Artist Profile for Lanita Numina Napananka < Back Lanita Numina Napananka Lanita Numina Napananka ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE top Anchor 1 PROFILE Lanita Numina Napananka 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 .

Artist Profile for Ann Nyankulya Cleary-Farell < Back Ann Nyankulya Cleary-Farell Ann Nyankulya Cleary-Farell ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS Ann Cleary-Farrall, an artist from the Ngaanyatjarra language and cultural group, resides in the remote community of Irruntyju (Wingellina), Western Australia. Having spent her early years moving between Irruntyju and Warburton, Ann settled in Alice Springs in 1974, where she continues to live and create. READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE ANN NYANKULYA CLEARY-FARELL - SPOTTY TINKA SOLD AU$400.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Ann Nyankulya Cleary-Farell Ann Cleary-Farrall, an artist from the Ngaanyatjarra language and cultural group, resides in the remote community of Irruntyju (Wingellina), Western Australia. Having spent her early years moving between Irruntyju and Warburton, Ann settled in Alice Springs in 1974, where she continues to live and create. Ann is not only a painter but also an adept weaver, passing down her skills in both crafts to her four daughters. Her influence is palpable in the style and technique seen in their artistic works. In her weaving, Ann primarily uses grasses and creek roots sourced locally around Alice Springs, which she dyes herself. Her deep knowledge of these materials allows her to innovate with colours and techniques, drawing inspiration from the Yolngu women of the Northern Territory. Her works are not only beautiful and unique but also represent a significant shift in the direction of Tjanpi Desert Weavers, making her pieces highly collectable. In recent times, Ann has been concentrating on creating realistic sculptural depictions of local birdlife. She meticulously captures the subtle distinctions between males and females, crafting mating pairs of various species including cockatoos, galahs, ringneck parrots, hawks, eagles, and spinifex doves. These sculptures are a testament to her observational skills and her ability to translate intricate details into her artworks, further establishing her reputation as a talented and innovative artist. 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 .

Artist Profile for Minnie Pwerle Also know as: Minnie Motorcar, Apwerl, Pwerl < Back Minnie Pwerle Also know as: Minnie Motorcar, Apwerl, Pwerl Minnie Pwerle 1922 - 2006 Also know as: Minnie Motorcar, Apwerl, Pwerl ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE ATNWENGERRP SOLD AU$16,000.00 MINNIE PWERLE - UNTITLED Sold AU$9,000.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE (TRIPTYCH) SOLD AU$6,000.00 MINNIE PWERLE - UNTITLED Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE - ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - UNTITLED Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE - ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE - ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - BODY PAINT DESIGN Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - BUSH MELON SEED SOLD AU$12,500.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE-ATNWENGERRP SOLD AU$7,000.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE AND BUSH MELON SOLD AU$2,800.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE - WOMEN'S CEREMONY Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE - ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - BODY PAINTING Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE - ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE WOMENĀ€™S CEREMONY Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE - ATNWENGERRP Sold AU$0.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE AND BUSH MELON Sold AU$0.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Minnie Pwerle 1922 - 2006 Born c.1922, in the Eastern Desert, Minnie Pwerle worked on the property and homestead of nearby pastoralists as a young girl and, and whilst still in her teens bore a daughter, Barbara (Florie), to Jack Weir, the owner of a neighbouring station. Jack was arrested and taken with Minnie and their child to Harts Range police station from which she walked the 600 kilometers back to her outstation with her baby in her arms. She spent the following years living in fear that her daughter would be taken away by ‘the native welfare’. Barbara was finally taken eight years later and did not return to Utopia until 1968, by which time Jack Weir had died, and Minnie had married Motorcar Jim, with whom she had six children. Despite the batik workshops held in Utopia in the late 1970’s and the adoption of painting there by women as early as the late 1980’s, Minnie Pwerle is not believed to have picked up a brush until she had reached her late 70’s, in 1999. Minnie’s reason, given during an interview in 2004 was that ‘no one asked me to’. Such apparent shyness however is not at all evident in the canvasses she immediately began filling with gestural depictions of her country, Atnwengerrp, and its Dreamings. A collection of the first three hundered of these has been kept intact by Hank Ebes, the owner of Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, who helped to fund the earliest workshops at the time she began to paint. A chronological look through these early works demonstrates the surety and vigor of her stroke from the outset as she depicted the Women’s Ceremony, Awelye, and the once abundant Bush Melon and Bush Melon Seed in a way that reflects a strength of character built during a lifetime of dislocation and hardship. Minnie’s career and that of the great Emily Kame Kngwarreye share many parallels. Both began painting in their late 70’s and both created work for a period of seven years. Despite a short early period during which Emily painted tightly controlled painstaking fields of tiny dots obscuring detailed iconography beneath, both painted the majority of their works equally gesturally and produced a prodigious output, generally thought to number in excess of 4000 individual works. Both artists painted works that were immediately popular, most especially amongst women, and were able to support a number of close relatives with the income they generated. Indeed the comparison between the two women, who were sisters-in-law, extended to their fundamental feelings 'of reverence, abandon… intuition-minimal fuss,' as Sydney abstractionist Tony Tuckson phrased it (cited in McCulloch 2003). The manner in which they created their works appeared to be the result of an urgency to reconnect to the past and to keep the Dreaming a living reality. Just like Emily Kngwarreye before her, in painting after painting Minnie boldly and self-assuredly depicted the body designs painted on to women’s breasts and limbs for the regular ceremonial revivification of her country. While the rambling tuberous roots of the Yam or Bush Potato were Emily’s Dreamings and the subject of her art, Minnie’s primary focus was the Bush Melon and its seeds. Her Awelye-Antnwengerrp paintings drew directly from these ceremonial practices, depicting bush melon, seed, and breast designs in powerful multi-coloured brushstrokes that built in to a structured patchwork of luminous colour most often emanating from within a darker under-layer. The energy of these vibrant colourful works seemed to capture the joy of coming across these sweet bush foods, now scarce and difficult to find. In retrospect, Minnie’s painting career reflects a sense of disorganisation and dislocation, given the absence of an art centre in the community during her lifetime. While family groups live on sixteen disparate