Rover Thomas
Skin name: Joolama
Language: Kukatja, Wangkajunga
Region: Kimberley
Dreaming:
Find out more about Rover Thomas at the Aboriginal Art Directory
EVERWHEN EVERYWHERE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2014-10-23 17:14:26
The Queensland Art Gallery │Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) has unveiled a new permanent display of Indigenous Australian art: ‘Everywhen Everywhere’, which opened last Saturday, 18 October. QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said the collection-based exhibition, curated by the Gallery’s curator...» Read More
DID A BITCH WIND BLOW ABORIGINAL ART ONTO THE WORLD STAGE?
Posted by Frannie Hopkirk | 2014-09-14 15:46:33
Was Cyclone Tracy a freak accident of cosmology, an epic drama involving a vengeful wind, or just a pissed off tropical storm? The insinuated anthropological terminology given to destructive natural disasters such as Tracy has 'Her' with the best of them....» Read More
ABORIGINAL ART 'COMES HOME'
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2014-07-22 13:45:10
A significant dinner held in Melbourne last week was a homecoming of sorts for that dominant feature of the Aboriginal art market over the past two decades – the auction. Aboriginal art auctions have been maligned, but some have done...» Read More
Man on Fire: the Art of Tim Storrier and Other Desert Masters
Posted by Frannie Hopkirk | 2014-05-20 13:01:43
Polarities between Australia’s artists and painters, black or white, achieve compatibility and oneness of intent when they collectively embrace the one big thing about this country – THE DESERT. Storrier, Nolan, Drysdale etc. ‘white’ painters; Paddy Bedford, Tommy Watson,...» Read More
Painting is the Skin of the World
Posted by Frannie Hopkirk | 2014-03-31 17:36:04
“Painting is the Skin of the World.” Robert Motherwell Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula said: “When you sit down without a painting, you are lonely”. These simple words from two giants of art speak volumes of what painting meant to them. Motherwell, a New York...» Read More
The Shock of the Old
Posted by Frannie Hopkirk | 2014-02-17 14:01:25
Arabs believe that the soul can travel at the rate of a trotting camel. From that one can imagine that the souls of millennia of aboriginal nomads, roving the desert, restless, ever-moving, searching, working, contemplating their existence, drawing their Dreaming into...» Read More
THE DEALER IS THE DEVIL
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2014-02-13 08:19:23
Adrian Newstead is probably uniquely qualified to write a history of that contentious business, the market for Australian Aboriginal art. He may once have planned to be an agricultural scientist, but then he mutated into a craft shop owner, Aboriginal...» Read More
Letter from Pittsburgh: Aboriginal art in America
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2014-02-04 13:43:13
The following article originally appeared in the January/February 2013 issue of Art Guide Australia (link below). The author is Henry F Skerritt. Reproduced with permission. In his recent compendium, How Aborigines Invented the Idea of Contemporary Art, Ian McLean observes...» Read More
SYDNEY FESTIVAL BLACKS UP
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2013-12-19 18:05:20
There was a time after the great Olympic Dreaming Festival of 1997 when I thought the case had been made for all Australian multi-arts festivals to incorporate a serious Indigenous element in their programming as a matter of course. Apart...» Read More
INDIGENOUS WIN IN THE BLAKE PRIZE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2013-10-17 18:30:00
The Blake Prize is a funny one. Unpredictable, you might say. Over 62 editions, it's mutated from very straight religious imagery to works that are deliberately irreligious or critical of religious authority. I'm not at all sure how the work...» Read More
CRAP CRITICISM IN LONDON
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2013-10-01 22:09:22
The wilful ignorance of some London critics in slaughtering the Royal Academy's 'Australia' show of more than 200 artworks linked to our landscape is a deep embarrassment for the Mother Country. I've been a professional critic for many years, working...» Read More
WARMUN ALL OVER
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2013-09-18 20:54:43
Suddenly the artists of Warmun in the East Kimberley are all over the place. With wins for Mabel Juli at the RAKAs in Melbourne and Churchill Cann at the WA Indigenous Art Awards, Lena Nyadbi starring on the roof of...» Read More
THE SONG PEOPLE OF ARNHEMLAND
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2013-08-01 15:31:07
