Artist Profile for Kudditji Kngwarreye < Back Kudditji Kngwarreye Kudditji Kngwarreye 1928 - 2017 ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE KUDDITJI KNGWARREYE - MY COUNTRY Sold AU$800.00 KUDDITJI KNGWARREYE - MY COUNTRY Sold AU$0.00 KUDDITJI KNGWARREYE - MY COUNTRY Sold AU$0.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Kudditji Kngwarreye 1928 - 2017 Kudditji Kngwarreye was born about 1928 at Alhalkere at Utopia Station, located about 270 kms north east of Alice Springs. In his younger life, he worked throughout the Central Desert, travelling widely as a stockman, and working in mineral and gold mines. A custodian for ceremonial sites located in his country at Utopia Station, many of his paintings refer to sites at Boundary Bore, where men's initiation ceremonies are performed. He began painting his precisely dotted Emu Dreaming paintings, featuring ranks of coloured roundels and other 'hieroglyphs' on a chequered or dotted background, in 1986. Kudditji was the younger brother of renowned artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. He painted only sparingly until his sister’s death in 1996 after which he experimented with a number of gestural styles involving looser brushstrokes and schematic composition. However the demand for his earlier, male iconographic style saw Kudditji to return to it, and it was not until 2003 that he began to exhibit the saturated patchwork colour paintings with which he is principally associated today. His current renown rests almost exclusively upon colour field works that are invariably entitled My Country. In these, fields of colourful textured stippling are structured into a geometric architecture of squares and oblongs. Like the works of his famous sister they have been compared in style with that of several of the greatest international contemporary artists such as Mark Rothko, and Philip Guston in particular. (When Kudditji’s work appeared for auction at the Deutcher~Hackett 2007 sale this comparison was employed by one commentator to note the record setting sale for a post WWII work of Rothko’s-White Center, Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose, at Sotheby’s in New York) (SMH May 19 2007). Though parallels between the abstract expressionists and Indigenous artists like Kudditji may seem to labour the point of the latter’s contemporary credibility, the underlying sentiment is valid. It does demand equal respect. Yet there are far more intimate parallels to be drawn between his style and that of Emily. Certainly both were masters of colour. However, the geometric composition of Kudditji’s work has a more formal feel, than either the energetic linear, or ‘dump dump’ bush strokes of his sister. In this regard Kudditji rarely strays from a strictly Aboriginal male aesthetic into the wild abandon of female gestural work. There is a clear ‘intention’ as he lays down the quilted structures, no matter how loose and haptic the grid may be. These works still resonate strongly with his earliest ones. They still fall within the distinctive Anmatyerre male convention of depicting men’s ceremonial sites and, in Kudditji’s case, Emu Dreamings. While his earlier works were far more conventional they were well received and Kudditji made his living as an artist, after haven given up life as a stockman. A move away from this style at first proved unprofitable, which prompted a return to his tried and trusted style. However, in time, the successful outcome of years of experimentation saw him gain national attention and, later, international renown. Emily, Kudditji and other Utopia painters like Gloria Petyarre, Minnie Pwerle, Barbara Weir and others, who paint quickly with gestural or stippled brushwork have one important thing in common. They needed to paint a lot of work over an extended period in order to develop a truly unique and successful style. This is interesting in the current context where ‘art centre provenanced’ works are considered by many to have supreme provenance. Artists such as these could never have emerged from official art centres with their financial restraints and requirement to cater to the needs of large numbers of individuals. It has only been through unfettered freedom of expression, and profligate creativity, that their careers have flourished to the point where they are amongst the most successful of all Aboriginal artists. In Kudditji Kngwarreye’s case his works have been included in countless group shows and no less than 10 solo exhibitions since 2000. Far from diminishing his career, the fact that hardly a retailer in the country would not be able to find a canvas or two somewhere in the stockroom to show a prospective client has only served to enhance his reputation and standing. ARTIST CV Market Analysis MARKET ANALYSIS Kudditji Kngwarreye was one of the most prolific artists in the primary market since 2005. Independent, and living in Alice Springs, he painted for a number of wholesalers and his works were distributed to a large number of galleries and retailers throughout the country. He began painting in the late 1980s (in the same year as his sister Emily Kngwarreye) and continued throughout the 1990s creating images of the his Emu Dreaming in a typically male Utopia style without particular distinction. Though far better known for the loose gestural and highly colour charged paintings that he has created since 2003, it was one of his traditional Emu Dreaming images that set his record price in at Sotheby’s in October 2009. The work, being de-accessioned from Trevor Chappell’s Austcorp Property Group collection had been estimated at just $500-1000. Measuring 206 x 120 cm. it sold for a whopping $19,200. The only other work in this style that has entered his highest 10 results measured 152 x 106 cm. It was created in 1999 and sold at Paris auction house ArtCuriel for $6,255 in November 2009. Another older style 133 x 82cm work, though far more accomplished than that which set his current record, sold for just $1,320 including buyers premium