from west of here | contemporary aboriginal art

FROM WEST OF HERE CONTEMPORARY ABORIGINAL ART

Group exhibition featuring prominent works of acclaimed Aboriginal artists Tommy Watson, Freddie Timms and Naata Nungurrayi

FROM WEST OF HERE | CONTEMPORARY ABORIGINAL ART

5-30 April 2016, Tue-Sat 10am-5pm 76 Paddington St Paddington NSW 2021 [email protected] 02 9660 7799

Piermarq is proud to present to you the catalogue of the Contemporary Aboriginal Art exhibition, From West of Here opening on 5 April 2016. Featuring the unique and prominent works of acclaimed Aboriginal artists Tommy Watson, Freddie Timms and Naata Nungurrayi.

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PIERMARQ GALLERY AND ART ADVISORY Piermarq exhibits Australian Contemporary and Aboriginal Art and presents a calendar of shows of represented artists throughout the year.

After near four years down on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour at Pyrmont, Piermarq is excited to have moved to the inner heart of the Sydney art market scene.

Visit us and discover Australian remarkable artworks, up close and personal in our exclusive gallery space and art advisory offices. Whether you’re new to the market or a seasoned collector, get tailored advice to match your interests, budget, goals and personal taste.

Justin Callanan and Rob Russell Piermarq Directors

Piermarq director Rob Russell with artist Naata Nungurrayi (2012)

NAATA NUNGURRAYI (b. 1932)

The most notable living female Aboriginal artist is Naata Nungurrayi, whose works achieve auction records well over USD$150,000. Her work is internationally sought-after and was named among the Top 50 of Australia’s Most Collectable Artists in the Australian Art Collector in 2004 (Issue 27, Jan-March). In 2003, Naata was chosen to have one of her paintings represented on a special edition of an Australia Post international stamp.

Naata’s work is included in all important public and private collections nationally including the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. Moreover, her work is exhibited internationally and can be found at prestigious art fairs and private collections all over the globe.

Born in the desert around 1932 and raised in an orthodox tribal life, Naata’s paintings depict sacred women’s sites and ceremonies in the Kintore and Kiwirrkura desert regions (see map illustrated in introduction), but also patterns associated with ritual body painting. Naata is one the few female tribal elders to have permission to paint certain features of her Tjukurrpa (ancestral stories). Her ability to combine traditional icons prized in early Papunya works, with increasingly vibrant colour and decisive composition, continues to drive her success.

Naata Nungurrayi Marrapinti, 2012 Acrylic on linen 182 x 244 cm

Naata Nungurrayi Marrapinti, 2012 Acrylic on linen 122 x 153 cm

Naata Nungurrayi Untitled, 2008 Acrylic on linen 66 x 81 cm

Tommy Watson painting in his country near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia (2013). Photographed by Steve Strike.

YANNIMA PIKARLI TOMMY WATSON (b. 1935)

One of the most significant Australian artists of our time, Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson, is internationally recognised and represented commercially by Piermarq and Yanda Aboriginal Art. Tommy’s recent series of iconic abstract works are setting record prices both in Australia and internationally, exhibiting at the most exclusive art fairs around the world.

Tommy Watson ‘walked in’ from the desert in his teens; as a child he lived a traditional life in the Gibson Desert, where he gained an intimate understanding of the environment and his Tjukurrpa or ancestral stories. He first started painting in the community of Irrunytju, near the township of Wingellina. His paintings refer to his country, Ngayuku Ngura (‘My Country’ in Pitjantjatjara language), representing several sites of importance, such as Walunja, Anumarapiti, Untju Alkata and Pikarli. As a senior Pitjantjatjara elder, he is celebrated for his highly expressive use of bright colour and innovative abstraction that sets him apart.

He is represented in all important Australian public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, and in many important collections around the world including the prestigious Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, which commissioned him in 2006 to paint an entire permanent ceiling on one of the four museum building’s levels. Tommy Watson is also the only Australian Aboriginal artist with a hotel named in his honor, The Watson Hotel in Adelaide.

Tommy Watson Ngayuku Ngura, 2015 Acrylic on linen 102 x 113 cm

Tommy Watson Untju Alkata, 2015 Acrylic on linen 102 x 113 cm

Tommy Watson Ngayuku Ngura, 2014 Acrylic on linen 152 x 244 cm

Tommy Watson Unju Alkata, 2014 Acrylic on linen 122 x 151 cm (each)

Tommy Watson Kupikupi, 2012 Acrylic on Belgian linen 183 x 305 cm

Kimberley artist Freddie Timms, 2015.

FREDDIE TIMMS (b. 1946)

Freddie Timms is now recognised as the most senior of all Kimberley painters. Since the passing of his mentor Rover Thomas (c.1926-1998), and his friend Paddy Bedford (c.1922-2007), he is now at the forefront of ochre painting. Undoubtedly as Freddie Timms grows older, important, large scale works will carry huge demand.

Born in 1946 on Bedford Downs Station in the East Kimberley, Freddie Timms followed his father into a life as a stockman. In his early 20’s he came to meet Rover Thomas – the man who would become his lifelong mentor and influence. As Rover Thomas’s prominence as an artist began to rise, he convinced the younger Freddie to start painting. By the early 1990’s Rover Thomas had grown to become a superstar, the first Aboriginal Australian to represent his country at the Venice Biennale with works selling for tens of thousands of dollars. At this stage, another of the Kimberley’s ochre painters, Paddy Bedford, started to gain market traction. As a consequence as the next best known painter from the region, Freddie Timms started to see his work included in important shows in Sydney and Melbourne and his works acquired by important collections, public as well as private.

In 1998 Rover Thomas passed away and prices for his work became out of reach for the general population. Paddy and Freddie immediately saw a significant rise in popularity and their prices. It was at this stage that Freddie Timms became cemented as one of the senior figures in the Kimberley painting movement. Since the passing of his friend Paddy Bedford in 2007, Freddie Timms’ work is now the focus of significant collecting activity, astute buyers recognising the rarity and beauty of his works.

Piermarq exclusively exhibits Freddie Timms’ most recent series of acrylic paintings. The last time he has worked in this medium was in the 1990’s.

Freddie Timms Untitled, 2015 Acrylic on linen 75 x 90 cm

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from west of here | contemporary aboriginal art

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