Great things happen when people discard their egos and return to their roots. A mob called Barkly Regional Arts based in Tennant Creek has now completed two projects taking well-known Aboriginal pop musicians - familar through the cities via...» Read More
JEAN-BAPTISTE APUATIMI
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2013-02-20 15:31:15
The deaths go on! Yet another senior artist has been taken from us with the announcement today that Jean Baptiste Apuatimi has died on Bathurst Island at the age of 72. Only last week, the death was reported of Jack Dale...» Read More
COL LAVERTY 26/5/37 to 09/02/13
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2013-02-13 15:11:18
A huge hole has opened up in the Indigenous art collecting world with the death of Dr Colin Laverty OAM at the age of 75. The gentle giant who, in 1978, was the first in the world to publish his...» Read More
The Soul of Emily Kngwarreye
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2013-01-04 17:20:04
It often seems to be the case that great Australian achievements need the validation of overseas approval. But the fact that 'Utopia : The Genius of Emily Kame Kngwarreye' was a vast tribute in 2008 to the Aboriginal artist conceived...» Read More
Highlights From November Aboriginal Art Auctions
Posted by Nicholas Forrest | 2012-11-22 03:03:06
A number of auctions of Aboriginal art have taken place over the last couple of weeks producing a number of sales. The 13th November Arnaud Serval Auction of Aboriginal Art held in Geneva by Koller Auctions included paintings by highly regarded...» Read More
The Astounding Arnaud Serval Auction of Aboriginal Art in Geneva on November 13
Posted by Nicholas Forrest | 2012-11-13 14:02:17
The Geneva branch of Koller auctions will offer for sale one of the best collections of contemporary Aboriginal art worldwide during their 13th November auction. Held in collaboration with L'espace d'art Carry On the gallery of Arnaud Serval, who, with a...» Read More
Sotheby's 15th October Important Aboriginal Art Auction in Sydney
Posted by Nicholas Forrest | 2012-10-15 10:03:15
Tonight in Sydney, Sotheby’s Australia will attempt to sell a collection of Important Aboriginal and Oceanic Art valued at between $1.3-1.9 million and featuring works by artists such as Kitty Kantilla, Ginger Riley Mundwalawala, Anatjari Tjakamarra and Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula. Leading...» Read More
Ode to Billy Thomas
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2012-08-20 16:23:00
Karnta Karnta - Billy Thomas. Circa 1920ʼs - July 2012 It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Karnta Karnta - Billy Thomas. Billy passed away peacefully on the morning of 17th July 2012 at the age care...» Read More
'A WONDEROUS CONTEMPORARY ART MOVEMENT'
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2012-05-31 19:15:18
Across the Pacific in Seattle collectors Bob Kaplan and Margaret Levi have developed a relationship with their local Seattle Art Museum (SAM) so that a 100+ artwork show opens today and runs into September. And even though there's only optimism...» Read More
Bonhams Australia May 28 Aboriginal Art Auction Features Amazing Array of Paintings and Artefacts
Posted by Nicholas Forrest | 2012-05-23 17:02:05
Bonhams Australia have thrown down the gauntlet to other auction houses with an ambitious two catalogue sale of Aboriginal art taking place in Sydney on the 28th of May. A total of 195 lots will be offered in...» Read More
Aboriginal Art Auction Signals a Shift Towards Minimalism and Tradition
Posted by Nicholas Forrest | 2012-05-10 16:33:12
The market for Aboriginal art has had a tough time of late as the cautious buying activities of collectors and investors allude to a market in a state of suspended animation that is struggling to establish a new identity in...» Read More
Your Collection 1800 to today
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2012-02-01 17:42:41
In an exciting new presentation, Your Collection has been displayed chronologically and traces art made in the early nineteenth century, locally and around the world, to the art of today. Your Collection 1800 – today brings together an extraordinary...» Read More
FUNDRAISING FOR WARMUN
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2011-10-19 15:52:09
Both Melbourne and Sydney are seeing major efforts to assist the community art centre at Warmun (Turkey Creek) in the East Kimberley recover from devastating floods that it suffered earlier this year - as reported on this site on 4th...» Read More
NAATSIA's 25TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2011-06-27 10:31:57
Is a silver anniversary any more important than a 20th or a 17th? I ask because the Museum & Art Gallery of the NT (MAGNT), the Darwin home of the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award has belatedly...» Read More
IS ABORIGINAL ART BACK TO ITS AUCTION PEAK?