at Leonard Joel in October 2010 (Lot 312). This was certainly an opportunity missed. Not one canny investor appeared aware of the record setting price achieved for an inferior work during the previous year. Two artistically unsuccessful canvases created in a transitional style , reminiscent of his sister’s ‘line’ paintings, sold for just $1,500 and $1,800 when offered at Leonard Joel during 2008. Though historically interesting, works in this style gave way colour field paintings, for which he is now largely renowned. Though seven works have sold for more than $9000, Kudditji’s auction results are dominated by sales for less than $3000 (48) and unsold works (47). Overall his success rate has been only 57%. This is not surprising given the vast quality of his paintings were offered for sale in the primary market during the final years of his life. Kudditji died in 2016 and it is likely that there will be a market readjustment as a result of this. Dealers and opportunistic ‘investors’ have largely failed in their attempts to firmly establish Kudditji amongst the most collectable artists since 2005. Though his sales during 2009 saw him listed as the 23rd most successful artist in that year, and 2010 saw him listed as 96th, he actually fell by the end of 2011 from 130th to 131st of the entire movement overall. A better year in 2016 saw him finish the year at 42nd and this lifted his career standing to 113th. This can be attributed to the fact that 11 of 15 sold that year for a success rate of 73%. The jury is out on Kudditji Kngwarreye. Clearly, he is an example of an artist whose stocks are on the rise. His secondary market results are yet to reflect the hype that surrounded his work in the primary market post 2012. Those who paid top dollar for his best works in primary galleries during the past 5 years will be disinclined to trade them in until his patchwork blankets of colour have had time to appreciate. Utopia artists largely paint outside of the art centre system. And though the current market tends to favour ‘officially’ sanctioned works, a flood of paintings on the primary market never hurt Emily, Gloria Petyarre or Minnie Pwerle. Only time will tell whether paintings by this old man will rate amongst those of his more illustrious female relatives. 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. 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NapangardiLily Lily Kelly Napangardi Lily Kelly Napangardi Born at Dashwood Creek in 1948, Lilly Kelly Napangardi arrived at Haasts Bluff as a baby in the arms of her mother Narputta and her father Sandy Opal Tjapanangka. The family moved to the newly established settlement of Papunya in 1958 when Lilly was still a young girl and her father became one of the original Papunya Tula shareholders. In the late 1970’s Lilly married Norman Kelly Tjampitjinpa and began assisting him with his paintings while living at Papunya, before the family moved 75 km west to Mt Liebig at the foot of the McDonnell ranges. Lilly Kelly began painting in her own right for Papunya Tula Artists during the mid 1980’s when the company's field officers first began visiting Mt. Liebig regularly, and in 1986, she won the Northern Territory Art Award for a painting entitled Watiyawanu. The win drew attention to the growing number of artists in Mount Leibig and the nascent art centre operated by the shop owners in the community. During the 1990’s Norman Kelly moved to Lajamanu and took a second wife while Lilly remained at Mount Leibig and brought up their three children. In time, while she continued to paint without particular distinction, she became one of the senior Law Women of the community, and the custodian over the Women Dreaming stories associated with Kunajarrayi, in Warlpiri and Luritja country stretching between Mt Liebig, Haasts Bluff, Kintore and Coniston. Recognized as a senior law woman she passed on her knowledge of traditional law and ceremonial dancing and singing to her children, eleven grandchildren, and other young women of her clan. With the success of the Watiyawarnu art centre, Lilly Kelly’s paintings began once more to gain national attention from 2000 onward through its participation in the annual Desert Mob exhibition in Alice Springs and her own selection as a finalist in the NATSIA Telstra awards. Her depictions of country during this period and thereafter referred to sand hills, the effect of wind and rain on the desert landscape, and the crucial waterholes found in the area. The best of these works evoke the ephemeral nature of the drifting, changing sandy country in the finest microcosmic detail. Rain streaks the land as it runs off the sand hills while the blowing wind folds them into the undulating waves of an infinite expanse. Yet beholding each work in is entirety is to view the landscape in macrocosm as the eye follows the hypnotic fine doting and muted tones that build up into a mysterious, enigmatic topography of her land. Rendered in intricate detail, with subtle colour variations these paintings covey powerful and inspiring visions of her country with an apparent accuracy. Early examples of Lilly Kelly's sandhill paintings are rendered using a dotting technique, which diminishes the size of the dots with each row, rather than her later works which diminish the dots within each evolving line. Earlier works therefore have a more meditative settled quality and stronger formal compositional structure. In her later works the ebb and flow of the dotting is evocative, rhythmic and ultimately engaging. Lilly Kelly has been described by those who know her art practice intimately, as an action painter. They suggest that her works are essentially haptic and unplanned and that she engages in painting without any formal schema in mind. If this is the case, then it is likely that it is, in fact, this informality that evokes such a powerful response from the viewer. The first institutional purchase was of two spectacular major works to the Art Gallery of New South Wales arranged through Neil Murphy