Opening Saturday, 12 May to Thursday, 12 July 2007

Tjukurrpa: Aboriginal Paintings of the Dreamtime
                  New Works from Ikuntji

OPEN HOUSE: 11 am – 6 pm, Saturday, 12 May 2007

Ikuntji, the land where the creeks cross, is nestled within the spectacular mountains of Australia’s West MacDonnell Ranges. The colors of the landscape evolve with the changing light of day -– the pastels of sunrise fade to the white-hot afternoon punctuated with bright green grasses and vivid wildflowers. Then, the coral sun sets in a dramatic display, shading to the magentas and ultramarine of nightfall.

Here, in a small tin building with a paint-spattered concrete floor, a small group of women artists gather to capture the color-drenched landscape in abstract paintings collected by contemporary art lovers worldwide.

Among the “stars” from Ikuntji are Anmanari Napanangka, Molly Napaltjarri Jugadai, Linda Napurulla Ngitjanka, Eunice Napanangka Jack, Tilly Napaltjarri, Daisy Napaltjarri Jugadai, and Alice Nampitjinpa. All are masters of color and pattern, as well as custodians of important Dreamings from their ancestral country, and Booker-Lowe Gallery is pleased to present this collection of their new work.

Richard Kalina, “The Dream of Aboriginal Art,” in Art in America, April 2007:
“. . . Aboriginal culture[’s] connective tissue is instead the web of kinship and the Dreaming stories. Aboriginal art has proven, by and large, to be an extremely positive force . . . to a stressed culture’s cohesion. All of this is valuable in itself, but there is also the fact that the art is of extraordinary quality. Indigenous cultures all over the world produce art and artifacts; few have managed to create a modern art as rich and affecting.”

Don't forget, if you're visitiing the Chesapeake Bay area . . .
Booker•Lowe Gallery is displaying Aboriginal art at the acclaimed Inn at Easton, a lovely restored mansion in the historic district of Easton, Maryland. The owner, renowned chef Andrew Evans, recently saw some of our collection at an exhibition at the Australian Embassy in Washington, DC, and contacted us about organizing a show for the Inn, located in Easton, recently rated as one of the “ten best towns to live in” in America.  Check out the Inn at www.theinnateaston.com.