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2011-05-10 12:49:45
“I am thrilled with the art we have put together for this auction”, asserts Crispin Gutteridge, Head of Aboriginal Art at auction house Deutscher and Hackett. “It is the finest group of works yet to be auctioned by us in...» Read More
THE GOOD AND THE BAD IN THE KIMBERLEY
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2011-05-04 19:29:01
The East Kimberley was the first place in WA to join the Aboriginal art movement that spread from Papunya in the 1970s. As is well-known, Rover Thomas had a Dream following the awesome devastation of Cyclone Tracey; to share it...» Read More
ABORIGINAL ART IN COLOGNE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2010-12-01 14:09:43
The Museum Ludwig in Cologne has opened a significant exhibition of Australian art in a series which has included important Western artists such as Gerhard Richter in 2008 and Christopher Wool in 2009. Here is the curatorial take on this pioneering...» Read More
THE DESERT COMES TO ADELAIDE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2010-11-24 11:53:07
The Art Gallery of SA has organised its second big exhibition of Aboriginal art from the Desert, showing until the end of January and accompanied by a big catalogue. It's a very generous and gentle introduction to the art that...» Read More
Other side art: Trevor Nickolls, a survey of paintings and drawings 1972-2007
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-10-21 12:25:39
Other side art is the first museum survey of the work of South Australian Indigenous artist, Trevor Nickolls. Known as 'the father of urban aboriginal art', Nickolls has developed his own iconic language that has influenced and informed subsequent...» Read More
MIRACLE ON THE CANNING
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2010-10-12 14:19:22
It was rumoured a couple of years ago that an anthropologist was about to make the astounding announcement that he'd traced the three Aboriginal grandparents who'd lived on the Canning Stock Route (CSR) earlier last century and sired most of...» Read More
art + soul - Dreams And Nightmares
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-10-12 02:52:46
art + soul, a one hour documentary series by Warwick Thornton and Hetti Perkins, is a powerful and emotionally engaging series about contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, and the artists who create it. In episode two, Hetti explores...» Read More
New Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander art galleries
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-10-12 02:26:47
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have existed on the continent of Australia for tens of thousands of years. Their art and traditions are among the oldest and richest in human history. The designs, patterns and stories were taught to Indigenous...» Read More
HETTI'S MULTI-MEDIA PROJECT
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-10-07 12:16:46
Bigger than Ben Hur (which is soon to be at a football stadium near you)! Hetti Perkins, Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the Art Gallery of NSW, turns out to be a gentle, girlish guide...» Read More
NEW PARADIGM IN CANBERRA
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2010-10-03 19:28:19
Prototype, precedent, templet, archetype, scantling, paradigm...so reads my Roget's Thesaurus – which I think gives you the drift of my thinking regarding the importance of recent events in Canberra. No – not on the Hill, where Tony Abbott seems determined not...» Read More
Aboriginal art's new face at Canberra gallery
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-10-03 00:23:44
Ron Radford, the director of Canberra's National Gallery of Australia, can say almost exactly when Australians and overseas visitors became interested in Aboriginal art. ''You can pinpoint it to the 1988 Bicentennial,'' Mr Radford said yesterday. ''That's when people would come...» Read More
Victorian art gallery boosts Indigenous art
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-09-27 22:45:03
The National Gallery of Victoria has bolstered its collection of Indigenous artworks with three new paintings for its Aboriginal section. A Texas Downs Station picture by Rover Thomas and two Alec Mingelmanganu Wanjina paintings purchased by the gallery in 2008 are...» Read More
Can Aboriginal Art Be Contemporary Art?