outstations, the Arlparra store, where Minnie sometimes resided is still the sole unifying centre. Her first works were painted during a workshop organized by Barbara Weir’s son, her grandson Fred Torres, who became her principle dealer. Minnie, however, painted for many others, including Tim Jennings of Mbantua Gallery, Jo Doyle of Ironwood Arts as well as nearly all of the dealers in Alice Springs at one time or another. From the outset her work was popular and, just as Emily had done during the early 1990’s, Minnie kept many galleries in business during the start of the new millennium. In the space of just seven years, like Emily, she could easily have painted up to 4000 works. With Torres as her agent she produced most of her finest paintings, receiving wide acclaim after solo exhibitions in Melbourne in 2000 at the Flinders Lane Gallery and in Sydney at Gallery Savah. Her works were exhibited at Fireworks Gallery in Brisbane, Japingka Gallery in Perth and Tandanya in Adelaide as well as being included in important exhibitions in Paris, and Santa Fe. She passed away in 2006, her life an extraordinary journey mapping the transition from that of a nomad, through the early years of the pastoral industry, to a new era of Aboriginal control, and a flourishing art movement at Utopia. It has only been possible to assess the true quality of her output in retrospect, because her career as a painter was rapid and chaotic and her output uneven and often repetitive. Since her death, it has become apparent that her finest works are enduring masterpieces and, despite her many minor works, these place her amongst the most important Aboriginal artists that practiced during the early years of the twenty first century. ARTIST CV Market Analysis MARKET ANALYSIS Minnie Pwerle painted only during the last seven years of her life yet her output was prodigious. Her colourful expressive works seemed tailor-made to meet the market demand for vibrant gestural paintings left vacant by the death of her countrywoman Emily Kngwarreye. She created her earliest paintings in 1999 and by 2002, when her first works began appearing on the secondary market, they could be found in shops, retailers and galleries all over the country. With so many paintings produced in such a short and intense period, an uneven output and reports of fakery were not uncommon. While the Aboriginal art market was in a buoyant state, the speculative atmosphere at the time made it difficult for anyone, other than those closest to her, to differentiate between her finest works and the large amount of repetitive imagery she produced. As a result, when her paintings began to appear at auction, results were nothing short of catastrophic. Collectors, quite obviously, did not take her work seriously. Sotheby’s were completely disinterested in her, due in part to their lack of faith in the artist, but more because of their prejudice against works with Dacou provenance; a hangover from their policy in regard to Emily’s Kngwarreye’s output. Her presence in the secondary market began inauspiciously. When her works first appeared in 2002 only two works sold out of the five offered with two out of four selling the following year. With Minnie continuing to supply an ever ready and uneducated primary market, 2004 and 2005 were her worst years. Of 35 works offered during those two years 32 failed to sell. Under normal circumstances most auction houses and collectors would have seen this as the kiss of death., but there were a number of fine art galleries that had sold exceptional works by the artist. Believing that she had been ill-served by the mediocre paintings that had found their way in to the secondary market at that time they began feeding it with higher quality works through Lawson~Menzies sales. Perhaps one work alone pointed to a far different future for the artist in the secondary market. Despite the appalling results of 2004, an exceptional example of the artist’s best early paintings Awelye Atnwengerrp 2000 , measuring 360 x 166 cm, sold for $43,200 against a presale estimate of $40,000-60,000 at Lawson~Menzies November auction (Lot 42). This result easily held the record for the artist until the following year when Lawson~Menzies sold Awelye 2004 for $72,000 (Lot 53). It is indicative of the incredible turnaround in Minnie’s records that just four years later, this work was her seventh highest result. Sales during the three years following her death in 2006, by comparison, were nothing short of spectacular and were due entirely to a curatorial reassessment of her oeuvre by Lawson~Menzies who had sold every one of her top ten results and all but three of her top 20 by the end of that period. In what was a complete turnabout 55 works were offered in 2006 and 2007 of which 43 were successful. In 2007 alone, Lawson~Menzies posted the artist’s best, third, fourth, fifth, eight, ninth and tenth highest results. A new record was set in November 2007 for a relatively early work Awelye Atnwengerrp 2002 (Lot 51) measuring 165 x 360 cm, which sold for $78,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $60,000-80,000 thereby eclipsing the previous record of $72,000 for the similar sized Awelye 2004 that had sold in November 2006 (Lot 53). As would be expected, average prices on the secondary market vary according to size regardless of quality. Minnie painted a number of major works around 350 x 165 cm in size, which have sold at an average of $56,000. This held true in 2009 with Awelye Antwengerrp - Bush Tomato, 2001 measuring 353 x 164 cm which sold for $43,200. However there is a dramatic drop in average prices with works around 270 x 120 cm having sold for a mean of $18,000, while works averaging 200 x 120 cm sold at around $11,000. Works smaller than 150 x 120 cm regularly sell below $5,000. Moreover, regardless of size, her 2010 average price of $8.080, was nearly half that of 2009. This is quite a different story to her prices in the primary market. Since her death Dacou re-priced all of her canvasses painted prior to 2002 and today these sell for considerably more than the averages listed above. Over the next few years expect some spectacular results when the best of these smaller works are offered through auction houses. As a perfect example, Awelye 2003 , a wonderful 120 x 90 cm work executed in a moody blue and white palette with minimalist aesthetic was estimated at just $8,000-10,000 in Lawson~Menzies November 2007 sale (Lot 110) but sold for $36,000, a stunning result compared to the average for works around this size of just $3,500. With so many ordinary paintings sitting on collector’s walls, the cream of Minnie’s oeuvre will only appear for sale over time. Nevertheless, her recent records have been impressive. She was the 20th most successful artist of the movement in 2015, the 16th in 2016. and 14th on 2019. As with works by all prolific artists, the majority of Minnie Pwerle’s paintings are difficult to critically assess. Most of her smaller works are to be avoided at auction despite their appeal, especially by collectors who have any concerns about investment value. Yet those works bought with judgment and a critical eye should hold their value. With average prices for smaller works well below primary market values, the secondary market may well be the place to pick up a bargain, especially if you fall in love with a painting and are not so concerned about its re-sale value. Minnie's major works vary in quality but not as greatly as the smaller pieces. There are enough masterpieces amongst them to ensure that Minnie Pwerle will rate amongst the greatest of all Aboriginal women painters and prove a number of her critics completely wrong about her legacy. 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 .

