city art schools that had been brought up in suburban surroundings. His powerful and distinctive use of colour and line reserved him an expressionistic corner in the middle of this growing diversity. Desert Designs was at the same time finding its place as a new icon of Australian fashion and contributing significantly to international perceptions of Australian culture. By the close of the eighties, he had become one of Australia’s most well known Aboriginal artists, receiving important commissions and travelling to the southern cities and overseas for openings and events. As he gained first a national and then an international reputation, he had successful exhibitions in China, the Philippines, South Africa, Italy and England, and produced work relating to his experiences in each of these countries. A gentle but determined man, Jimmy Pike was always patient with curious questioners when he made one of his infrequent visits to the city. Alongside his international fame in the world of art and design, his deep, velvety voice proclaimed his respected position as tribal elder, musician and singer of tribal songs. He was a man of extraordinary energy and mischievous humour. Time spent with him was often full of laughter, as he described the pleasures of eating roast feral cat for Christmas dinner, or explained how he made himself "invisible" when being chased by the police for yet another motoring offense. While he lived with Pat in his isolated desert homeland, they worked on a number of books together. Amongst these were Yinti: desert child (1992), Desert Cowboy (2000) and Jimmy and Pat Meet the Queen (1997) - a delightful fantasy about Aboriginal land rights. In his own quiet way, Jimmy Pike, forced by circumstance into white society, turned his back on it, rekindling his sense of belonging to the land. Though he died of a heart attack on his outstation at  sixty-two years of age, his work continues to celebrate that sense of belonging that asserts its core position at the centre of Indigenous identity. ARTIST CV Market Analysis MARKET ANALYSIS Jimmy Pike was a much better and important artist nationally and internationally than his secondary market results would indicate. Although his average price is just $850 overall, the average price of his paintings is much more respectable at around $5,000. These include the four original works on paper that have sold at an average price of just under $5,000.      It is unfortunate that so few original artworks have been available on either the primary or secondary market.  Many of these are in important collections here and overseas including the Christensen Fund Collection and the Desert Design Archives. If any of these, especially those held by Desert Design and the Steve Culley Collection, are released, they should dramatically alter his results. He was a master of graphic design and despite his death in 2002, it is still possible to purchase many of his prints through the Australian Art Print Network and its client outlets. Moreover fabrics incorporating his imagery are still used by fashion designers, most notably Fremantle’s Megan Salmon. Jimmy’s prints have sold well below primary market prices at auction, where their average price has been a paltry $182. By comparison even the smallest black and white image starts at $450 in the galleries that stock them. Little wonder then that that over 90% of the ones offered have sold. Given time, his prints should slowly increase in value despite the lack of a real secondary Aboriginal print market outside of prints created on rare occasions by major artists like Rover Thomas, Emily Kngwarreye, Paddy Bedford and Queenie McKenzie. Pike’s top price of was set in June 2007 when Woman Carrying Her Two Boys 1989, a painting that measured 76 x 60 cm, sold for $12,000 at Lawson-Menzies (Lot 122). This was $2,000 above the highest estimate ever carried by one of his works. It transcended his previous record set by Lawson~Menzies in May 2004 for a work in texta-pen on paper. Cityscape 1981, a 55.5 x 75.5 cm. eccentric view of Sydney’s sky-scape sold for $8,400 (Lot 10), once more well over it’s high presale estimate of $6,000. That year was in fact the highest grossing year for Pike’s works at auction, generating $20,580 from the five works sold of the six offered. Collectors would be well advised to trawl the auction houses to purchase Pike’s prints. Given his prodigious talent, his wide renown, and the affection in which he is held, owning one of Jimmy Pike’s colourful or bold black and white prints can bring great pleasure. They are strong, confident images by a master of graphic design, a delight to live with, and currently greatly undervalued in the market. While doing so one should always keep an eye out for one of his original works. These are unique and relatively rare and could prove to be a very profitable find. Disclaimer: At Cooee Art Leven, we strive to maintain accurate and respectful artist profiles. Despite our efforts, there may be occasional inaccuracies. We welcome any corrections or suggested amendments. Please contact us with your feedback .