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-09-19 20:09:52
The Australian wades into a controversy over the current generation of aboriginal artists: A paper by Melbourne academic Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios says major artists such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and Rover Thomas, are promoted as Aboriginal in a way...» Read More
Aboriginal art dying with desert masters
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-09-19 19:59:55
The pursuit of cultural authenticity in Aboriginal art will make it harder for young artists to enjoy the success of the old masters. New research into the sustainability of Aboriginal art claims the market for new works is already falling away,...» Read More
National Gallery of Victoria bolsters indigenous collection
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-08-28 22:05:37
The National Gallery of Victoria has bolstered its collection of indigenous artworks with three new paintings for its Aboriginal section. A Texas Downs Station picture by Rover Thomas and two Alec Mingelmanganu Wanjina paintings purchased by the gallery in 2008 were...» Read More
Surprise wins in spectacular style
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-08-07 17:51:26
Wakartu Cory Surprise is the overall winner of the third Western Australian Indigenous Art Award, worth $50,000, for her group of paintings. Also winner of last year's $10,000 Western Australian artist award, Surprise continues to make intense and vibrant paintings that...» Read More
Yiwarra Kuju: The Canning Stock Route
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-08-02 16:50:58
This groundbreaking exhibition reveals the richness of desert life today. It tells the story of the Canning Stock Route’s impact on Aboriginal people, and the importance of the Country that surrounds it, through the works of senior and emerging artists...» Read More
Aboriginal and Oceanic Art
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-07-05 22:25:55
Catalogue Now Online 1 July 2010 Sotheby's Australia is delighted to announce our forthcoming Aboriginal and Oceanic Art auction on July 26 and 27 in Melbourne. Under the directorship of Tim Klingender, the July auction has been firmly established for more than...» Read More
Contemporary Indigenous art at Toowoomba Regional Gallery
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-07-01 17:07:23
Indigenous art assembled by one of Australia’s leading collectors will be on display at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery until July 18. Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Ann Lewis Collection includes paintings, prints and photographs Dr Ann Lewis, OBE, is one of Australia’s...» Read More
Call for entries, Important Aboriginal Art from Private Collections- June exhibition
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-05-21 04:47:18
The gallery has had consigned a select group of Aboriginal artefacts, sculptures and paintings from three major private collections. For our June exhibition we are looking to augment these works with a small number of important paintings. In recent months...» Read More
Dutch Icons of Aboriginal art on Show
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2010-04-20 21:01:29
Aboriginal art today! provides a fascinating overview of the evolution of contemporary Aboriginal art from its beginnings in1971 right up to its most recent developments. What is particularly significant is that all the works featured in this exhibition come from...» Read More
As of April 21: new exhibition Aboriginal art today!
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-04-01 08:24:15
Aboriginal art today! provides those who are keen to know more about this young and dynamic art movement a fascinating overview of the evolution of contemporary Aboriginal art from around 1970 right up to the most recent developments. The various...» Read More
EAST KIMBERLEY IN SYDNEY
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2010-03-04 09:53:22
Upon seeing the painting 1957 #20 by Mark Rothko at the National Gallery of Australia, Rover Thomas, the star of the original group of East Kimberley painters, asked: ‘Who’s that bugger who paints like me?’. Rothko himself was not averse...» Read More
Indigenous Prints
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2010-02-10 00:16:16
Recent works from remote communities across Australia 18 February - 14 March, 2010 Over the past 20 years printmaking has become a major art form in many Indigenous communities with celebrated artists such as Rover Thomas creating works that have achieved...» Read More
East Kimberley Painting Revisited
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-11-19 10:08:53
East Kimberley Painting Revisited ROVER THOMAS PADDY JAMINJI FREDDIE TIMMS RUSTY PETERS Caruana & Reid Fine Art is pleased to announce its collaboration with Jirrawun Arts to represent Freddie Timms and Rusty Peters. The inaugural exhibition to feature the recent paintings by these...» Read More
Collaborative exhibition with Regina Wilson and Silke Raetze : Close at hand
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-08-27 07:41:43
Collaborative exhibition with Regina Wilson and Silke Raetze : Close at hand It is with great pleasure that, Michael Reid at Elizabeth Bay welcomes Rusty Peters; Nathan Taylor and Freddy Timms to the gallery. Rusty Peters and Freddy Timms, along...» Read More
Aboriginal standouts should hold their value
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-08-04 05:34:09
Sotheby's Aboriginal art sale on Monday night is likely to see prices equal those of earlier sales of white-fella art this year. That means a discount of 20 to 30 per cent on the prices that were being paid before the...» Read More
RICARDO IDAGI WINS WA ART PRIZE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2009-07-25 19:01:44
Australia’s richest indigenous contemporary art award - the $50,000 Western Australian Indigenous Art Award – has been won by the Torres Strait's Ricardo Idagi. The 53 year old Idagi is a multidisciplinary artist, mask-maker and musician committed to the maintenance...» Read More