Explore our carefully curated external art resources to deepen your appreciation for Aboriginal art. Discover reputable museums, galleries, and cultural institutions dedicated to showcasing Indigenous artworks. Immerse yourself in the rich heritage and stories of Australia's First Nations through these valuable links. ART RESOURCES OUR STORY MEET THE TEAM NEWS BLOG ART RESOURCES CONTACT US At our Art Gallery, we understand the importance of staying up to date with the latest art sector resources and links. We have put together a list to help you stay informed and connected with the art world. From the latest news and events to helpful resources and tips, our list will help you stay informed and connected. ACT Adelaide Australia Australia (national) Brisbane Darwin Global International Melbourne NT National National (Australia) Paddington Perth Sydney Sydney based USA United Kingdom global ABC Arts Gateway National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/abc-arts-gateway/ The Arts gateway is a general resource for all current Arts activities nation wide.. Aboriginal Art Directory Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/aboriginal-art-directory/ Largest online tool to help you find Aboriginal art, artists, art centres and galleries.. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-arts-board/ The Australia Councils Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board (ATSIAB) assists Indigenous people to control and enhance their cultural inheritance. It supports traditional arts practices and the generation of new forms of Indigenous artistic excellence.. Art & Australia National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/art-australia/ Art Forum International https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/art-forum/ Art Info International https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/art-info/ Daily online updates about what is happening across all art genres, all over the world. Arts Law Centre of Australia Australia (national) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/arts-law-centre-of-australia/ The Arts Law Centre of Australia is the national community legal centre for the arts. The centre was established with the support of the Australia Council for the Arts to provide specialised legal advice.. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/australian-institute-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-studies/ The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is an independent statutory authority and Australia's leading institution on the cultures and lifestyles of Australian Indigenous peoples.. Bonham's Auction House Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/bonhams-auction-house/ Fine art auction house.. Christie's Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/christies/ Fine art auction house.. D'ART -The internet database Global https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/dart-the-internet-database/ This database provides information on art dealers and available artworks, including art works for sale with an emphasis on fine art.. Das Super Paper National (Australia), Sydney based https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/das-super-paper/ The Das Platforms are a place for the presentation, discussion and promotion of the emerging and contemporary arts.. European Network for Indigenous Australian Rights global https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/european-network-for-indigenous-australian-rights/ The ENIAR aim's to promote awareness on indigenous issues and to provide information for Indigenous Australians about Europe and international organisations. ENIAR is not affiliated to any government or commercial bodies, is non-profit and run entirely by volunteers.. Indigenous Australia info Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/indigenous-australia-info/ Learn about the history and culture of Australia's Aborigines. Indigenous Australia.info is completely written by Aboriginal people - it contains photographs and information on Indigenous lives, culture, history and practices. Used as a valuable resource by educational institutions worldwide.. Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/museum-of-contemporary-art/ Recently renovated gallery dedicated to contemporary art.. National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/national-aborigines-and-islanders-day-observance-committee-naidoc/ This organization is responsible for NAIDOC week , which celebrates the significant contribution of Aboriginal and TSI to the community.. National Indigenous Times Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/national-indigenous-times/ News website sousing on Indigenous Australian issues, events, jobs etc.. Perth International Arts Festival Perth, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/perth-international-arts-festival/ Perth International Arts Festival will be an explosion of energy, filling venues from concert halls and theatres to disused buildings and parks.. Sydney Festival Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/sydney-festival/ Every January, Sydney Festival enlivens and transforms Sydney with a bold cultural celebration based on the highest quality art and big ideas. The Festival opens each year with the unique Festival First Night - a feast of music, dance and visual spectacle on the streets and in the parks of central Sydney, attracting over 200,000 people.. The Art Net Global https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-art-net/ The artnet provides a good overview of the commercial art market with regular art market reports and price reportage. This website tends to focus on the American and European art market.. The Koori Mail Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-koori-mail/ Leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander news publication.. The UNSW Art and Design (formerly COFA) library at The University of New South Wales Paddington, Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-unsw-art-and-design-formerly-cofa-library-at-the-university-of-new-south-wales/ Viscopy Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/viscopy/ VISCOPY is Australia's visual arts copyright collecting agency and represents more than 250 000 national and international visual artists. VISCOPY represents many Australian Indigenous artists exclusively and has an Indigenous Copyright Education Office.. ANKAAA (Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists) Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/ankaaa-association-of-northern-kimberley-and-arnhem-aboriginal-artists/ The Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA) is the peak advocacy and support agency for Aboriginal artists working individually and through 48 remote Art Centres spread across a vast area of approximately 1 million square kilometres. ANKAAA serves four regions, including Arnhem Land, Darwin/Katherine, the Kimberley and the Tiwi Islands regions. Many of its 5000 members are internationally acclaimed artists and important community leaders. Aboriginal Art Print Network Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/aboriginal-art-print-network/ The Australian Art Print Network specializes in high quality contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art prints and sculptures by established, mid-career and emerging artists.. Adelaide Festival Adelaide, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/adelaide-festival/ Held annually in the warm South Australian autumn, the Adelaide Festival is Australia's largest multi-arts festival. Since its launch in 1960, the Adelaide Festival has created a strong tradition of innovation and excellence delivering the most compelling artists, companies and productions from around the globe.. Art Asia-Pacific International https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/art-asia-pacific/ Established in 1993, ArtAsiaPacific magazine is the leading English-language periodical covering contemporary art and culture from Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East. Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/art-gallery-of-new-south-wales/ State gallery of New South Wales. Art Money National https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/art-money/ Art Money provides interest free loans to buy art at participating galleries. Loans are available from AUD?$750 to AUD?$18,000..Art Money makes owning art immediate and affordable. Payments are spread over 10 equal monthly payments. After paying a 10% deposit, you can take your artwork home and pay the remaining balance over 9 months, interest free.. ArtsHub Australia, United Kingdom https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/artshub/ A good resource for whats on at the moment and up to date activities' in the arts sector.. Australian Museum Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/australian-museum/ This website has some excellent resources on Indigenous cultural collections and the Dreamtime.. Brisbane Festival Brisbane, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/brisbane-festival/ Brisbane Festival is one of Australia's premier festivals and Brisbane's annual cultural event. Brisbane Festival was developed by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council in 1996 as an initiative to foster the arts.. Contemporary Arts Organisation of Australia Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/contemporary-arts-organisation-of-australia/ Website of several Australian contemporary art organizations' that exhibit Aboriginal Art frequently. This site is the gateway to Australia's contemporary arts organizations which encourage the production of new and cutting edge art.. Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Darwin, NT, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/darwin-aboriginal-art-fair/ Held from the 12 to 14th of August 2011 in Darwin on Larrakia Lands at the Convention Centre in the newly developed Waterfront Precinct the Fair coincides with the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, (NATSIAA'S) and the Darwin Festival, a time when the city of Darwin becomes the focal point of the nation for visitors with an interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island arts.. Desart Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/desart/ Desart is the non-profit peak industry body for over forty Central Australian Aboriginal art centres.. Frieze Magazine United Kingdom https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/frieze-magazine/ John Mc Donald Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/john-mc-donald/ The revered and opinionated art critic for The Sydney Morning Herald has recently launched a new website of candid blog entries, archived reviews and academic essays.. Museums Australia Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/museums-australia/ As the peak national association representing the museum and gallery sector, Museums Australia provides a range of professional services to members and promotes the role of museums in society at local, regional, state and national levels.. National Assosciation for the Visual Arts (NAVA) Australia (national) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/national-assosciation-for-the-visual-arts-nava/ The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) is the national peak body for the visual arts, craft and design sector. The website contains an up to date commentary on the sector and official releases from NAVA on a variety of topical issues.. National Multicultural Festival ACT, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/national-multicultural-festival/ The 2011 National Multicultural Festival was a magnificent success with record numbers attending and participating in the three-day event in Civic. Over 240,000 people attended over the three days.. Real time Arts National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/real-time-arts/ The Aboriginal Art Resource International https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-aboriginal-art-resource/ The Aboriginal Art Resource aims to provide the latest news on the Aboriginal art industry, artists, exhibitions, auctions and artworks. Collecting Aboriginal Art provides a detailed guide to how to buy and sell Aboriginal Art. It helps one to understand terms such as Provenance and Authenticity in terms of artworks. A Step by step guide to the Economics of Aboriginal Art.. The Australian Art Sales Digest National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-australian-art-sales-digest/ The Australian Art Sales Digest is the foremost information source for secondary market art prices and news. First published in print in 1995, and followed by an online version in 1998, our database now contains records of over 450,000 works by more than 40,000 artists offered for sale in Australia and New Zealand from 1969 to the present day. The Australian Art Sales Digest is an indispensable tool for valuers, art consultants, auctioneers, public and private galleries and collectors. Sales records for individual artists are supplemented by segmental and overall market statistics, and art market news and opinion written by art market professionals.. The New Yorker USA, International https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-new-yorker/ Arts gateway for The New Yorker newspaper.. Time Out Magazine National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/time-out-magazine/ Aboriginal Art Association of Australia Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/aboriginal-art-association-of-australia/ The Australian Indigenous Art Trade Association is a national organization for the Indigenous art industry. It promotes ethical trade and provides a forum where members can discuss issues.. Aboriginal Art.org Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/aboriginal-art-org/ Apollo Magazine International https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/apollo-magazine/ The international magazine for collectors. A good resource if you are interested in beginning or developing a collection.. Art Facts Global https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/art-facts/ Art facts is a comprehensive directory of all galleries and art events internationally. It is extremely useful in ongoing research projects.. Art Guide Australia National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/art-guide-australia/ Artlink National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/artlink/ Artlink covers contemporary art in Australia and through its networking with the national and international scene, provides a context for evaluation and analysis. It regularly produces Special Issues on specific areas, and undertakes major theme-based features.. Australian Commercial Galleries Association Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/australian-commercial-galleries-association/ The Australian Commercial Galleries Association represents, promotes and furthers the interests of Australian commercial galleries whose core business is the ethical representation of living Australian artists.. Bangarra Dance Theater Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/bangarra-dance-theater/ Bangarra Dance Theater is a contemporary indigenous dance theater company based in Sydney. Bangarra fuses together a mix of traditional dance techniques with contemporary choreography.. Broadsheet National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/broadsheet/ Copyright Agency Limited National https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/copyright-agency-limited/ Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) provides simple ways for people to reproduce, store and share words, images and other creative content, in return for fair payment. In doing so, it connects the creators, owners and users of copyright material.. Darwin Festival Darwin, NT, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/darwin-festival/ The Darwin Festival is recognised locally, nationally and internationally as the premier festival for the 'Top End' of Australia and the Asia Pacific Region., and for its quality, diversity and innovation in arts programming and presentation.. Deutscher and Hackett Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/deutscher-and-hackett/ Fine art auction house.. Gray's Online Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/grays-online/ Fine art auction house.. Melbourne Festival Melbourne, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/melbourne-festival/ Melbourne Festival is one of Australia's flagship international arts festivals and one of the major multi-arts festivals of the world, in terms of quality of work, innovation of vision, and scale and breadth of program.. NATSIVAD Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/natsivad/ A biographical database of Australian indigenous visual artists National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Visual Artists Database. This biographical database, compiled by researcher Belinda Scott on behalf of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. The team at artrightnow are currently updating the NATSIVAD database as new information comes to hand. This database currently has biographical details on more than 5900 indigenous artists.. National Centre of Indigenous Excellence Paddington, Sydney https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/national-centre-of-indigenous-excellence/ Located in the heart of Paddington, the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence is a place for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians from across the country to participate in life-changing programs in the pathways of arts and culture, health and wellness, learning and innovation and sport and recreation.. Opera Australia Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/opera-australia/ Sotheby's Australia Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/sothebys-australia/ Fine art auction house.. The Age National (Australia) https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-age/ The Daily Telegraph Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-daily-telegraph/ The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/the-sydney-morning-herald/ Umi Arts Australia https://www.cooeeart.com.au/art-resources/umi-arts/ UMI Arts is the peak Indigenous arts and cultural organisation for Far North Queensland, an area that extends north of Cairns to include the Torres Strait Islands, south to Cardwell, west to Camooweal and includes the Gulf and Mt Isa regions..

Artist Profile for George (Hairbrush) Tjungarrayi < Back George (Hairbrush) Tjungarrayi George (Hairbrush) Tjungarrayi ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE GEORGE (HAIRBRUSH) TJUNGURRAYI - THE CLAYPAN SITE OF MAMULTJULKULNGA Sold AU$0.00 GEORGE (HAIRBRUSH) TJUNGURRAYI - TINGARI DREAMING Sold AU$0.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE George (Hairbrush) Tjungarrayi 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 .