Indigenous Art, which organized a solo exhibition for the artist at Span Galleries in Melbourne in the same year. In the wake of her Melbourne success Kelly was reputedly under consideration for inclusion in the 2004 Biennale of Sydney however, although nominally represented byWatiyawanu Artists, she has painted indiscriminately for many dealers in Alice Springs since that time and attempts to present her works at the highest level have, unfortunately failed. Lilly Kelly is a very fine artist who, if handled professionally, is capable of greatness and with this no doubt in mind, Australian Art Collector Magazine selected her as one of Australia's 50 most collectable artists for 2006. Yet in equal measure she produces perfunctory works motivated more by income than the pleasure of creative engagement. A number of her finest paintings have been acquired by major international collectors including Thomas Vroom and Richard Kelton as well as being added to several Australian State art galleries. The magnificent paintings held by the Art Gallery of NSW, rated by Murphy as the artist’s finest, were exhibited in the exhibition Gifted: Contemporary Aboriginal Art: The Molly Gowing Acquisition Fundin 2006/2007. Lilly Kelly is one of three Mount Leibig female artists whose careers have burgeoned post 2000. While Ngoia Pollard, who won the Telstra National Aboriginal Art Award in 2006, and Wentja Napaltjarri, have arguably established a higher profile than Kelly amongst exhibiting galleries in the primary market their sales at auction have been too infrequent to have established a secondary market presence as yet. There is little doubt however that, in time, they will join Kelly and Bill Whiskey amongst the top 100 artists. Lilly Kelly’s auction records are completely dominated by works created after 2000 including all of her top ten results. One of the few exceptions amongst the 59 works that have been offered was a work created as early as 1989. It is the only Papunya Tula provenanced painting that has appeared for sale despite the fact that she created works for the company for almost a decade beginning in the mid 1980’s. When offered at Christies Auctioneers in October 2004 (Lot 21) the rather generic Untitled work failed to attract a buyer despite its provenance. All of her top four results however were created for Watiyawarnu Art, the semi-official art centre in Mount Leibig while works created for independent dealers litter her best sales. Lilly Kelly’s work first appeared at auction in 2004 more than a decade after the fist specialist Aboriginal art sale and nearly two decades after she began painting. Few works of significance had appeared by the end of 2005 however in 2006, her most successful year at sale, 13 works were offered of which nine sold for a total value of $95,805. During the following year eight sold of 13 offered and although her works fared slightly worse during 2008, thereby dropping her average price to slightly below $10,000, her career clearance rate is still a relatively healthy 53%. In 2009 an incredible 22 works were offered for sale. That nine found buyers at a total value $37,410 is not all that bad. The artist’s response to her success in the primary market created a glut of paintings in the auction houses with estimates predominately upwards of $15,000. The most ambitious being Sotheby’s estimate of $30,000-40,000 a work entitled Sandhills in their July sale (Lot 89). The number of highly estimated works that have failed however should be of deep concern-the downside perhaps of a badly mismanaged career. Not entirely unrealistic considering her record price at auction was achieved for a work of the highest quality commissioned by Neil Murphy through Watiyawarnu. Sandhills Around Mount Leibig2004, measuring 176 x 120 cm. sold for $39,600 against a presale estimate of just $12,000-16,000 at Sotheby's in July 2007 (Lot 167). This transcended the previous record set by another very fine work from the same original source which had sold in Lawson~Menzies November 2006 sale for $24,000 (Lot 42). Most of the 31 works that have sold in the secondary market have been relatively large with few falling below 90 x 120 cm. As a result only eight works have sold for less than $2,500 while eight have achieved prices between $5000 and $10,000 and six have sold for more. Surprisingly it has been Elder Fine Art in Adelaide that have championed Lilly Kelly’s works in the secondary market having sold eight for a total of $49,270. This compares to the $51,720 has been realized for the six works sold through Lawson~Menizes while Mossgreen have sold three and Bonhams and Goodman two. Yet Sotheby’s hold the record despite having sold just one work. Lilly Kelly best works are highly accomplished and regardless of provenance, or delicacy of execution, many others are very good paintings indeed. In the right setting, their spacious textural feel resonates sympathetically with contemporary aesthetics. These are paintings to be valued more for the pleasure they impart rather than their cultural content. Due to her fierce independence and prolific nature Kelly’s works appear in a range of primary market outlets from retail stores to exhibiting galleries. If you like her work, take your time, and chose wisely. Only the very best are likely to be good ‘investments’. 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