The art of war
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-07-25 05:44:53
Also drawing collectors this week was Sotheby's Aboriginal art sale, which answered some of the breathless questions troubling the art world. Would the indigenous market hold up or would it succumb to the global financial malaise? As with the great conflicts fought...» Read More
INDIGENOUS ARTISTS UP FOR THE CLEMENGER
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 2009-07-24 18:34:52
The 2009 Clemenger Contemporary Art Award has selected four indigenous artists amongst the 15 long-listed for this important triennial exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.This will be the sixth and final Award in the series following a generous gift...» Read More
Aboriginal art auction framing a resurgent market
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-07-22 05:51:11
Gabriella Coslovich July 21, 2009 FOR a glimmering moment, it seemed as if the boom times were back. People burst into applause when a prized drawing by the late William Barak sold for almost three times its lower estimate at Sotheby’s Aboriginal art...» Read More
Aboriginal standouts should hold their value
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-07-19 05:34:09
Sotheby's Aboriginal art sale on Monday night is likely to see prices equal those of earlier sales of white-fella art this year. That means a discount of 20 to 30 per cent on the prices that were being paid before the...» Read More
Indigenous art sale a litmus test of the bigger picture
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-07-19 05:28:27
It is sometimes said that when the Australian art market catches a cold, the indigenous art sector ends up with pneumonia. This fragility is why so many collectors, dealers, gallery owners and artists will be closely watching Sotheby's Aboriginal art sale...» Read More
Shapes offer no hint of the horror within
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-07-17 07:39:54
A Rover Thomas recording tells the story behind a dark work, writes Louise Schwartzkoff. At first glance, the painting looks innocent enough; a few abstract shapes and dotted lines that could be an aerial map or a stylised design. In fact, it...» Read More
Ochre Dreaming: Stories from the East Kimberley
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-06-11 21:19:25
The ReDot gallery is proud to welcome back the natural ochre artworks of the famous Warmun Art Centre. After a very successful 1st exhibition in June 2008, the unique canvases of this Kimberley community will again be gracing the walls...» Read More
Reviewing the perfect storm
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-04-11 03:00:07
But why the difference in clearances between the sales? One theory must be the difference in the Australian and the indigenous markets. The correction has exposed a softness in the Aboriginal market as shown at the D&H sale. Clearly, the indigenous market is...» Read More
Reviewing the perfect storm
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-04-11 03:00:07
But why the difference in clearances between the sales? One theory must be the difference in the Australian and the indigenous markets. The correction has exposed a softness in the Aboriginal market as shown at the D&H sale. Clearly, the indigenous market is...» Read More
Doubts raised about Rover Thomas painting
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-03-26 05:35:26
Expert analysis of a Rover Thomas painting bought at auction four years ago has cast doubt on whether the indigenous master painted the work. A preliminary report from Melbourne University's Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation states that, in view of the...» Read More
The shock of the old
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-03-14 08:04:24
The major auction houses are offering the strongest catalogues of Aboriginal art since indigenous paintings found their way from Turkey Creek to the mainstream. Names such as Rover Thomas and Emily Kame Kngwarreye excite the art market as much as Brack,...» Read More
An Individual Perspective: From the Indigenous Collection of Lauraine Diggins
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-02-24 07:18:49
Lauraine Diggins has been involved in the Australian fine art market since 1974. Throughout her commercial gallery enterprise she cultivated many strong relationships with Australian Indigenous communities and in 1989 curated the exhibition A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal...» Read More
Collecting Australian Aboriginal Art
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2009-01-26 11:29:55
Described by renowned Australian art critic, Robert Hughes, as belonging to ‘the world’s last great art movement’, collectors of art from this extraordinary ancient but vibrant living culture have, in recent years, fuelled a boom in sales. Prices at auction...» Read More
Unearthed - Stories Written in the Land
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-12-04 08:52:54
Aboriginal paintings are often described as landscapes but they are far more than this. They are all about nature, creation and 'living' history. We see at once, in form and action, stories written in the land. Each work unearths ancient...» Read More
Launch of Written in the Land: the Life of Queenie McKenzie
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-11-25 01:21:13
I would first like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land. And I want to acknowledge the contribution made by Argyle Diamonds – the first major company to make Aboriginal employment a priority and a supporter of the book. And Peter...» Read More
Alpha males abandon art sales
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-10-21 20:19:54
Dissappointing auction results reported by The Australian: ART adviser Michael Reid calls them the "alpha male business people who need to own more than they want to own". Last night's disappointing Sotheby's art auction result suggests these European-suited, stock market-savvy collectors are...» Read More
Sotheby's Aboriginal and Oceanic art sale