THE THREE C’S – CONTENT, COMPOSITION, CONDITION In common with others the world over, Aboriginal artists develop their art practice from youth to old age and, as they do so, their medium and imagery passes through many developmental stages. < Back HOW TO COLLECT ABORIGINAL ART — AESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS THE THREE C’S – CONTENT, COMPOSITION, CONDITION In common with others the world over, Aboriginal artists develop their art practice from youth to old age and, as they do so, their medium and imagery passes through many developmental stages. Some achieve notoriety relatively early in their careers, while others do not achieve wide recognition until after their death, by which time their paintings may sell for far more than anything they were paid during their lifetime. In retrospect, we are able to look at an artist’s output (their oeuvre) and determine those periods and styles that have struck a stronger chord, were more successfully realised, and, as a consequence, hold greater affection in the collective imagination. CONTENT Over the almost 40 years that I have been looking at Aboriginal art, I have come to realise that certain content, regardless of its cultural importance, has proved to be unpopular and poorly received at auction. For instance, other than in Hermannsburg watercolours or when included in the Papunya boards created during the early 1970s, the presence of figurative elements in Central and Western desert painting, though appropriate and occasionally successful, is generally seen as evidence of a concession to the market. Occasional works with figuration by Western Desert masters Turkey Tolson and Mick Namarari, or more recently by Boxer Milner from Billiluna, have failed to generate interest at auction. The presence of Witchety Grubs and Honey Ants, Snakes and Goannas is particularly unpopular in works offered for sale on the secondary market, even when evidenced in works by extremely important artists such as Michael Nelson Tjakamarra and Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Paradoxically, the presence of figurative imagery in North Eastern Arnhem Land bark paintings was clearly an innovation introduced from the 1930s onward. This was intended to make the original abstracted clan designs more appealing to potential buyers. These bark painters largely escaped the critical contempt leveled unfairly at those Queensland artists whose mixed Aboriginal heritage saw them introduce figuration into paintings that stylistically borrow heavily on dot painting traditions. Nevertheless, it is an even greater paradox that in recent years a move away from figuration has heralded the greatest explosion in the prices of bark paintings since that medium first entered the market over a century ago. The examples would include many of the most important Yirrkala artists, as well as the work of central Arnhem Land painters John Mawurndurl and James Iyuna. A careful examination of the prices achieved for paintings by prominent artists at auction reveals the periods, style, and content for which collectors have been prepared to pay a premium. EXAMPLE 1: Works by Hermannsburg painter Albert Namatjira that feature figurative elements, other than gum trees and vegetation, are rare and have tended to be more highly contested in auction rooms than those that depict no more than plain landscape. The presence of his archetypal gum trees adds value but not as much as the occasional inclusion of animals or the buildings of early settlements in his Aranda homelands. EXAMPLE 2: Some artists have been strongly identified with figurative imagery and it is worthwhile looking at a number of their works in books and catalogues in order to determine why some have proven to be more popular than others. It is interesting to note that Djambu (Sambo) Burra Burra, Jarinyanu David Downs, Jimmy Pike and many of the bark painters of Oenpelli in Western Arnhem Land have all fared badly in the secondary market with their largely figurative works. Certainly, at this point in the development of the market for Aboriginal art, there is a strong preference for aesthetically minimal imagery that approximates abstraction and works well in contemporary spaces. This may be extremely prejudicial and culturally absurd, yet it is the undeniable truth. The major exception to this has been the incredible interest in, and prices paid for, Wandjina images by Charlie Numbulmore and Alec Minglemanganu, which have surely proven to be amongst the most significant improvers in the secondary market during the last decade. Perhaps this can be explained by their relative scarcity, having been produced at opportunistic workshops during a seminal period prior to the advent of an art movement as such in the East Kimberley region. So startling and powerful are these images, that they transcend their ethnographic context and can work in a contemporary setting. In contrast, the Wandjina images of Lilly Karadada, the last of the great Wandjina painters still living, are unfortunately yet to attract the same level of interest. While traditional Aboriginal sculpture has been vastly underrated and extremely cheap during the last 20 years, several deceased artists, most notably David Malanagi, Mani Luki and Enraeld Djulabinyanna, have achieved spectacular results. In Malangi’s case, these results are far higher than anything achieved for his far more prolific yet equally important bark paintings. A notable exception among living artists has been the Owen Yalantja, whose Yawk Yawk spirits now hold the same cache as Caruso Guningbal’s Mimi Spirits during the 1980s, when he was the only Arnhem Land artist creating them. COMPOSITION Here, Indigenous Australian art differentiates itself from contemporary Western painting. In traditional dot paintings, and ceremonial paintings from the desert, the surface acts more as a two-dimensional plain, often with little to differentiate one section of the work from another. This is also true for many Arnhem Land bark paintings and Tiwi art, where figuration is all but absent. In departures from these traditional styles, such as the Hermannsburg watercolour school of landscape painting and the work of more modern abstract painters (such as Sally Gabori or Kudditji Kngwarreye) composition plays a much larger role. Abstract Aboriginal painters such as Kudditji Kngwarreye rely on tension and balance to set some works apart from others. This is more of an innate sense in the artist than something that is studied, though it can be honed. Each colour field has a certain weight which is ascribed through its hue, size, and sometimes even surface texture. These fields have to be expertly distributed so as to have the desired effect, while still remaining true to Kngwarreye’s inherited country. Focal point, here too, plays a role, though not as obvious a role as in traditional landscape painting. In landscape paintings such as Albert Namatjira watercolours, the composition will always be a huge factor in determining the work’s value. Namatjira painted most of his desert country from a slightly elevated point of view, as if looking down, ever so slightly on the landscape. He was able to capture 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. The majority of his paintings lack a central focal point yet, ‘a visual emphasis on the edges holds the composition in balance without either a dominance of forms near the centre or a hierarchy of forms’ (Morphy 1998: 273). Works by Namatjira that typify his unique style and tell-tale sense of balance and point of view will always fetch more than those that stray from the aesthetic that made him famous. CONDITION Most Aboriginal paintings from the Central and Western Deserts, The Kimberley and the Top End are painted en plein air, that is ‘in the landscape’. While many artists work on the patio or floor within the confines of their art centre, many paint on the veranda at home or directly on the ground. During the day, they may eat their food nearby or, in some cases, while actually sitting on top of the partly completed work. Camp dogs may walk across canvases and be shooed away by anxious art coordinators or family members. Sudden rain bursts may see half completed paintings, still wet with paint, whisked away and hung up under the veranda with clothes pegs. These working conditions do not make for the most ideal environment in which to paint as, from a