LukiMani Mani Wommatakimmi Luki Mani Wommatakimmi Luki 1914 - 1980 Harry Carpenter Wommatakimmi Mani Luki was one of the early Tiwi master sculptors of the 1950s and 60s, whose works are now considered among the finest and most collectable of Tiwi carving. His distinctive figures focus upon the ancestral drama of Purukupali. The myth tells of how death came to the Tiwi world where once it was unknown. Bima, wife of Purukupali, secretly stole away with her husband’s brother, Tapara. The sun woman, angered at this infidelity, beat down upon her sleeping infant Janaini, causing his death. The grief stricken Purukupali pursued and fought his brother, who fled into the sky to become the moon, still bearing the scars from their fierce battle. Purukupali mourned his son, long and loudly. He carried him into the sea, holding him aloft, until they were both engulfed by a whirlpool and sank from view. Bima (Wai-ai) became a curlew, still flitting along the shoreline, calling mournfully and seeking relief from her pain. The reenactment of this story is the basis of the dramatic Pukumani ceremony. It is the origin of the carved and elaborately painted funeral poles that are placed on Tiwi graves. These carvings are the basis of Tiwi figurative carving. Mani Luki returned to Milikapiti from a mainland leprosarium in 1963. The interest of the art world had turned to the Tiwi Islands. In particular, funeral poles had been installed in several state galleries and were widely considered to be breathtaking. Mani Luki had already made a name for himself as a carver (hence his Europeanized name, Harry Carpenter) and his years in the institution had encouraged his ability to communicate and exchange ideas with others. Milikapiti was less controlled by the church prohibition against traditional culture, and was in consequence favoured by art collectors and enthusiasts. The government welfare agency was keen on full employment and recognised traditional crafts as a way of maintaining it. Mani Luki was employed to teach carving and painting at the school. He received commissions and began to feature in large collections such those of Dorothy Bennett and Sandra Holmes, today housed in state museums. Mani Luki was prolific in his output and his portrayal of the archetypal figures of myth proved an endless source of interest and fascination. The carvings typically have a relatively large head and articulated hands and arms, sometimes separately carved and attached. They wear painted clothing with geometric patterning. Some aprons are thought to be of Macassan influence, while other clothing items are more Europeanised in style, with belts, buckles or hats as seen in early 19th century military uniforms. The bird that sometimes sits atop of Purukupali’s head is Tokampini, who brought the terrible news of his son’s death. Though the Tiwi were historically unwelcoming towards visitors to their islands, much evidence of trade and exchange with their northern neighbours is apparent. Mani Luki had a flexibility of style that allowed prevailing influences to find their place within the bedrock of Tiwi tradition. It is interestiung to speculate that the articulated limbs in his carvings were possibly influenced by his having seen the many images of carvings created during the 1960s in Aurukun in Cape York that were present at the time. Mani Luki's ability to express individuality within established conventions is partly what gives Tiwi art its immediacy and vigour. The family dynasties that have always been admired and rewarded over centuries for their artistic skills fostered an ongoing creative spirit that was passed down through the generations. This spirit still declares itself in Mani Luki’s unique carved characters that form a large part of the displays seen at the Northern Territory Art Gallery and Museum. Profile author: Sophie Pierce Collections: Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Group Exhibitions: 1990 - Keepers of the Secrets, Aboriginal Art from Arnhemland, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. 1988 - Aboriginal art of the Top End, c.1935-Early 1970s, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne [work attributed]. 1974 - Australian Aboriginal Art from the Louis A. Allen Collection, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, California Palace of the Legion of Honour. 1972 - Australian Aboriginal Art, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. 1969 - Australian Aboriginal Art - The Louis A. Allen Collection, R. H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley. Bibliography: Allen, L., 1975, Time Before Morning: Art and Myth of the Australian Aborigines, Thomas Crowell Company, New York. Caruana, W., 1993, Aboriginal Art, Thames and Hudson, London. (C) ; Norton, F., 1975, Aboriginal Art, Western Australian Art Gallery Board with the assistance of the Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council. O'Ferrall, M., 1990, Keepers of the Secrets, Aboriginal Art from Arnhemland in the Collection of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. (C) While it is possible that Mani Luki continued to carve Tiwi figures and artefacts up to his death in1980, the only carvings that have appeared for sale in the secondary market were made during a brief period between 1958 and 1972. His sales at auction have been sporadic and it was not until 2016 that his artworks finally transcended the 20 lot lower threshold that enables followers to get an accurate account of his place in the annuls of the Aboriginal art movement. Although a number of very good sales during the period 2006 - 2007 saw him enter the top 100 artists, the lack of entries during the following years has seen him settle at the 117th ranking amongst all artists now that he has sufficient records for his statistics not to be discounted. The fact that 2016 was, despite some dissapointment, such a successful year for the artis saw him land at 88th by the end of 2017. Unfortunately, when compared to prices achieved 10 years earlier, Mani Luki's recent records have languished. Four of his top five results were recorded in 2007 or earlier (two as early as 1999). His best recent record was the GBP25,000 ($42,885) achieved for an Untitled Purukapali carving in Sotheby's London sale in 2016. This was an atypical and crude work compared to his finely crafted pieces featuring articulated limbs, but it suited the Sotheby's ethnographic aesthetic. In fact no less than four pieces by the artist entered his top 10 results in 2016. Two of these were particularly disappointing results. First sold to the Luczo Family Collection in the USA by Sotheby's in 2007 for $43,200 (Lot 