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-10-20 11:55:59
Exhibition Previews Location: Kiddell Gallery, London Mon, 22 Sep 08, 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM Tue, 23 Sep 08, 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM Wed, 24 Sep 08, 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM Thu, 25 Sep 08, 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM Location: Melbourne Fri,...» Read More
Warmun artist named Aboriginal of the Year
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-09-30 15:08:35
A talented senior artist from Warmun Art Centre, Shirley Purdie, has been named the Aboriginal Person of the Year in the 2008 East Kimberley Aboriginal Achievement Awards. Held in Kununurra in September, the awards are an opportunity to reward the...» Read More
Aboriginal Art - SELLING EXHIBITION 30 SEPT – 11 OCT
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-09-25 21:56:12
ON VIEW 162 Queen St. Woollahra Mon–Sat 11am–5pm There are 43...» Read More
Invisible 'fingerprints' guard indigenous paintings
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-09-25 01:59:03
Victoria Laurie from the Australian writes about a new canvas from Freddie Timms, Wunubi Springs, the first indigenous artwork to contain chemical encoding, a technique being trialled by the University of Western Australia's Centre for Forensic Science as a...» Read More
The Laverty Collection
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-08-08 15:51:23
The Laverty Collection goes on display in the new book Beyond Sacred as well as in exhibition form at the Newcastle Regional Art Gallery. The photo below is a spectacular shot of the Laverty's with their collection. ...» Read More
Beyond Sacred – The Laverty Collection of Indigenous Art in Print and on Exhibition
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-08-08 15:48:57
Jeremy Eccles looks at Beyond Sacred. Quoted from the article: It's a crucial time for Aboriginal art. We should be sitting up and admiring the maturing of the most dynamic art movement in the country from a condition of amateur...» Read More
Cravin' images
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-07-26 04:35:30
Article in the Sydney Morning Herald about two private collections of Aboriginal Art. Within a week, I visited two impressive exhibitions of private collections of Aboriginal art held in two different parts of the country. The first was My Country 2,...» Read More
Behind the dollar signs
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-06-28 07:57:21
An excerpt from Benjamin Genocchio's new book, Dollar Dreaming, published in the Australian. Quoted from the article: What is different, even unusual, about Aboriginal art is that prices rose at all; after all, Australian art generally doesn't have much of an international...» Read More
Half their luck as mining boom boosts fortunes
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-06-28 07:49:01
The Art Gallery of Western Australia talks about the recently announced Indigenous Art Prize as well as possible acquisitions. "We moved heaven and earth to find $500,000 to buy a Rover Thomas painting recently and we've got great Emily Kngwarreyes. Indigenous...» Read More
Lawson-Menzies June 2008 Auction Results
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-06-25 07:39:27
Highlights from the Lawson-Menzies June 2008 auctions include: Mina Mina Dreaming from Judy Watson Napangardi selling for $348,000 Bush Yam Dreaming from Emily Kame Kngwarreye selling for $120,000 Bullock Hide Story from Rover Thomas selling for $102,000 and Iyaarka from Tommy Watson selling for...» Read More
Auctioneers withdraw Rover painting over concerns at listing
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-06-20 07:19:12
A Rover Thomas painting was removed from last night's Lawson-Menzies Aboriginal Art sale over concerns regarding missing information. The auction was a success though: Last night's auction reaped $2,715,600, including buyers' premium, with 122 of the 137 lots sold. This brought in...» Read More
Nyuju Stumpy Brown
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-06-20 00:00:00
Stumpy Browns boldly coloured renditions of her ceremonial country of Ngupawarlu sing out with an intensity that highlights the spiritual significance of this country to her identity as a painter and as cultural custodian. A senior Wangkatjungka law woman, Nyuju...» Read More
Beyond Sacred
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-06-11 00:00:04
Beyond Sacred Recent Paintings from Australia's Remote Aboriginal Communities by Judith Ryan, Nick Waterlow and Howard Morphy Read more about Beyond Sacred: Recent Paintings from Australia's Remote Aboriginal...» Read More
Four Generations – The best of Ochre Art
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-02-17 12:40:52
The beautiful and remote East Kimberley region of far North East Western Australia has produced some of Australia’s most renowned artists, including George Mung Mung, Paddy Jampinjii, Jack Britten, Rover Thomas, Hector Jandany, Queenie McKenzie. The legacy these now...» Read More
Aboriginal Art in February
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-02-05 03:58:31
Aboriginal Art in February 5th February 2008 The term ‘aboriginal art’ is a tricky one. Separating indigenous Australian art from the religious practices and social customs with which it has been intertwined for at least 60 000 years is almost impossible—people, country,...» Read More
Australian Country Style reader event at Murrurundi - Aboriginal Art in March
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-01-29 04:05:27
Australian Country Style reader event at Murrurundi - Aboriginal Art in March 29th March 2008 The term ‘aboriginal art’ is a tricky one. Separating indigenous Australian art from the religious practices and social customs with which it has been intertwined for at...» Read More
Bold vision of artistic rebirth
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-01-05 06:41:52
