detail, for full image see page 11. kudditji kngwarreye web catalogues/kudditji, 1.21.14, web...

KUDDITJI KNGWARREYE Landscapes in the Family Tradition

Detail, for full image see page 11.

All images © the artist, Booker - Lowe Gallery and Hank Ebes, or the Australian Art Review.

Internationally acclaimed Utopia artist Kudditji Kngwarreye is celebrated worldwide for his dynamic paintings featuring saturated fields of color in vivid, abstract forms. Although contemporary in style, Kudditji’s paintings are rich in Aboriginal tradition, depicting the sacred stories of the Anmatyerre people. He is a revered elder in his community, and is the custodian of

stories including the Yankirri Jukurrpa (Emu Dreaming). Kudditji is the younger half-brother of renowned Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Kudditji was raised in the bush northeast of Alice Springs on the old

Utopia cattle station. He worked as a stockman and in the goldmines, before beginning to paint with other Utopia artists in the late 1980s. Kudditji’s early works featured the traditional “dot technique”, but eager to explore new realms, he began loading his brush thick with paint, and creating abstract compositions rife with color

and atmospheric energy.

Scholars often liken Kudditji’s distinctive body of work to that of Mark Rothko. While

Kudditji never attended school, and is certainly unaware of Rothko and other “modern” artists, a kinship can certainly be made between their highly original styles. Kudditji, now in his mid-eighties, spends most of his time in Alice Springs, and continues to paint occasionally. His works have been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout Australia, in Europe, and in the U.S.

KUDDITJI KNGWARREYE Landscapes in the Family Tradition

Fig. 1, Kudditji Kngwarreye

Fig. 2, Kudditji Kngwarreye, My Country (p. 10)

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Booker-Lowe organized this exhibition through Hank Ebes, who has worked with us since our first Aboriginal exhibition! Born in the Netherlands, Hank is a longtime Melbourne gallerist, a recognized expert in Aboriginal art, and founder of the Emily Museum, devoted to the paintings of Kudditji’s half-sister Emily, the best-known female Aboriginal artist.

When Kudditji and Hank first met around 1991, they immediately connected, and Hank quickly sensed that Kudditji had a natural vision and talent. For the past 20+ years, Hank has worked closely with Kudditji, going out bush with him for weeks at a time, providing financial assistance and lodging when needed, as well as supplying art materials. In turn, Kudditji paints for Hank knowing that the standards are high and that less-than-his-best paintings won’t be accepted for exhibition.

Now in his mid-eighties and in declining health, Kudditji paints less and is sometimes vulnerable to other dealers who offer quick cash for hastily-produced paintings, just like many well-known European and American artists we could name!

Reminiscing about his old friend, Hank said, “We made a difference in Kudditji’s life, as he did in ours. I rank him with Emily [Kngwarreye], Clifford [Possum Tjapaltjarri], Rover Thomas . . . in the top ten of the most brilliant artists we have discovered in the past four decades.

Kudditji and Emily are the ultimate conceptual expressionists because they were born in the Stone Age and lived a minimalist existence. Had they been born 200 years ago, they would have painted the same stories about life and creation, the Dreamtime . . . .”

KUDDITJI AND HANKMates

Fig. 3, Kudditji Kngwarreye and Hank Ebes

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Fig. 4, Kudditji Kngwarreye with his wife, Charlotte

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Born: c. 1928 Gender: Male Region: Utopia, Northern Territory Community: Alhalkere Language: Eastern Anmatyerre Skin: KngwarreyeThemes: Yankirri Jukurrpa (Emu Dreaming), My Country, Men’s Ceremonies

Kudditji Kngwarreye was born in Alhalkere on the edge of the Utopia Station in the Northern Territory. Alhalkere is approximately 250 km northeast of Alice Springs (about 155 miles). Kudditji is the younger brother of acclaimed Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. He was raised in the bush and led a traditional life, working as a stockman and in the goldmines in his later years. He is revered as an elder in his community and is the custodian of stories including the Yankirri Jukurrpa (Emu Dreaming).

Kuddtji currently resides and paints in Alice Springs. Like other artists from the Utopia region, Kudditji paints independently, rather than with a regional artists’ cooperative or government-supported Aboriginal art centre. Booker-Lowe organized “Kudditji: Landscapes in the Family Tradition,” through Hank Ebes, founder of the Emily Museum (a private museum devoted to the life and works of Emily Kngwarreye) in Melbourne, and one of Kudditji’s most-trusted and discerning advisors. Booker-Lowe Gallery’s first exhibition in 2002 showcased a collection of paintings sourced from Ebes, including works featured in a groundbreaking exhibition at the WorldBank’s international headquarters in Washington DC, and has worked with him on subsequent exhibitions showcasing Utopia artists.

Like many Aboriginal artists, Kudditji initiated his career as a painter at a mature age, his earliest works dating to circa 1986. His early style is very conservative, painting with the traditional “dot” method similar to many Aboriginal artists. Later in his career (c. 1990s), he became known for using a more painterly technique, heavily loading his brush with paint and layering it onto the canvas. Paintings using this method show a heavier “dot” that tends to resemble broad, atmospheric strokes of saturated color melding together in a sophisticated manner. Kudditji is acknowledged as an innovator in the Aboriginal art world for his highly original style. Upon close inspection, vivid textures and layers are revealed, showing the complexity of his compositions. Although his style is contemporary, the subjects of his works are traditional, depicting the Yankirri Jukurrpa and My Country themes.

