Aboriginal Art by Australian Aboriginal Artists, Quality Aboriginal Paintings for sale.  

Retrospective Exhibition
Emily Kame Kngwarreye: The Person and her Paintings

Presented by DACOU Aboriginal Art

Emily Kame Kngwarreye is Australia’s most important and famous female artist.  Hailed as a modernist ‘genius’, she has been compared to Rothko and de Kooning.   An Anmatyerre elder from Utopia in the remote central desert region of the Northern Territory, Emily first took up painting on canvas in her late 70's.  She quickly became one of the leaders in the contemporary Aboriginal art movement, transforming her style several times during her short career of eight years.  Today she is known as one of the greatest abstract painters of the 20th century.

Venue:   DACOU Australia’s new warehouse and headquarters in Melbourne
              10 B Phillip Court, Port Melbourne, 3207, Melways Ref: 42, H11
              Wednesday to Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  
              Sunday, 11:00am to 4:00pm

2nd venue: DACOU Melbourne, 41 Canterbury Rd, Middle Park, 3206
                   Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  
                   Sunday, 11:00am to 4:00pm

Dates:   29 October to 6 December 2009
           

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Introductory catalogues are now available. Please email info@dacoumelbourne.com.au if you wish to receive one.

A comprehensive 240 page soft cover book will accompany the exhibition with contributions from art critic Susan McCulloch, author Dr. Victoria King, Barbara Weir and Director of DACOU Fred Torres, with images of the artworks and personal photos of the artist. This impressive book will be available from the night for $75.00.

Opening:  Thursday 29th October, 6:00pm to 9:00pm.  Speeches to commence between 6:30pm and 6:45pm.
RSVP by Monday 26th October: (03) 9690 9187 or info@dacoumelbourne.com.au
    
Exhibition was opened by Mr. John Morse AM (1)                                                                   
 

Final Series, My Country, 1996, acrylic on canvas, 95 x 125 cm
Final Series, My Country, 1996, acrylic on canvas, 81 x 71 cm
Yam Dreaming, 1996, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 98 cm

 Exhibition: This important exhibition of over 80 pieces covering all significant series and periods of Emily Kngwarreye’s artistic career is the first commercial retrospective exhibition to be held since she passed away in 1996. It gives the public an outstanding chance to view and purchase works in each of her styles. DACOU has retained numerous magnificent pieces over the years that will be included in this exhibition, such as rarely seen works from Emily's Ochre Series, created with ochre and charcoal she collected from her country.  On show will be the sister painting to the famous Earth’s Creation (also titled Earth’s Creation, 1994, 4 panels, 211 x 596 cm) and just as splendid in colour and style. DACOU is pleased to be able to offer a selection of monumental and rare works from her Final Series.

The team at DACOU is thrilled to present this major retrospective and will use this opportunity to give insight into the person behind the paintings. Through photos and personal stories provided by people who were close to Emily Kngwarreye, the exhibition will also reveal the humorous and strong-minded character of this much loved artist.

DACOU is an Aboriginal-owned Gallery and many prominent Utopia artists and family members will be present on the opening night, including Barbara Weir and Gloria Petyarre, and Emily Kngwarreye’s direct nephew Steve and nieces Anna, Rosemary and Jeannie Petyarre.  The artists are planning to paint a collabortaive piece in honour of Emily at the exhibition space on Friday 30th October.

The opening of this exhibition will coincide with DACOU’s relocation from Adelaide to Melbourne.  It will be the inaugural exhibition of their new headquarters in Port Melbourne.

DACOU (Dreaming Art Centre of Utopia) was established in 1993 in Adelaide and has supplied major galleries throughout Australia (including Gallery Savah, Sydney; Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne; and Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane) and internationally with fine Aboriginal art works from Utopia.   DACOU has been involved in over 200 exhibitions of Utopia art including Spirit Sings, 1998, Tandanya (National Aboriginal Cultural Institute); a major exhibition during the 2000 Olympic Games sponsored by AMP, Sydney; and Utopia, Colors of the Desert in 2008 in Seoul, Korea at Gongpyeong Art Space in conjunction with the Australian Embassy. DACOU now has galleries of its own in Melbourne, Sydney and Broome. Director Fred Torres was the nephew of Emily Kngwarreye (in Aboriginal Law) and was closely involved in her life and the rise of her career.  DACOU commissioned numerous major pieces such as ‘Earth’s Creation’ which sold for $1.056 million at a Deutscher-Menzies auction in 2007, breaking all previous records for an Australian female artist.  The following year the record was broken again when ‘My Country’, the largest piece from her final series sold privately for over $1 million. The outstanding Final Series was commissioned in 1996 by DACOU, 3 weeks before Emily passed away.  She used a wide brush to paint 24 extraordinary pieces consisting of intense blocks of fluid colour. Aboriginal artworks commissioned by DACOU are represented in many prominent collections such as the South Australia Art Gallery, Queensland Art Gallery and Parliament House.

For further information, high resolution images and catalogue enquiries, please contact: Leanne Collier: leanne@dacou.com.au or mobile: 0405 731 393.

Bush Potato, 1993, acrylic on canvas, 191 x 126 cm

(1) John Morse is the former managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission.  He now works with Aboriginal communities across Australia. He is chairman of the Mutitjulu Foundation, a Council Member of the National Museum of Australia, and co-chair of the Aboriginal Economic Development Task Force for the Government of Victoria. He was awarded an Order of Australia [AM] in 2003 for services to tourism and Indigenous tourism.

Below is a selection of the paintings that will be on display: