SHADE
Artists of the desert
EXHIBITION: 6 July – 6 August 2016
The University Gallery
Remote desert communities in the heart of Australia are home to some of our country’s most successful artists. Beginning in Papunya in the early 1970s with the exploratory transfer of ceremonial mark making onto board and canvas, there emerged an explosion of works made using vibrant acrylic paints, potent symbology and diversity of line and form. This unique contemporary art movement has now been active for over 40 years.
Contemporary art from these regions illuminate the unique experience of the desert: its light and shade, its contours, its gifts and adversities, its deep running songlines and sacred beauty. Artists render themes connected to place and belonging in ways that bring Country, Tjukurpa (Law), creation stories and the landscape, to life. Places of both sacred and everyday meaning are embodied in vibrant articulations that shimmer with colour and power.
Drawing on works from the University Art Collection, Shade celebrates this richness through paintings that range from across the Central and Western Deserts, to Kintore, Yuendumu and the Kimberley region. The University Gallery will, in conjunction with the artists of Warlukurlangu, have paintings for sale during the exhibition.
Please join us for the exhibition opening at the University Gallery to be launched by Una Rey:
Wednesday 6 July from 5.30pm