BRANDING YOUR COLLECTION Giving your collection a name is one of the best mechanisms for building its value available to any clever collector. < Back HOW TO COLLECT ABORIGINAL ART — BRANDING YOUR COLLECTION BRANDING YOUR COLLECTION Giving your collection a name is one of the best mechanisms for building its value available to any clever collector. If you prefer to maintain your anonymity, give you’re collection a name anyway; just not your own. I am reminded of the Hedge Fund manager in Asia who buys art by young and emerging contemporary artists avariciously on his gallery hops every Sunday whether in Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo. While he is happy to hear from the galleries he frequents regularly, the last thing he wants is to be bombarded with emails and calls from galleries and artists that get hold of his name randomly. The same can be said of the wealthy software giant who has many different collections housed in purpose built museums around the world, yet will only buy from those with whom he has a signed six-page confidentiality agreement. Woe betide the dealer who reveals his identity – this wonderful client would be lost forever. Wealthy collectors aside however, many others have added enormous value to their artworks simply by giving their collection a name. By ensuring that galleries, dealers and art centres add the collection details on to artist’s résumé’s, and agree to have their name on display cards and in catalogues when works are ‘on loan’ to institutions, these collectors are constantly adding value to their holdings. Collectors like Margaret Levi and Bob Kaplan in Seattle have been champions for Aboriginal art in the United States and since the mid 1980s and are long time patrons of the Seattle Art Museum. Their collection is inextricably linked to that institution with important works always available to its curator of African and Oceanic Art for use in thematic exhibitions. The artworks they have given to the museum, and their patronage, are included in the book A Community of Collectors: 75 Anniversary Gifts to the Seattle Art Museum which honours its most valued and respected patrons. Carried to its logical conclusion many others, who that amassed extremely substantial and valuable holdings, such as Australian Aboriginal art collectors Elizabeth and Colin Laverty for example, invested heavily in documenting their collection through the production of books of the highest quality. The Laverty’s commissioned authoritative writers and curators to write essays in order to produce an artefact that was of great benefit, not just to their own collection, but also to the entire Aboriginal art movement. Collectors with this sort of vision, passion and commitment are patrons of the utmost importance and do the artists that they have collected the ultimate service whilst substantially adding value to their own artworks. UNATTRIBUTED ARTWORKS AND WORKS WITHOUT SOURCE PROVENANCE Despite everything I have advised above, there are paintings, artefacts and objects that have a lower Index of Provenance than they deserve due to the historical period or social circumstances that existed at the time they were created. They include extremely rare fine examples of material culture, highly individual examples of ‘outsider art’, works of quality created by unknown or barely recognised artists, or items created by important artists that found their way in to the market under serendipitous circumstances. These anomalies account for a tiny part of the vast body of material culture that has been produced by artists of many different cultures, including indigenous artists since first contact with Europeans. They include many fine pieces that can be highly desirable and worthy of collecting.? I refer below to examples drawn from Australian Aboriginal material culture, however, every class of art and antiques from every different cultural group will have similar anomalies. Wungurr Snake from the Hills near Warmun – Rover (Julama) Thomas 136.0 x 93.0 cm ANOMALOUS CATEGORIES OF AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL ART BARK PAINTINGS CREATED PRIOR TO THE 1970S While the majority of bark paintings that found their way in to museums and private hands prior to the 1970s were collected by well-known anthropologists and dealers or through prominent personalities in the field, many were produced as gifts or used as trade goods, outside of any formal art networks that were developing at that time. While few of these were well documented, many have survived in relatively good condition. Largely unknown and sitting in private homes throughout Australia and occasionally overseas they generally first appear when the current owners request a valuation. Having been a valuer myself for more than a decade I have been regularly presented with images of bark paintings and artefacts, accompanied by tall stories and true, regarding their source provenance. Commonly conversations or letters explain that…. ‘I collected these in the late 1960s when I worked at the remote Mudgeribah homestead’ …or…..’My parents lived out near Woorabindah and the local Aborigines used to visit’…or …..’My father was a field officer when the Jabiluka mine was surveyed’ As these stories are almost impossible to verify, a valuers job is to identify the pieces and see if they stylistically and historically