Bold vision of artistic rebirth January 5, 2008 Quoted from article: In a dusty corner of the outback, among artworks covered in dirt, Judith Ryan set out on a journey that has transformed the NGV's indigenous collection, writes Robin Usher. Judith Ryan will never...» Read More
MD leaves auction house after a year
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2008-01-05 06:38:45
The Age MD leaves auction house after a year Gabriella Coslovich January 5, 2008 Quoted from article: Rod Menzies, the head of Australia's art auction leader, the Menzies Art Brand, has lost his right-hand man, Adrian Newstead, who helped achieve a record $9.5 million in...» Read More
Sydney Morning Herald - Shields and swords set cracking pace at Sotheby's auction
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-12-15 03:31:38
Peter Fish December 15, 2007 Article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the Sotheby's November 25 auction. Quoted from the article: If Tim Klingender was gnashing his teeth about a few unsold lots in Sotheby's recent Aboriginal and Oceanic Art sale in Paddington, it...» Read More
Peter Coster looks back on 2007
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-12-14 22:39:03
Peter Coster from the Herald Sun looks at the Australian auction results in 2007. He talks about distributions to the artist and highlights works by Rover Thomas, Emily Kngwarreye and Clifford Possum. Quoted from the article: Climbing the steps to see a...» Read More
The Age - Brisbane and Beyond
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-12-03 07:38:00
An article in The Age about the new Directory of the Queensland National Art Gallery, Tony Ellwood. The article talks about Ellwood's early years spent in Kununurra, at Waringarri Aboriginal Arts. Ellwood, who grew up in country Victoria, had his first...» Read More
Sydney Morning Herald Breakaway auction house packs 'em in
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-11-26 02:56:31
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald about art auctioneer Deutscher and Hackett and a preview of Lawson-Menzies's Aboriginal art sale in Kensington in August 2007, with the highlight being Emily Kngwarreye's Earth's Creation, a 6.3-metre wide riot of densely...» Read More
Paddy Bedford retrospective opens at UQ Art Museum
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-11-18 02:36:30
The first major solo exhibition of one of Australia’s most respected artists, Paddy Bedford, opens at The University of Queensland Art Museum on Friday 16 November 2007. The exhibition is organised and toured by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA),...» Read More
The Age - Aboriginal Art Forgery
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-11-10 03:26:58
Art-forging couple go straight to jail Kate Hagan November 10, 2007 Quoted from article: A TOORAK couple who funded their lavish lifestyle by forging Aboriginal art and selling it through auction houses for more than $300,000 spent last night behind bars after a judge...» Read More
Melbourne Herald Sun - Libertos in court over forged Rover Thomas paintings
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-11-09 03:32:56
November 09, 2007 02:38pm A TOORAK couple found guilty of forging paintings by a prominent Aboriginal artist sold for more than $300,000 have been jailed for nine months. Quoted from article: Ms Liberto told the court she inherited five of the supposed Thomas...» Read More
Paddy Bedford retrospective opens at UQ Art Museum
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-11-07 03:41:48
The first major solo exhibition of one of Australia's most respected artists, Paddy Bedford, opens at The University of Queensland Art Museum on Friday, November 16. The exhibition is organised and toured by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney. "Mr Bedford...» Read More
The Age - Aboriginal Art Forgery
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-11-03 03:52:57
And this is the Libertos, who thought they'd get away with it Kate Hagan November 3, 2007 Article in The Age by Kate Hagan about the Libertos, who allegedly forged several Rover Thomas artworks and attempted to sell them to auction...» Read More
Sydney Morning Hearld - Spotted in Kensington: an important Rover
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-10-28 03:27:54
An article by Peter Fish in the Sydney Morning Herald discussing the highlights of the November 2007 auction season. Quoted from the article: For its part, Sotheby's has not let much out of the bag on its Aboriginal art sale, although for...» Read More
The Age - Word of accused art forgers good enough for expert
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-10-26 12:33:59
Kate Hagan October 25, 2007 A WORLD expert on Australian Aboriginal art has told a court he accepted at face value what a couple, now accused of art forgery, told him about the history of a painting he later sold for $58,000. Judge...» Read More
The Art Newspaper: Aboriginal art dealers fight back
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-10-09 13:01:08
Red Sand Art Gallery sues journalists who accuse them of defrauding indigenous artists In mid July in the massive modernist Supreme Court in Darwin, a frail Aboriginal man with a shock of grizzled white hair and beard took the witness stand...» Read More
One Sun One Moon
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-09-21 17:01:44
In the ever-shifting cultural landscape of Indigenous Australia, One Sun One Moon catalogues a key moment of transition over the decades at the turn of the century to reveal the view from within a kaleidoscopic contemporary art movement. To coincide...» Read More
Sydney Morning Herald - A pretty good result all round, possums
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-08-06 03:00:29
Sydney Morning Herald article about the success of the Sotheby's Aboriginal Art July 24 auction, including record prices for: Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri Warlugulong for $2.4 million Tommy Lowry Tjapaltjarri Two Men Dreaming for $440,000 Gordon Bennett Possession Island for $384,000 Naata Nungarrayi The Soakage...» Read More
Art sales: Will the Aboriginal magic return?