Kudditji revisited his earlier, traditional “dot” style for a brief period in the late 1990s, but by the early 2000s, he had returned to his signature color field works, embarking on an extraordinary path of creativity and color exploration. His works have been included in numerous exhibitions, including group and solo shows in Australia, Europe and the United States.

KUDDITJI KNGWARREYESelected Biography

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Selected Solo Exhibitions

2013 “Kudditji: Landscapes in the Family Tradition,” Booker-Lowe Gallery, Houston, Texas USA

“Kudditji Kngwarreye,” Sofitel Brisbane Central, Brisbane QLD

2011 “Kudditji Kngwarreye,” Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney NSW

2010 “Kudditji Kngwarreye,” Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney NSW

2009 “Kudditji Kngwarreye: Pastels,” Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney NSW

“Kudditji Kngwarreye,” Burrinja Gallery, Upwey, Melbourne VIC

“Kudditji Kngwarreye-Recent Works,” Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA

2008 “30 Emu Dreamings,” Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney NSW

“My Country,” Japingka Gallery, Perth WA

2006 “New Paintings,” Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne VIC


2005 “Waterhole Aboriginal Art,” Danks Street, Sydney NSW

“New Paintings,” Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne VIC

“Colours in Country,” Art Mob, Hobart TAS

2004 “My Country, New Paintings,” Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne VIC


“Waterhole Aboriginal Art,” Sofitel Wentworth Hotel Exhibition, Sydney NSW

2003 “New Paintings,” Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne VIC

Selected Group Exhibitions

2012 “The Colourists: Kudditji Kngwarreye & Lorna Napurrula Fencer,” Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA

2010 “Utopia: Eastern Anmatyerre Artists,” Neo Gallery, Brisbane QLD

“Ankerrthe – A Tribute to Nancy Petyarre,” Astras Gallery, Gold Coast QLD

“Summer Collection,” Japingka Gallery, Perth WA

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2009 “Aboriginal Art,” Mary Place Gallery, Sydney NSW

“Summer Collection,” Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney NSW

“Pink,” Art Mob Aboriginal Fine Art, Hobart TAS

“Utopia 09,” Neo Gallery, Brisbane QLD

“Size Matters,” Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney NSW

“Rêves Aborigènes,” Musée Arts et Histoire de Bormes-Les-Mimosas, Bormes-Les-Mimosas, France

2008 “Black & White: Inspired by Landscape,” Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney NSW

“Central Australian Aboriginal Art-The Ultimate Collection,” Alice Sundown Aboriginal Art, Alice Springs NT

“Utopia,” Art Equity, Sydney NSW

2007 “Contemporary Aboriginal Paintings,” John Leech Gallery, Auckland, NZ

2006 “Artist of Utopia Then & Now,” Outback Alive, Canberra ACT

“Togart Contemporary Art Exhibition,” Darwin NT

“Masterwork,” Vivienne Anderson Gallery, Melbourne VIC

Arken Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark

2005 “Big Country,” Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs NT

“Fresh from the Central Desert,” Outback Alive, Canberra Grammar School, Canberra ACT

“Ken Field Memorial Art Exhibition,” Scotch College, Melbourne VIC

“Colours in Country,” Art Mob Gallery, Hobart TAS

2004 “Two Senior Men,” Art Mob Gallery, Hobart TAS

Australian Exhibition Centre, Chicago, Illinois USA

“Spirit of Colour,” Depot Gallery, Sydney NSW

“Heartbeat-Living Country,” Wentworth Hotel, Sydney NSW

2002 “The Contemporaries,” Contemporary Artspace, Brisbane QLD

1999 Chapel off Chapel Gallery, Melbourne VIC

1992 “Tjukurrpa,” Museum fur Volkerkunde, Basel, Switzerland

1991 “Central Australian Aboriginal Art & Craft Exhibition,” Araluen Centre, Alice Springs NT

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1990 “Art Dock, Contemporary Art from Australia,” Noumea, New Caledonia

Collections

Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs NT

Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne VIC

Macquarie University, NSW

Guilleman and Sordello Collection, France

R. M. Barokh Antiques, Los Angeles, California

Mbantua Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs NT

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Kudditji KngwarreyeMy Country, 2006synthetic polymer paint (acrylic) on Belgian linen 23 x 47 in. AG.11597

8Details and pricing available upon request.

Kudditji KngwarreyeEmu Dreaming, 2007synthetic polymer paint (acrylic) on Belgian linen 44 x 53 in. AG.12030


Kudditji KngwarreyeEmu Dreaming, 2012synthetic polymer paint (acrylic) on Belgian linen 33 x 19 in.AG.12747


4623 Feagan Street Houston, Texas 77007 USA Tel: (713) 880-1541 Fax: (713) 862-8364 [email protected] www.bookerlowegallery.com

Catalogue designed by Sarah Beth Wilson. © Booker - Lowe Gallery 2014.

detail, for full image see page 11. kudditji kngwarreye web catalogues/kudditji, 1.21.14, web...

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