fit the story. The valuer must consider: Are they as old as is claimed and are they consistent with other pieces of similar vintage from the region? Every now and then it is possible to put a name to a work by comparing its style to others in reference books and museum collections although, most often, valuers tend to err on the side of caution. Many fine old pieces appear each year and occasionally a real gem is discovered. Like the collection of Wandjina paintings that was offered to me when visiting the sister of a terminally ill Doctor who had worked for more than 20 years in a number of Kimberley Aboriginal communities. Amongst them was a large bark painting of a style that was soon identified as the work of Alec Minglemanganu, an artist who created a very small number of now highly desirable paintings during the 1960s and 1970s. When sold at auction by Lawson~Menzies in November 2006 it achieved a price of $38,400. Persuaded by Sotheby’s less than a year later put it up for sale once more, the buyer realised a profit of nearly $50,000 after costs when it sold the following July for $102,000. This painting, when rated according to the Index of Provenance above, would have been considered COLD rating only two points at the time it was offered to Lawson~Menzies in 2006!!! Yet having been accepted into a ‘tier one’ auction and sold it to a good collector the painting was subsequently nominally worth 4 points. The fact that Lawson~Menzies used it in its newspaper advertisements and on the invitation to its preview night should have increased its cache a little further. It was now TEPID. Having been given a major spread in the Sotheby’ catalogue just 8 months later and sold for such a spectacular sum the painting was now well in to the WARM category having found its way in to several art magazines used to promote the success of the Sotheby’ s sale. Now well on its way to becoming a work of some notoriety, the lucky owner wisely lent it to an institution and is working to further establish its bone fides as a most highly desirable asset. Needless the painting is now HOT property and it is just a matter of time before it enters the hallowed halls of a major collecting institution. DESERT PAINTINGS CREATED BETWEEN 1960 AND 1980 Most people believe that the first desert paintings were created for Jeffrey Bardon in Papunya in the early 1970s, however this is not strictly true. Desert paintings were created at a number of locations including Yuendumu in the 1960s and many found their way in to the hands of schoolteachers and others under contract in Aboriginal communities. No sooner had Jeffrey Bardon begun working with the old men at Papunya than a number of artists began offering their paintings to buyers further a field. Over the years hundreds of paintings created in the 1970s have turned up having been sold to nearby station owners, contractors who worked at Papunya, Haasts Bluff and nearby communities, and to a number of people who worked with Aboriginal people in the church and the bureaucracy in and around Alice Springs. Often in poor condition these works are generally more interesting culturally than they are aesthetically. But, every now and then, a real gem can turn up with very little to recommend it in terms of its ‘provenance’. Another work that appeared in 2006 and was sold in the same auction as the work by Alec Minglemanganu (described above) was an early Papunya board owned by a brick-a-brack dealer in Mentone, Victoria.?The painting had been sitting at the back of his shop since the early 1980s when, as a student, he had purchased it for $10 in a garage sale in Beaumauris. Although not in pristine condition here was a work almost identical to several recorded faithfully in Jeffrey and James Bardon’s definitive book on the formative years of the Western Desert Art Movement. It could easily have been one of the set of the 10 Budgerigar Dreaming paintings that Bardon himself described as ‘Kaarpa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa’s crowning achievement’. The same Kaapa who, along with Clifford Possum and his brother Tim Leura, was credited as being one of the founders of the entire movement. Given the absence of any provenance to speak of, the owner was encouraged to spend the $500 that it would cost to have the painting thoroughly examined by conservator and forensic analyst Robyn Sloggett of the Ian Potter Centre for Conservation in Melbourne. When placed under UV light,?an array of concealed iconographic imagery was discovered that implied several parts of the painting were originally thought by the artist to be of a secret and sacred nature, too explicit to be revealed to a viewer, other than a male initiated to the highest degree. The powder pigments were scientifically consistent with those used during the formative period of the painting movement. Having passed muster, and accompanied by a certificate giving an expert opinion on its authenticity, the 71 x 43 cm. painting on composition board was recorded as having been painted some time between the beginning of 1971 and the end of 1972 and offered at auction in November 2006 with a presale estimate of $40,000-60,000. It was featured in a number of newspaper articles and art periodicals both before and after the sale at which it sold for? $72,000 to a collector with homes in both Australia and the