76), it achieved just $12,200 when offered once more to the market in 2016 in Deutscher & Hackett's October sale (Lot 20). And another purchased in 2009 from Sotheby's for only $7,200 failed to sell in 2015 when offered at Mossgreen with a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-15,000. Another work gives a far better indication of the value of Mani Luki's works, even though it last appeared at auction more than a decade ago. This particularly nice example of the artist's finest carving failed to sell at Lawson Menzies in 2005 when carrying a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-25,000 (Lot 118). However two years later, carrying the same estimate, it achieved $23,213 when offered once more by Joel Fine Art (Lot 43). In my opinion, this is the right level at which a work by this artist should be offered. His works are rare and unique in their execution. Mani Luki was a senior elder when he began carving his signature works and he created a small number of them. Anyone who loves Tiwi people and their culture would be delighted to be able to live with one of these very special pieces. 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

BILL WHISKEY SMALL BUT MIGHTY Cooee Art Redfern - 17 Thurlow St, Redern, NSW 2016 From 15 January to 19 February 2022 BILL WHISKEY SMALL BUT MIGHTY Artists: Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey From 15 January to 19 February 2022 BILL WHISKEY SMALL BUT MIGHTY Artists: Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey From 15 January to 19 February 2022 Cooee Art Redfern - 17 Thurlow St, Redern, NSW 2016 Bill Whiskey’s bold bright painting style reflected his indomitable spirit. He did not begin painting on canvas until entering the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. His subjects included the mythic battle related in the Cockatoo Dreaming that occurred at his birthplace, Pirupa Alka (Rock holes near the Olgas – Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock – Uluru). During the battle, white feathers were scattered about and the landscape became indented by the entangled combatants crashing to the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, central, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. Colourful blues, yellows, and reds, always tempered by cockatoo-white, represent the wildflowers that grow in profusion after rain. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography. In this painting, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming. VIEW CATALOGUE VIEW VIDEO EX 226

WEAVING WORKSHOP From 23 April to 23 April 2022 Viewing Room WEAVING WORKSHOP From 23 April to 23 April 2022 Reclaim the Void: Weaving Country Whole Workshop Saturday 23rd April 2022 1 - 4 pm Cooee art has partnered with Reclaim the Void to host a weaving workshop in our Redfern Gallery. We are inviting members of the public to join us in creating ‘rugs’ that will become a part of a greater tapestry. The event is free and all are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Provided: Afternoon tea and refreshments A loom for each person A tutorial on “How to weave” Scissors and tools A comfortable space to weave What to bring: Recycled Fabric (old sheets, or cotton clothing - all colours) Reclaim the Void was born from Ngalia elders in Leonora, Western Australia, expressing their pain and grief at ‘those gaping mining holes left all over our country’. The idea was conceived to symbolically ‘seal’ one of the holes with an artwork expressing the story of country. In Australia We’ve dug 50,000 holes across sacred land. We dump 500,000 tonnes of fabric and clothing every year. Can we give our hands and hearts in healing to create 5,000 rugs to seal one hole? Country is alive with story, song, dance, law, Tjukurrpa. When we wound country, we wound ourselves, and end up with a scarred physical and cultural landscape. This project carries the desire for healing country, healing community, and healing ourselves. It is about acknowledging the hurt and contributing to restoration. It offers people the chance to learn about country and culture. The vision is to cover a mining pit with a large-scale ‘dot’ artwork made up of thousands of handmade circular rag-rugs woven from discarded fabric. Woven by people from all walks of life and backgrounds, the rugs will be joined together into a giant textile artwork which shows an overall pattern that carries the story of the Tjukurrpa of the country on which the pit is situated. Reclaim the Void is a bold cross-cultural project. It seeks to raise awareness of the story of country and its importance in Aboriginal culture in both its physical and spiritual dimensions. This project is a collaboration between creative director Vivienne Robertson and the Ngalia Heritage Research Council (Aboriginal Corporation) represented by artist cultural custodian Kado Muir. The project is informed by Ngalia Western Desert traditional knowledge, spirituality and culture and is immersed in the cultural custodianship of elders past, present and emerging.

INDIGENOUS FINE ART AUCTION Cooee Art Paddington | 326 Oxford Street Paddington 4 June 2019 Viewing Room INDIGENOUS FINE ART AUCTION 4 June 2019 Cooee Art Paddington | 326 Oxford Street Paddington This June 4th 2019 offering includes 105 selected items from Australia and overseas estimated, at $1.4 million. With major Papunya artworks featuring at Gagosian Gallery in New York during the next two months Cooee Art MarketPlace is delighted to offer a 244 x 183 cm masterpiece by the renowned George Ward Tjungurrayi. This major men’s ceremonial painting is one of a number of superb Western Desert works with Papunya Tula provenance in the Mike Chandler Estate. Mike Chandler, who passed away, aged 74 on January 6th this year was a great supporter of Aboriginal artists and galleries here in Australia and with his adored wife Barbie, championed Aboriginal art on the international stage. Mike was great at everything he put his hand to. A great wine and food lover, great cook and host, great lunch partner, great fly fisherman, but most important of all he was a great mate who shared our passion for art and Aboriginal culture. Amongst his colleagues he was widely acknowledged as Australia’s greatest typographer. He helped improve the work of every single great writer and art director in Australian advertising throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s. Cooee Art is Australia’s oldest Indigenous art gallery (Est 1981). “With the depth of our expertise in both the primary and secondary art markets and our progressive outlook, we provide sellers with a vital distinction from the staid, conservative approach of our competitors. We understand that Australian Aboriginal artworks are a vital cultural legacy and believe that they are best promoted and offered for sale by those who are passionately committed to them. VIEW THE CATALOGUE WATCH THE VIDEO