conservator’s point of view, all art loses value when not in pristine condition. For those of us who have worked in the industry over many years, it has not been uncommon to see canvases that are stained with animal fat, discoloured from fine ochre dust or affected by water damage, despite the often-magnificent artwork that has been applied to their surface. As the industry has improved professionally this has become less problematic, as has the quality of the paint being used. Cheap student acrylics and cotton duck have long since been replaced by synthetic polymer paints and imported linen of the highest quality. Such is the success of the Aboriginal art market, that even emerging art centres and the majority of independent dealers ensure that their artists receive the finest art materials that are available. Nevertheless, what of all of those thousands of desert paintings that have been painted over the past 40 years and tens of thousands of bark paintings created over more than a century? How have they survived the ravages of time? There is no doubt that many of the finest early paintings created in communities from Papunya to Yuendumu to Balgo Hills have suffered degradation in their pigment since created. Many will soon be in need of conservation if they are to survive as Aboriginal Australia’s greatest legacy for hundreds of years in to the future. Another great paradox is the fact that the more their pigmentation fades the more ethnographic they appear and this may well add value instead of reducing their desirability. Collectors should also be aware of the presence of repairs and patches adhered to the back of desert paintings in particular. These are often found along the margins of the work. I will never forget receiving more than 70 paintings for the first Balgo Hills exhibition held in Sydney during the early 1990’s and measuring the works to have stretcher bars prepared for their presentation. I simply could not get over the number of paintings with holes in the corners and remember asking the art coordinator at that time why they existed. He explained by informing me that the English translation for the Kukatja name for the community was ‘Windy Place’ and that most of the old men, having painted their works at home, used them as walking sticks when crossing the dustbowl between their camp and the art centre. I witnessed it myself later that year as the men, their long white beards streaming back across their shoulders, were buffeted by the fierce frontal wind, on their march across the compound. Needless to say, although it may not dissuade you from purchasing, it is always advisable with old Aboriginal paintings to ask for a full condition report when considering purchase at auction. More obvious, and more aesthetically challenging is the effect of time and moisture on bark paintings. Prior to the 1960s barks were created using orchid juice and other natural substances as the fixative that was mixed with the earth pigment in order to make it more stable. While these imparted a softer and more desirable patina than the acrylic binders that became ubiquitous from the 1970s onward, many of the finest old bark paintings have suffered severe ochre loss thereby reducing their commercial value dramatically. This is most especially so of white pigment which in many cases contains a proportion of lime. It is not just old bark paintings that are thus affected. Many fine paintings by Kimberley artists including Rover Thomas, Paddy Jaminji, Jack Britten and most especially Queenie McKenzie suffer from the loss of the white ochre dotting that characterises the highlighted demarcation between blocks of colour, and this inevitably considerably diminishes their aesthetic potency. Repainting and repairing damaged blocks of ochre or dotting in Kimberley painting or the rarrk cross hatching in bark paintings is a job for specialists and never approached lightly. The fine line between being absolutely faithful to the original artist’s hand, and going just one step too far in returning artworks to their former splendour is one for only the most practiced and devoted conservator. It can not be undertaken without a kit bag full of earth pigments gathered from around Australia and a great deal of colour testing prior to the application of a single brushstroke to the work itself. Many works have been repainted badly. Yet it is surprising how many have been repaired successfully and returned to their former beauty. Collectors have varying views in regard to the ethics and suitability of conservation work so it is best to be aware of the issues and have any potential purchase checked thoroughly prior to acquisition. In addition to ochre loss, bark paintings are commonly seen to have warped, curled, cracked, or been affected by mould or insect damage. Once more, these are all repairable other than in the worst cases. Barks can be re-humidified over a period of days so that they loose their stiffness and actually slump on to a flat surface. This must be done professionally and with such care that the moisture sinks in from the back but stops just short of the painted surface in order to avoid water staining the artwork. If achieved with skill the painting can then be slowly dried after applying a brace that will prevent it returning to the shape that it had assumed in the years subsequent to its creation. Nevertheless the truth is that this is never entirely satisfactory. Great bark painters who took extreme pride and care in stripping and preparing bark slabs for their paintings were master technicians. They could make a surface for their art that was wafer thin and perfect in every way. If the bark was made well in the first place it should never have warped later. Thus the warped bark that requires flattening or repair has most likely been flawed since its creation. Not so with cracking and water damage. These are generally the result of rapid changes in humidity during their lifetime, mistreatment or misadventure. Barks and wooden sculptures can be stabilised, cracks and holes filled and water damage over-painted transforming a once aesthetically challenged and damaged artwork into a lovely work of art once more. It costs, but the price may well be worthwhile. You would be surprised how undervalued old bark paintings are in the market, and how worthy they may be of restoration. Moreover, there is a great deal of pleasure to be derived from bringing an old delicate culturally significant piece of art back to life. TIP NUMBER 4: SIZE ALWAYS MATTERS If you are able to afford it, buy the major or most significant work possible from an artist’s exhibition. Always try to buy a larger work that is the equal aesthetically of something smaller. A solo show is the single most important tool in promoting an artist’s career. Properly documented and well-advertised exhibitions in good galleries confer added value on the paintings that comprise them. In any exhibition, an artist will create no more than six major works of which one or two will be the largest and most prominent. Another 6 to 10 works of medium size and perhaps another ten smaller works will round out the show. If an artist’s work is worth collecting, and the market is aware of it, there will be no shortage of willing buyers for the most important pieces. These are by far the most collectable pieces that an artist is likely to produce during the year or two between each of their solo exhibitions. That said, not all artists produce big works and many smaller pieces have great quality. You may not have a pocket deep enough for a major work or a wall big enough to accommodate it. On a limited budget, it is better to buy small works of high quality and good provenance by major artists than looking for large works of lesser quality and provenance. Collecting smaller works by successful artists is a fine thing to do, as long as you are aware that it will always be easier, when you eventually sell, to place a major piece in an auction. It will be displayed more prominently and to greater effect than a smaller work, no matter what the quality. 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 Two Bob Tjungurrayi < Back Two Bob Tjungurrayi Two Bob Tjungurrayi ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE TWO BOB TJUNGURRAYI - SOLD AU$1,600.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Two Bob Tjungurrayi 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 .