United Kingdom. He subsequently agreed to tour the painting in the exhibition, Masterworks from the Lawson~Menzies Collection, which visited regional galleries throughout Victoria, NSW and Queensland over the following year. Once more it was used in a range of publications to promote the touring show. It’s provenance is no longer an issue as this painting is now strongly represented in a range of literature and it is well on the way to being worth as much as the not dissimilar but slightly larger Budgerigar Dreaming 1972 sold by Sotheby’s just 4 months earlier for $216,000. TOOLS, WEAPONS AND UTILITARIAN ARTEFACTS CREATED PRE 1980 Unless they have previously been part of documented collections or de-accessioned from an institution, most artefacts are unattributed to any particular creator and lack provenance if created prior to 1980.? While early artefacts may have been utilitarian items, many are of great artistic beauty and interest. They may have originally been made to throw at and kill an animal, fend off a foe, carry possessions or represent a totem in a ceremonial context. Yet in many cases their age, decoration and surface patina make them sensuous and alluring, highly desirable objects. To my mind, the most important considerations when looking at old artefacts are age, form, design and patina. The best artefacts, many of which were collected in the earliest days of the colony, are extremely finely executed with delicate incising or fluting, a graceful and classic form, and a patina consistent with a century or more of gentle but cherished handling. When mounted properly such items are beautiful art pieces. This important and specialised area of collecting can include sculptural objects and ceremonial regalia as well as sacred objects, which generate great sensitivity particularly amongst Aboriginal people when they appear publically. The lack of clear guidelines has made it all but impossible to display for sale many pieces that are suspected of having had a sacred purpose. The position taken by many tribal dealers differs markedly from that of a number of bureaucrats and advocates involved in culture and art. There are those who believe, as I do, that objects originally imbued with sacred meaning for a specific purpose at a specific time, are no longer sacred once this time has elapsed and its purpose has been fulfilled, especially when no longer held within the particular clan context that considered them so. Many fine old pieces can be seen to have been partially burnt signifying to many tribal specialists that they were decommissioned, that is their sacredness was released so that they could be sold freely by their owners after their original ceremonial purpose ended.? Many objects which have been the subject of heated debate have actually been accompanied by documentation from early art advisers in the field who argued that only by offering them for sale could it be ensured that the ability to continue to make them would be passed on from one generation to the next. However it is equally true that a large amount of important, and often sacred material, was taken by ethnophiles as curios or given away inappropriately by tribal members under stress in exchange for tobacco or rations. Wooden and stone churinga’s and ceremonial bull roarers (which are often churringa’s that have been bored with a hole to disguise their original purpose), all fall in to this commercial no man’s land. Yet attempts to seek advice or to repatriate them to the most appropriate people meet with failure, time and time again. While no one really wants to claim them, or has an appropriate place to keep them, Aboriginal people, most often from cultural groups far removed from the actual owners, continue to argue for their protection from display or public sale. Interestingly, many of the most important Aboriginal paintings bear identical designs to the markings on these wooden and stone objects, and the artists simply state in the accompanying documentation that the content cannot be revealed as it is secret and sacred, in order to be able to sell them publicly. Interestingly, the elders in Papunya argued amongst themselves and their neighbours about what could and couldn’t be portrayed in their paintings more than 30 years ago. They finally agreed and the desert painting movement was able to thrive unfettered. Yet objects bearing exactly the same designs sit in plan-drawers and filing cabinets the world over. They are no longer used in a ceremonial context principally because most of the ceremonies are no longer performed. Those ceremonies that do continue to take place require the creation of new objects in order that they be imbued with sacred content anew. Surely this argument is just about the medium, rather than its content. When the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) attempted to address this issue in its ethical guidelines it gave no clear and transparent advice for dealing with this difficult issue publicly. So, in the absence of any public guidance, these objects are sold to eager collectors privately and clandestinely. FAKES AND FORGERIES As in most other classes, tribal art has its share of fakes and fraudsters. There have been a number of documented cases of forgery where almost perfect replicas have been passed of as the real thing. It is therefore wise to buy from those that