Artist Profile for Katie Cox < Back Katie Cox Katie Cox ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE KATIE COX - GIMMINBAR, LISSADELL STATION SOLD AU$1,800.00 KATIE COX - HILLS OF WARMUN Sold AU$0.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Katie Cox 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 Alison (Jojo) Puruntatameri < Back Alison (Jojo) Puruntatameri Alison (Jojo) Puruntatameri 1984 - REGION | Yapalika (Melville Island, NT) LANGUAGE | Tiwi ART CENTRE | Munupi Arts & Crafts, NT DREAMING | Jarrikalani (Turtle) ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS Alison was born in Pirlangimpi on Melville Island. She grew up in Pirlangimpi and went to the local school. After she completed school she worked in child care. She has one daughter, Anette Orsto known locally as Sugar Plum who is a great favourite at the art centre studio where Alison paints with her mother Paulina (Jedda) Puruntatameri, her partner James Orsto and the other artists. It was Alison’s grandfather, Justin Puruntatameri (deceased) a senior law man who told Alison she should have a go at painting. He knew all the old songs and remembered visits by the Maccassans to the Tiwi Islands when he was a boy. Alison would listen to his stories of his paintings at the art centre and on country. READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$35,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) SOLD AU$12,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) SOLD AU$7,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$5,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$3,500.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$3,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) SOLD AU$2,500.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$0.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVE) Sold AU$0.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$22,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$12,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) SOLD AU$6,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$5,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) SOLD AU$3,500.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$3,000.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$2,200.00 ALISON (JOJO) PURUNTATAMERI - WINGA (TIDAL MOVEMENT/WAVES) Sold AU$0.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Alison (Jojo) Puruntatameri 1984 - REGION | Yapalika (Melville Island, NT) LANGUAGE | Tiwi ART CENTRE | Munupi Arts & Crafts, NT DREAMING | Jarrikalani (Turtle) Alison Puruntatameri is a leading Tiwi artist based in Pirlangimpi on Yermalner (Melville Island) and a senior member of the Munupi Arts Centre. Since commencing her artistic practice in 2011, Puruntatameri has gained wide acclaim for her powerful contemporary expressions of traditional Tiwi cultural knowledge and symbolism. Her work is characterised by intricate, rhythmic patterns created with traditional Tiwi tools such as the pwoja, a comb-like instrument that produces distinctive geometric designs. These compositions reflect an enduring connection to Tiwi land, sea, and ceremony, grounded in ancestral stories and cultural practices passed down through generations. Puruntatameri’s artistic journey was deeply influenced by her late grandfather, Justin Puruntatameri, a respected senior lawman, whose teachings and stories of Tiwi heritage and the visits of the Macassans to the islands have profoundly shaped her practice. His mentorship instilled in her a strong sense of cultural responsibility and connection to country, which continues to inform her work. Her art often explores the natural environment, particularly the movements of water and waves, as seen in her celebrated Winga (Tidal Movement/Waves) series, which captures the dynamic interplay between natural forces and cultural identity. Her work embodies both a preservation and evolution of Tiwi artistic traditions, positioning her as a vital contributor to contemporary Indigenous art in Australia. Puruntatameri’s excellence has been recognised through multiple prestigious awards, including being a finalist in the 2022 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), the 2022 Alice Prize, the 2022 Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the 2023 Ramsay Art Prize at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Through her innovative practice, she continues to engage audiences with the richness and resilience of Tiwi culture. ARTIST CV Selected Collections: Veolia Collection, Pirmont, NSW Yilli Rreung Corporation, Yarrawonga, NT Westfarmer Collections, Perth WA Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, NSW Libby and Michael Kingdon Collection, Vic Selected Group Exhibitons: 2025Melbourne Art Fair 2025- Alison Puruntatameri & Carol Puruntatameri Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne Vic 2024Ngini Ngawula Pikaryingini (Our Stories), Hilton Double Tree; Darwin; NT 2024Yoi, SAATCHI Gallery; UK 2024Across the Water Exhibition Artitja Fine Art; Fremantle; WA 2024Yoi GJM London; UK 2023Ngarukuruwala Kapi Murrukupuni (we sing to the