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2007-07-17 08:57:18
Article in the Telegraph about the upcoming Sotheby's auction and in particular Warlugulong by Clifford Possum with a price tag of over 2.5 million AUD. Quoted from the article: When Warlugulong was painted, the average price for a Possum painting was between...» Read More
Sydney Morning Herald Breakaway auction house packs 'em in
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2006-08-26 03:37:51
Kirsty Simpson from the Sydney Morning Herald looks at the recent increase in value of Aboriginal Art and whether it makes a good investment for a superannuation fund. Simpson uses Rover Thomas's premonition of Cyclone Tracy, Bugaltji - Lissadell Country, sold...» Read More
National Indigenous Times: Near record price for Aboriginal artwork
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2006-08-11 07:25:32
A painting by Aboriginal artist Rover Thomas depicting the destruction of Darwin by Cyclone Tracy has set a near record price at auction in Melbourne last week. The 1986 work, Bugaltji, Lissadell Country, sold for $660,000 at Sotheby’s 10th Aboriginal art...» Read More
The Age: Pictures from home
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2006-07-27 13:17:35
An article by James Cockington in The Age previewing the upcoming Sotheby's Aboriginal Art exhibition. The article follows the trend of dramatically increasing prices and the large proportion of international buyers. From the article: Starter guide $6000+ For those who prefer a more authentic...» Read More
Jock Mosquito
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2006-07-21 00:00:00
Jock Mosquito worked with Rover Thomas on ceremonial boards for the Kuril Kuril corroboree in the 1970s. Now having had a stroke, and at the age of 62, Jock is having his first West Australian solo exhibition. He has pared...» Read More
Powerful growth of Aboriginal art
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2005-11-06 07:44:47
International Herald Tribune Powerful growth of Aboriginal art All about Earth and the people on it Susan Gough Henly Sunday, November 6, 2005 Quoted from the article: With the opening next year in Paris of the Musée du Quai Branly, focusing on the art and culture...» Read More
Aboriginal art in Paris: In your dreaming
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2004-10-11 14:26:43
A select slice of Paris’s art collecting elite gathered at elegant rooms on Avenue Matignon earlier this month for auction house Christie’s first-ever exhibition of Australian Aboriginal art. Thirty or so works on preview had been selected especially to tempt...» Read More
Wangkatjungka Women
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2003-10-24 00:00:00
It\'s extraordinary how two senior, well respected elders and artists, Nyuju Stumpy Brown, full sister of the late, celebrated artist Rover Thomas can have such diverse styles in interpreting their countrys\' dreaming.Whereas Rover Thomas painted spare, muted ochre canvasses, Nyuju...» Read More
The Painted Desert
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2003-07-29 00:12:50
Letter from Australia The Painted Desert How Aborigines turned ancient rituals into chic contemporary art. A discussion of Aboriginal Art in Fitzroy Crossing focussed on two special canvases, Ngurrara I and Ngurrara...» Read More
The fortunes of Aboriginal art outside Australia: ethnographica or art?
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2002-06-24 14:14:05
When Australians with even the most glancing interest in art meet overseas visitors, Aboriginal art is invariably a pressing topic. Tourists routinely buy Aboriginal work from all sorts of vendors, ranging from airport shops to Aboriginal-owned cooperatives. But many Australians...» Read More
Rover & Queenie
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 2000-05-23 01:31:26
This exhibition pays tribute to the work of Rover Thomas and Queenie McKenzie, two major artists from Warmun community in the East Kimberley. The exhibition, drawn solely from the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, also...» Read More
Find out more about Rover Thomas at the Aboriginal Art Directory