really know their subject and have worked in the field for many years. Amongst the most prominent and reliable tribal art dealers I have worked with in Australia are Todd Barlin, formerly of Sotheby’s; Malcolm Davidson, who now carries on the business founded by his father, the irrepressible and extremely well regarded Jim Davidson; Arthur Palmer, who spent years working as a pilot throughout Australia’s far north; James Elmslie, the tribal art specialist for Theodore Bruce auctions, Chris and Anna Thorpe, and myself. OUTSIDER AND CHILDREN’S ART Amongst the many other esoteric classes of collectable material that have been created by Aboriginal people are works made by itinerant unschooled artists and children. Occasionally the most wondrous discoveries are made and some of these have shed light on artists who have gone on to become artists of renown. In one particular case they spawned an entirely new art movement. In the late 1970’s Paddy Jaminji, Jacko Dolmyn, and Paddy Mosquito, painted the first bits of plywood construction board in earth pigment to be carried in the ceremonial enactment of a song cycle composed by Rover Thomas after Cyclone Tracy. At the time no one could have imagined that this was to lead to the genesis of the East Kimberley painting. These boards created during the late 1970s predate any art movement as such, and a number were sold to early site surveyors for the Argyle Diamond mine. The majority found their way to Perth and into several important collections including the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the Berndt Museum.? Ginger Riley’s first paintings were on small scraps of old plywood and cardboard picked up in the dump, some of which were framed using Phillips head screws to hold plastic electrical conduit to the outer margins. Even the first desert paintings were actually painted on rolls of brown paper provided by a schoolteacher in Yuendumu during the 1960s. They are now part of the Power Bequest and after many years in the collection at the University of Sydney are presumably now somewhere in the vaults of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art. If you were to ask me to recall the best piece of outsider art that I have seen in Aboriginal Australia I would have to say it was the overturned and rusted car body sitting on its roof on red earth along a sand gully off a road just off the Tanami Track. Painted crudely with desert iconography in what must have originally been vibrant colours the entire body was peppered with the dotting creaked by bullet holes. It would have made a wonderful installation in a major art gallery and may well have been saleable if shown in the right context. On the other hand Howard Morphy’s American discovery of a box of 113 paintings by children from the Carrolup River Native Settlement in Western Australia in a dusty Colgate University storage space in April 2004 was one of national significance. These are never likely to be for sale as they are of vital cultural significance to contemporary Aboriginal people. TIP NUMBER 6 DON’T LET YOUR HAND BE QUICKER THAN YOUR EYE When collecting emerging artists be prepared to make mistakes. A modest budget requires a good eye to minimise financial risk. Visit major galleries and collections to find out which are the main emerging artists represented. Developing your? ‘eye’ is an essential part of learning how to identify a quality work. The works chosen by the curators of the major state and national collections provide invaluable guidance to viewers as they develop their own collections. Look at what isn’t selling. These works may be inexpensive, yet they may be works of real quality that are out of favour. A knowledgeable buyer can make you a tidy profit if they purchase them and then document and promote them properly. If you’re paying less than $5000 for a work of art (in the primary market), it generally means the artist is emerging. Its low investment but high risk. Alison Harper, Editor, Australian Art Market Report, April 2005 [6] Previous Next Featured artworks Quick View ANGELINA PWERLE NGAL - UNTITLED ( BUSH RAISIN MAN) Price AU$3,000.00 Quick View ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Out of stock Quick View LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - KURLURRNGALINYPA JUKURRPA Price From AU$13,500.00 Quick View BRONWYN BANCROFT - UNTITLED Out of stock Quick View JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN: A CELEBRATION OF CULTURE Price AU$8,500.00 Quick View Book BOOK - KONSTANTINA - GADIGAL NGURA Price From AU$99.00 Quick View FREDDIE TIMMS - MOONLIGHT VALLEY Price AU$35,000.00 Quick View NEIL ERNEST TOMKINS - BURN THERE, DON'T BURN THERE Price AU$7,000.00

Artist Profile for Yaritji Young < Back Yaritji Young Yaritji Young ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE YARITJI YOUNG - TJALA TJUKURPA - HONEY ANT STORY Sold AU$0.00 YARITJI YOUNG - TJALA TJUKURPA - HONEY ANT STORY Sold AU$0.00 YARITJI YOUNG - TJALA TJUKURPA - HONEY ANT STORY Sold AU$0.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Yaritji Young ARTIST CV Market Analysis MARKET ANALYSIS Disclaimer: At Cooee Art Leven, we strive to maintain accurate and respectful artist profiles. Despite our efforts, there may be occasional inaccuracies. We welcome any corrections or suggested amendments. Please contact us with your feedback .

