'Desert Painters of Australia' at Gagosian

Desert Painters of Australia: Works from the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia and the Collection of Steve Martin and Anne Stringfield

May 3-July 3, 2019

Gagosian, 976 Madison Avenue, New York, USA

This month, 'Desert Painters of Australia' opened at Gagosian on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. The exhibition brings together eleven exceptional paintings of ten artists from central Australia. The vast majority of the artworks are by Pintupi artists, and reside in the collection of Steve Martin and his wife Anne Stringfield. One painting, an early work by Emily Kame Kngwarreye titled Hungry Emus, was leant for the exhibition by the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal art collection of the University of Virginia, the only museum outside Australia dedicated to Indigenous Australian art. Along with the other stunning work by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Kame Yam Awelye (pictured), both were commissioned by Delmore Gallery.

Artists

Emily Kame Kngwarreye 
Makinti Napanangka 
Yukultji Napangati 
Naata Nungurrayi 
Ronnie Tjampitjinpa 
Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri 
Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri 
Tjumpo Tjapanangka 
George Tjungurrayi 
Willy Tjungurrayi

Press:

'Can We Start Appreciating Indigenous Art on Its Own Terms?', by Jason Farago, The New York Times, 17 May 2019.

'Aboriginal Artists find a surprising new champion: Steve Martin', by Sebastian Smee, The Washington Post, 16 May 2019.

'Actor Steve Martin Amassed a Stellar Collection of Australian Aboriginal Art at Warp Speed—and Now You Can See It at Gagosian', by Sarah Cascone, 3 May 2019.

Image: Emily Kame Kngwarreye, 'Kame Yam Awelye', 1996, synthetic polymer on Belgian linen, 90x151cm