land), Cooee Art Leven; Redfern; NSW 2023Art of Tiwi Artists of Munupi- Tarnanthi Festival 2023 Exhibition Aiarts gallery; Belair ; SA 2023Pupuni Mantiminga _ Fine Lines. Everywhen Art Space; Flinders, Victoria 2023Kurrujupunyi - Ochre Colours. Hilton Double Tree , Darwin 2023Ramsey Art Award. Art Gallery of South Australia 2022Telstra NATSIA Art Award 2022 - Finalist Museum and Art Gallery of NT 2022NGININGUWULA KURRUJIPUNI Our Own Tiwi Ochre Colours Darwin Hilton Double Tree, august 2022LINE IN PARRALLEL Artitja Fine Art Gallery; South Fremantle; WA 2022Tiwi Creation. Cooee Art Leven, Redfern, NSW 2022Wynne Prize 2022 - finalist- Art Gallery New South Wales Sydney 2022Alice Spring Art Foundation Prize, Finalist - Araluen , Alice Spring 2021Tiwi Papers; Tarnanthi Festival 2021; Art Gallery of South Australia 2021Banapa, Nets of the tiwi Islands - on line exhibition- Red Dot fine art Gallery, Singapore 2021YIRRINKIRRIPWOJA JILAMARA Darwin Hilton Double Tree, august 2021 2020Tiwi Islands to Arnhemland Munupi Maningrinda Artitja Fine Art Gallery; South Fremantle; WA 2020Yalininga, Ngaripantingija, Ngirramini. Aboriginal Signature • Estrangin Gallery, Bruxelles, Belgique 2019Journey Through Culture. Red Dot Fine Art Gallery, Temporary Gallery, North St, Adelaide, SA 2019Pupini Jilamara Nginingwula (our Beautiful paintings). Hilton Double Tree Hilton, August 2019 2018Nginingawula Awirankiniwaki. Hilton Double Tree Hilton, August 2018 2018One island one side. • Yati Ratuwati Yatuwati • Art Aborigène des Iles TIWI. Aboriginal Signature, Brussels, Belgium 2016Point of difference; Desent to sea. Artitja fine Art at Engine Room.Perth.WA 2016Ngawila Jilamara Exhibition. Hilton Double Tree, Darwin Nt 2014Primavera 2014. Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney NSW 2013Munupi Art is Tiwi Life. Marshall Art, Hyde Park, Adelaide, SA 2013Nginingawula Munupi Jilamara. Our paintings Marshall Arts, Hyde Park, SA 2012Tiwi Book Launch. Vivien Anderson Gallery, Caufield North, Melbourne, Vic Bibliography: 2023John McDonald; Get your shopping lists ready: The art world’s version of Young Talent Time is here; Sydney Herald Tribune; 9 June 2023 Awards: 2023Finalist, Ramsay Art Award, Art Gallery of South Australia 2022Finalist, The Alice Art Prize, Araluen Arts Centre 2022Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Walse 2015Finalist, NATSIAA, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 2015Finalist, Primavera Veolia Acquisitive Prize, Museum of Contemporary Art 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 .

BILL WHISKEY SMALL BUT MIGHTY Cooee Art Redfern - 17 Thurlow St, Redern, NSW 2016 From 15 January to 19 February 2022 Viewing Room BILL WHISKEY SMALL BUT MIGHTY Artists: Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey From 15 January to 19 February 2022 Cooee Art Redfern - 17 Thurlow St, Redern, NSW 2016 Bill Whiskey’s bold bright painting style reflected his indomitable spirit. He did not begin painting on canvas until entering the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. His subjects included the mythic battle related in the Cockatoo Dreaming that occurred at his birthplace, Pirupa Alka (Rock holes near the Olgas – Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock – Uluru). During the battle, white feathers were scattered about and the landscape became indented by the entangled combatants crashing to the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, central, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. Colourful blues, yellows, and reds, always tempered by cockatoo-white, represent the wildflowers that grow in profusion after rain. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography. In this painting, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming. VIEW CATALOGUE VIEW VIDEO EX 226

Artist Profile for Gabriel Maralngurra < Back Gabriel Maralngurra Gabriel Maralngurra ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE GABRIEL MARALNGURRA - WALLABY SOLD AU$240.00 GABRIEL MARALNGURRA - ECHIDNA SOLD AU$240.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Gabriel Maralngurra 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 .

TjapangatiJohnn Johnny Mosquito Tjapangati Johnny Mosquito Tjapangati 1920 - 2004 Johnny Mosquito was born in the Great Sandy Desert c.1920 and walked into the old Balgo mission when in his twenties. A Kukatja/Walmatjari speaker, his country lay south west of the current Balgo community beyond Yaga Yaga toward Lake MacKay in the vicinity of Wagulli and Kurtel (Helena Springs). During his lifetime he became the most senior ‘rainmaker’ in the Balgo Hills community and was responsible for all of the Dreamings associated with rain including rainbows, thunder, clouds, lightning and frogs. He was known to ‘bring on the monsoon each year with the aid of ritual and song, and on occasion provoke a downpour when people were (sic) over-electrified by late summer’s dryness‘ (Cowan 1995: 5). Balgo Hills is known by its Kukatja, Ngardi, Walmatjari, Warlpiri and Pintupi inhabitants as Wirrimanu, literally meaing ‘ dirty wind ‘ a powerful force in an area that cusps the Great Sandy and Gibson Desert. In this arid dry hot landscape there is a particular gravitas attached to stories concerning permanent water sources, referred to by the inhabitants with whispered reverence as ‘living water’. These precious watercourses, rock-holes, and clay pans of Johnny Mosquito’s country were the dominant motifs in his art. He and his inseparable Wangkajunka wife Muntja Nungurrayi painted together from the earliest days of the Warlayirti Art Centre at Balgo Hills. Although they collaborated closely on all of their paintings until 1994, soon after James Cowan arrived as art coordinator he encouraged the male and female artists to paint their own individual works. The paintings that Johnny and Muntja created prior to this intervention were infinitely more complex than those that came after, but all were credited to Johnny alone. The collaboration between the two ensured