COOEE ART 35TH ANNIVERSARY - RUTURN TO OXFORD STREET DECEMBER ONLY From 01 December to 30 January 2017 COOEE ART 35TH ANNIVERSARY - RUTURN TO OXFORD STREET DECEMBER ONLY From 01 December to 30 January 2017 COOEE ART 35TH ANNIVERSARY - RUTURN TO OXFORD STREET DECEMBER ONLY From 01 December to 30 January 2017 Cooee Art, Australia’s oldest Aboriginal Art Gallery, is celebrating its 35th anniversary by returning to Oxford Street where it began as Coo-ee Emporium in 1981. \n\nOpening Thursday 1st December 2016 6-8pm \nPop-up continues: 1st – 30th December 2016 Location: Wadsworth Gallery, 326 Oxford Street Paddington 2021

WHO x WHO 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, Gadigal Art Leven x ANIBOU with Strutt Studios - An exhibition combining art, design & interiors 6 - 28 September 2024 WHO x WHO An exhibition combining art, design & interiors 6 - 28 September 2024 WHO x WHO An exhibition combining art, design & interiors 6 - 28 September 2024 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, Gadigal Art Leven x ANIBOU with Strutt Studios - An exhibition combining art, design & interiors "Supported by Sydney Contemporary, Art Leven is teaming up with our neighbours, ANIBOU. the destination for designer furniture and interior designers Strutt Studios. The Art Leven galleries will be transformed into seven individual spaces, each juxtaposing one important First Nations artwork and a single piece of design furniture, supplied by ANIBOU. and paired by Strutt Studios." VIEW CATALOGUE MIRDIDINGKINGATHI JUWARNDA GABORI SALLY - DIBIRDIBI - TOPWAY price AU$20,000.00 DANIE MELLOR - TRUNK SHIELD price AU$5,000.00 SHIRLEY BANALANYDJU - PANDANAS MAT price AU$980.00 BLAK DOUGLAS - GONE TO THE DOGS price AU$15,000.00 ADRIAN JANGALA ROBERTSON - YALPIRAKINU price AU$3,300.00 DJIRRIRRA WUNUNGMURRA - YUKUWA (BUSH YAM) Sold AU$0.00 BLAK DOUGLAS - HILL'S WRONG price AU$5,000.00 ATTRIBUTED TO YUWUN YUWUN - UNTITLED price AU$1,500.00 POLY NGAL - ANWEKETY (CONKERBERRY) Sold AU$0.00 WhoxWho

THE HERMANNSBURG COLLECTION SEMINAR From 22 July to 23 July 2016 THE HERMANNSBURG COLLECTION SEMINAR From 22 July to 23 July 2016 THE HERMANNSBURG COLLECTION SEMINAR From 22 July to 23 July 2016 Join Adrian Newstead as he delves into the history of Albert Namatjirra and the entire Hermannsburg School of artists. Expand your knowledge about this fascinating area of Australian art history. Drinks and nibbles will be served throughout the day. Saturday 23rd July 2016 2 - 3 pm $20 per person RSVP essential - click here Drinks and nibbles will be served all day so if you can not make the seminar make sure you don't miss this fascinating survey of desert watercolours spanning 60 years. View the entire exhibition online

BARKLY & WARLUKURLANGU ARTISTS Royal Randwick FROM 14 TO 18 JUNE 2023 BARKLY & WARLUKURLANGU ARTISTS FROM 14 TO 18 JUNE 2023 BARKLY & WARLUKURLANGU ARTISTS FROM 14 TO 18 JUNE 2023 Royal Randwick For the Affordable Art Fair 2023 Cooee Art has partnered with two art centres to showcase their artists and artworks to a Sydney audience. Established in 1985 Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation is a not-for-profit organisation that is 100% Aboriginal-owned by its artists from the remote desert community of Yuendumu in Central Australia. Warlukurlangu Artists is famous for its gloriously colourful acrylic paintings and limited edition prints. The Aboriginal art centre has a national and international profile and its art has been featured in hundreds of exhibitions and publications in Australia and around the world. Barkely Regional Arts is a not-for-profit multi-disciplinary art centre based on Waramungu Country. Barkly Regional Arts collaborates with remote Indigenous communities to foster access, development, and recognition of arts in the Barkly Region which stretches over 320,000 square km of the Northern Territory. The work of the Artists of the Barkly reflects the remote, unforgiving desert landscape and harsh conditions, yet also portrays the charm and magical beauty of the region. Artworks will be available online the week of the art fair. Contact us for more information about the artists, artworks or art centres. ANOTHER LINK IF REQUIRED ANTONIA NAPANGARDI MICHAELS - LAPPI LAPPI JUKURRPA (LAPPI LAPPI DREAMING) price AU$4,800.00 JUDITH NUNGARRAYI MARTIN - JANGANPA JUKURRPA (BRUSH-TAIL POSSUM DREAMING) Sold AU$0.00 JESSIE BEASLEY - OUR COUNTRY price AU$2,200.00 ADA PULA BEASLEY - MY COUNTRY Sold AU$0.00 RITA BEASLEY - WATER AROUND EPENARRA price AU$2,200.00 ATHENA NANGALA GRANITES - NAPALJARRI-WARNU JUKURRPA (STAR OR SEVEN SISTERS DREA Sold AU$0.00 EX BARKLY