Lily Yirdingali Jurrah Hargraves Nungarrayi Carriageworks, Gadigal 5 - 8 September 2024 Lily Yirdingali Jurrah Hargraves Nungarrayi Sydney Contemporary | Booth I07 5 - 8 September 2024 Lily Yirdingali Jurrah Hargraves Nungarrayi Sydney Contemporary | Booth I07 5 - 8 September 2024 Carriageworks, Gadigal VIEW CATALOGUE LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - Karnta Jukurrpa (Women's Dreaming) price AU$20,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI- KARNTA JUKURRPA (WOMEN’S DR price AU$12,000.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - WARDILYKA JUKURRPA (TURKEY DREAMING) price AU$8,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - WARDIYKA JUKURRPA price AU$8,000.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - WARDILYKA JUKURRPA (TURKEY DREAMING) price AU$7,500.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - KARNTA JUKURRPA (WOMEN'S DREAMING) price AU$5,500.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - KARLI JUKURRPA (SMALL BOOMERANG DREAMING ... price AU$1,000.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - KARNTA JUKURRPA (WOMEN'S DREAMING) price AU$1,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - WARDIYKA JUKURRPA price AU$15,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - WARDIYKA JUKURRPA price AU$12,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI- KARNTA JUKURRPA (WOMEN’S DREAMING) price AU$8,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI -NGARLKIRDI JUKURRPA price AU$8,000.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - WARDILYKA JUKURRPA (TURKEY DREAMING) price AU$5,500.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - YAWAKIYI JUKURRPA (BUSH PLUM DREAMING) price AU$3,500.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - YAWAKIYI JUKURRPA price AU$1,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - KARNTA JUKURRPA (WOMEN’S D Sold AU$0.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAY - WARDILYKA JUKURRPA price AU$12,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - PARRAJA JUKKURPA price AU$12,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI- KARNTA JUKURRPA (WOMEN’S DR price AU$8,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI- NGALYIPI JUKURRPA price AU$7,500.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - KARNTA JUKURRPA (WOMEN'S DREAMING) price AU$5,500.00 LILY JURRAH NUNGARRAYI HARGRAVES - WARDILYKA JUKURRPA (TURKEY DREAMING) price AU$1,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - NGALYIPI JUKURRPA price AU$1,000.00 LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - KARNTA JUKURRPA (WOMEN’S D Sold AU$0.00 EX 272-2

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TjakamarraMicha Michael Nelson Tjakamarra Michael Nelson Tjakamarra 1945 Jagamara, Jakamara, Djakamara, Minjina, Minyina Born at Vaughan Springs (Mt. Doreen Station), 100 km west of Yuendumu, where a string of twenty-four freshwater springs support a flourishing desert oasis, Nelson was frightened by his first sight of white men as a young boy and remembers hiding from them in the bush. His family lived for a time at Haast's Bluff with the same family group as Long Jack Phillipus and later moved to Yuendumu so that he could receive European education at the mission school. He left at thirteen, after his initiation, and worked buffalo shooting in 1962 on the East and South Alligator Rivers, driving trucks, droving cattle and in the army, before returning to Warlpiri country at Lajamanu and later Yuendumu and, in 1976, moving to Papunya where he settled and married. Michael Nelson had inherited key responsibilities for many sacred sites and rituals from his father, an important Warlpiri Medicine Man at Yuendumu. The Warlpiri were deeply concerned about the painting movement that had begun at Papunya and, while he worked in the government store and for the council, he observed the work of the older artists with interest. Despite the Warlpiri elders’ opposition to committing their sacred designs to canvas, the financial benefits were becoming increasingly evident to many of the far-flung desert communities. Nelson’s interest and early artistic efforts, made under the guidance of the older artists, was rewarded when in 1983 he was asked to join Papunya Artists as a full-time member. Though he worked within the carefully delineated ‘classic’ style of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, his natural flair for inventive composition and zestful colour brought him to prominence when in 1984 he won the inaugural National Aboriginal Art Award and two years later exhibited in the Biennale of Sydney. In 1987, Western Desert art proclaimed its place within the nation’s identity when his 8.2 metre mural was installed in the northern foyer of the Sydney Opera House. He was introduced to the Queen at the opening of Australia’s new Parliament House the following year, having designed the 196 square metre mosaic that dominates the forecourt of the building. If ‘timing is everything,' then, as Nelson’s long time friend and biographer Vivian Johnson suggests, Nelson’s entry into the limelight was opportune. During the 1980’s, the evolving desert style gradually leaned away from the map-like sites and journey lines to focus more on experimentation with design elements. Nelson found his forte in this era of aesthetic exploration. The growing awareness of Aboriginal art’s contemporary significance, nationally and internationally, fuelled public acclaim and Nelson traveled widely as one of the faces that presented, and at times demonstrated, this ancient art form to the world in its new mode. His Five Stories 1985, was reproduced on the cover of the catalogue/book that accompanied the exhibition Dreamings: Art of Aboriginal Australia, that opened in New York in 1988. The year following his visit to the USA with Billy Stockman for the opening of Dreamings, he had his first solo exhibition at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne and painted a BMW M3 Racing Car. In this and other major projects at the time, he was assisted on the dotting by his wife Marjorie Napaltjarri. In 1993, following two more solo exhibitions organised through Papunya Tula Artists and his participation in Aratjara, Art of the First Australians, he received the Order of Australia Medal for services to Aboriginal art and a year later he was granted a Fellowship from the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council. At the same time as the burgeoning industry was putting more money into remote Aboriginal communities, it began to spawn a growing band of astute intellectuals and high-flying entrepreneurs. This gave rise to the ever-present anxiety amongst Indigenous custodians of trespassing too closely on secret-sacred tradition or commercialising it as a fashionable commodity. In view of the changing demands of modern times, Nelson publicly countered skeptics with a deceptively simple observation when he said, ‘the stories are the same but our way of telling them is changing'. In this comment he revealed that, for him, the Dreaming remained a sacrosanct inner reality that no external circumstances could touch. Despite this, by the mid 1990’s, following the heavy demand for his works during the previous decade, the pressure appeared to have taken its toll on him and his works became more stilted and formulaic. Other Papunya artists had begun