Wednesday, 3 December 2014, through Saturday, 28 February 2015

Sharing the Dreamtime:
Early Paintings from Australia's Papunya Tula Artists

Click here to view the exhibition catalogue!

In the early 1970s, the Aboriginal community of Papunya, deep in the western desert of Australia's Northern Territory, seemed an unlikely place for the birth of a new and exciting art movement. The last government settlement for indigenous people, Papunya was home to several different tribes forced to live together.

Then a young teacher from Sydney, Geoff Barden, asked the elders of Papunya to paint an Aboriginal creation story from their "Dreamtime" on the exterior wall of the village school. He believed the painting would help educate the children, generate community pride, and show outsiders that the native people had a rich and layered culture.

The elders agreed and painted a "Honey Ant Dreaming," celebrating an important local site and seasonal delicacy. The response was so encouraging that the artists continued painting - on canvas, wood scraps, whatever they could find. They also formed the Papunya Tula Artists' Cooperative to control the sale of their paintings. Today, their work and other Australian indigenous art is recognized worldwide as "...the last great art movement of the twentieth century..." (art critic and writer Robert Hughes).

Booker-Lowe is honored to offer the fine Papunya Tula collection of a noted Virginia professor who acquired the paintings in the 1980s, in addition to other Aboriginal artworks that are both traditional and timeless.

In addition to the Papunya collection, Booker-Lowe has a new shipment of the ever-popular paintings by the Warlpiri artists from Yuendumu - full of color, in all sizes, prices, and perfect for gift giving!

Booker-Lowe is the leading American gallery for contemporary Aboriginal fine art from Australia. We're open Wednesday-Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm, and by appointment at your convenience. We stock hundreds of paintings and original prints from under $250 to $25,000, and can source Aboriginal artworks for those with special requirements.

© Booker•Lowe Gallery 2014, 4623 Feagan Street, Houston, Texas 77007 USA
Tel: 713.880.1541 Fax: 713.862.8364
info@bookerlowegallery.com