JOSHUA BONSON | SKIN - Moving Through Monochrome Art Leven - 17 Thurlow St, Redern, NSW 2016 2 - 23 August 2025 Viewing Room JOSHUA BONSON | SKIN - Moving Through Monochrome Joshua Bonson 2 - 23 August 2025 Art Leven - 17 Thurlow St, Redern, NSW 2016 SKIN – Moving through Monochrome Joshua Bonson 2 – 23 August 2025 Art Leven is proud to present SKIN – Moving through Monochrome , a bold new body of work by Torres Strait Islander artist Joshua Bonson. This exhibition marks a significant evolution in Bonson’s practice, his first major series since relocating from Darwin to Cairns to work full time as an artist. With this personal and professional shift comes a visual transformation: a move into a monochromatic palette that strips away colour to focus on form, texture, and the emotional resonance of light and shadow. At the core of SKIN is Bonson’s totem, the Saltwater Crocodile, a powerful symbol of identity, heritage, and place. His works have long explored the reptile’s protective skin as a metaphor for ancestral strength, kinship, and cultural memory. In this series, that imagery is reinterpreted through dynamic compositions rendered in black and white. These works feel elemental and raw, yet deeply refined, inviting viewers into an intimate dialogue with Bonson’s cultural and personal landscape. Using palette knives, brushes, and his hands, Bonson builds tactile surfaces that seem to breathe with energy. The scale-like markings, layered textures, and flowing forms speak to Country and sea, to memory and movement. Though abstract in appearance, each work holds specific meaning: they are meditations on belonging, portraits of family ties, and stories that transcend language. Bonson’s shift to monochrome also signals a deeper engagement with spirit. The absence of colour allows space for reflection, for both artist and audience. Light becomes a medium in itself, animating each work as it moves across the surface, revealing subtle shifts in tone, depth, and emotion. SKIN – Moving through Monochrome is an exhibition of reconnection and renewal. It reflects Bonson’s willingness to embrace change, to honour the past while exploring new visual and personal territories. In this remarkable series, Bonson invites us to slow down, to look closely, and to feel, offering a space of openness and quiet power. Each work is a window into his journey, but also a mirror—one that reflects our own capacity for connection, transformation, and story. View PDF Catalogue JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - ABSTRACTION price AU$8,500.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN: MY TOTEM price AU$6,000.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$6,000.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME (OCTET) price AU$2,500.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$2,400.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$2,400.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$1,650.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$1,650.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$1,650.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$7,500.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$6,000.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$6,000.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$2,400.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$2,400.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$2,400.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$1,650.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$1,650.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$1,000.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$7,500.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$6,000.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$6,000.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$2,400.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$2,400.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$2,400.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME price AU$1,650.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$1,650.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN - MOVING THROUGH MONOCHROME Sold AU$0.00 EXJBMONO