developing less iconographically dependent, more abstracted imagery that appealed to the contemporary aesthetic. By comparison Michael Nelsons paintings seemed to have lost their zing. In relation to the political divide between art centres, independent dealers and individual artist entrepreneurship, Michael Nelson Tjakamarra is the ultimate enigma. During the 1990’s he supported and supplied paintings to Warumpi Arts, an outlet set up in Gregory Terrace, Alice Springs, by the Papunya Community Council in direct competition with Papunya Tula. He was, in fact, elected president of the Papunya Community Council during the 1990’s and again between 2002 and 2004. And in 1996, having met artist and gallery owner Michael Eather in the late 1980’s, Nelson began formally working within the collaborative atmosphere of Brisbane’s Campfire Group in which an exchange of artistic ideas and practices flourished. As a result he participated with Paddy Carroll Tjungurrayi in the 2nd Asia Pacific Triennial at the Queensland Art Gallery. Following a series of experimental workshops over eighteen months, he began slowing his artistic process down and breaking up his visual language into its discrete elements: form, colour, scale and story. Rather than trying as he had done previously to fit three and four ‘Dreamings’ on the one canvas, he decided to minimize his work and paint only the ‘trademarks’ of the story. Encouraged to continue in this vein, he completed the first of his commissioned expressionist paintings at Papunya by reducing previously complex dreaming maps down into iconic logos and scaling them up. This literally breathed new life into his work and, following several more experimental painting and drawing workshops at Papunya, he began traveling to Brisbane three or four times a year to work at Campfire Studios. Through this collaboration Nelson has launched into a highly expressionistic genre with his minimalist surfaces embellished with singular, rapidly painted, calligraphic-like motifs that resound with the power of their ancient origins. The meticulous dot has been replaced with vigorous gestures executed energetically and haptically onto the painted surface of his canvases. Though he was represented in the exhibition Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius with a rendition of his Five Dreamings executed in the formulaic style he adopted while painting for the company in 1984, the success of his more recent works created while functioning as an independent artist was underscored when he won the prestigious Tattersall’s Landscape Prize in 2006 for his expressionist painting Big Rain. While Nelson, like many of his contemporaries, maintains that Aboriginal art cannot be fully appreciated without comprehending its underlying attachment to a particular place and meaning, these new works appear to transcend the parameters of Western Desert art and have come to represent an entirely new and meaningful dialogue between traditional Aboriginal and contemporary European Australian art. For an artist of such eminence, Michael Nelson Tjakamarra’s secondary market results were nothing short of lacklustre until the phenomenal success of his major Five Stories painting in Sotheby's London rooms in 2016. With major works in the Sydney Opera House and the forecourt of Parliament House in Canberra and having been the winner of the inaugural National Aboriginal Art Award, his highest price at auction stood at just $17,080 prior to this. Mossgreen had set this record in 2012 ecclipsing his previous record that was set in 2004 for a Papunya Tula work created in 1984, the year after he first began painting. The 2016 sale at Sotheby's changed all that. Five Stories carried a very ambitious pre-sale estimate of GBP150,000-200,000 and eventually sold for a staggering GBP401,000 ($AUD687,875). The sale of this single painting along with 4 other minor works saw Michael Nelson finish 2016 as the year's 6th most successful artists in spite of the fact that his career standing was 70th amongst all Australian Aboriginal artists at the beginning of the year. In an unprecedented move, by years end he had jumped 20 places to be 50th. Nothing could illustrate more clearly the deep unjustified prejudice against works painted outside of Papunya Tula than the fate of works by Michael Nelson who, since the late 1980s, has preferred to operate independently. His 4th highest result was for a very large Papunya Tula work measuring 244 x 244 cm which sold in the same Sotheby’s sale, held in July 2004, as was his 3rd priced work. These were lots 264 and 265 and both carried estimates of $12,000-18,000. Unbelievably, 1988 is still recorded as his 3rd best year at auction. That this occurred 30 years ago is absolutely remarkable for an artist of such prominence who is represented so strongly in the literature. The pleasing auction result of $14,139 for Yam and Kangaroo Dreaming 1987 at ArtCurial auction in Paris during 2009, though his 3rd highest record, was not great enough to reverse the general trend. While his late career experimental gestural paintings may have reinvigorated his career in the primary market and won him the prestigious Tattersall’s Landscape Prize in 2006, there is no evidence whatsoever of interest in these works at auction. The most impressive of these, a large three panel work offered in Lawson~Menzies May 2005 sale (Lot 211) with an estimate of $15,000-20,000 failed to garner interest and was passed in. Once again, two works offered in 2010 in this style failed to garner interest despite a lower estimate on one of just $5,000. Finally, by the end of 2017, two of these works had found buyers for just under $5,000. Michael Nelson is a highly respected and greatly admired artist who has proved to be a comfortable negotiator on the interface between different art traditions and cultures. During his prolific career he has produced a great number of complex works of quality as well as many exciting, more contemporary, images. Yet since his works first appeared his success rate has been only 50%. Given these statistics, his paintings surely represent one of the most under-appreciated caches of art by any single artist in the annuls of Aboriginal art. With important works in almost every single state museum and art gallery and his inclusion in so many important landmark exhibitions, a reassessment of this important artist’s work by the secondary market has been well and truly overdue for some time. But with the phenominal success of Five Stories in 2016 dealers have already detected a revitalisation of interest in this artist and his vast and overlooked oeuvre. Certainly there are those who are now keen to sell. Whether or not the buyers arrive to snap them up will become clear over the next years. Explore our artworks See some of our featured artworks below ANGELINA PWERLE NGAL - UNTITLED ( BUSH RAISIN MAN) Price AU$3,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Out of stock LILY YIRDINGALI JURRAH HARGRAVES NUNGARRAYI - KURLURRNGALINYPA JUKURRPA Price From AU$13,500.00 BRONWYN BANCROFT - UNTITLED Out of stock JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN: A CELEBRATION OF CULTURE Price AU$8,500.00 BOOK - KONSTANTINA - GADIGAL NGURA Price From AU$99.00 FREDDIE TIMMS - MOONLIGHT VALLEY Price AU$35,000.00 NEIL ERNEST TOMKINS - BURN THERE, DON'T BURN THERE Price AU$7,000.00 SHOP NOW