that each individual painting contained a broader range of information and often depicted larger tracts of land than the individual specific sites Johnny preferred to paint when painting by himself, as he did between 1997 when Muntja passed away, and 2002 when he stopped painting altogether, two years prior to his own death. During the early days of the Warlayirti artists cooperative, prior to Cowan’s tenure, cheep cotton duck was stretched and primed in a mid-grey by mixing black and white gesso as a ground, and artist’s worked on this with brilliantly coloured, but inexpensive, student’s acrylic paint. Adopting this new medium could be seen as an extension of a long tradition amongst Indigenous artists to represent the intense colour seen in their natural environment by collecting and using materials, sometimes trading with other indigenous people across vast distances. Indeed the full colour revolution at Balgo was in large part due to women painters like Muntja, Suzie Bootja Bootja and Tjemma Freda Napanagka, in their daring desire to evoke the luscious colours of the plants and flowers of their desert landscape. This taste for luminosity spread amongst the art community in its early painting days, as the male and female painters worked alongside each other. Blue, in particular, was the first acrylic colour employed by Balgo artists from a brighter spectrum. Time however, has seen the cheap materials, applied originally as brilliant reds and yellows degrade against the grey backgrounds to affect an autumnal palette. Despite this and the aesthetic difference between the works Johnny painted pre 1994 and those created thereafter, there was continuity in the iconography of his work throughout his career as a painter derived principally from this enduring fixation upon water. Johnny’s works created after 1995 are characterized by a restricted, but brilliant palette, and emphatic simplified compositions of the most important elemental features of each particular specific site. By this time Belgian linen had replaced cotton duck, and the quality of the paints had improved markedly. Often employing brilliant shades of blue to depict water, as in both Tjintjarmudal 1994 and his later work, Marloo 1998, he also used red and occasionally yellow, separated solely by minimal white linear dots to delineate blocks of flat colour in emphisising the most important features. This contrast between his use of flat colour and vibratory dots is superb and reaches its zenith in Johnny Mosquito’s 1993-1996 paintings. Johnny is revered as having been one of the first generation of Balgo painters. Every canvas he created, even those painted at the very end of his life, reveal an interior landscape redolent with meaning and charged with energy. His longing for the distant sites visited by the great creation ancestors and sung throughout the millennia found its ultimate expression in his art. Johnny Mosquito Tjapangati’s paintings have had a very impressive sale rate at auction. The vast majority of his works were small and measured just 60 x 90 cm or less. Collectors of Balgo art in particular are well aware that his paintings are rare and that Johnny was a founder of the Kukatja art style and was a very special elder and artist with vast cultural knowledge. His 2002 record price held its place until 2015, when Mossgreen sold two works in seperate auctions from the Peter Elliot collection and the Alan Boxer collection, placing at 1st and 2nd, respectively. The works, painted in 1993 and 1991, sold for $23,180 and $20,070, relegating his previous record to third place and making 2015 his best year by far. He was at 48th place in the ranking of all artists of the movement that year. Before 2015, his best years at auction have been 2005, when all four works offered sold for a total for $26,139, and 2008, when all three works offered sold of which two entered his top ten results at fourth and fifth. The first of these was a fine 1994 rendition of Kultard Rock Hole originally sold to the Sam Barry Collection by Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery in Sydney. When offered at Leonard Joel in July 2008, the 120 x 80 cm work achieved $9,000 (Lot 89). An earlier image, Tjintjamatju, created by the artist in 1991, was another Sam Barry Collection work. This work had originally been offered by Sotheby’s in 2004, when it achieved a price of $8,400, the artist’s fifth highest result at the time. When reofferred in Sotheby’s October 2008 sale (Lot 130) it only did marginally better when sold for $9,000. While his average price was $12,000 in both 2001 and 2002, it dropped between 2005 and 2007, to $6,535, $5,520 and $4,392 respectively. It has risen slightly since, but the net effect has been to lower his career average to just $6,700, a very low figure indeed for an artist of this standing. Johnny Mosquito’s vivid works can often be messy, especially those painted toward the end of his life. As can be seen from the figures above, they can still be bought quite cheaply on the secondary market. This is likely to last while the fashion for minimal linear tone-on-tone works associated with the Papunya Tula style continues to dominate market interest. The secondary Aboriginal art market is still far from well educated in terms of the historical development of the various art movements that it encompasses. Johnny Mosquito Tjapangarti’s paintings are rare gems. Over time, as Aboriginal art collectors are served by publications that assist them to become better informed, they should become more discriminating. Once this occurs, interest in paintings by important Balgo Hills founders like Johnny should definitely be on the rise. 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

Artist Profile for Eunice Napanangka < Back Eunice Napanangka Eunice Napanangka ARTIST PROFILE ARTIST CV MARKET ANALYSIS READ FULL ARTIST PROFILE EUNICE NAPANANGKA JACK - HAIRSTRING SOLD AU$5,000.00 top Anchor 1 PROFILE Eunice Napanangka 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 .