RARRK - LONDON
RARRK-LONDON
BARGEHOUSE Oxo Tower Wharf - South Bank - London SE1 9PH
September 21st - October 7th 2007
In September 2007 a major exhibition of over 100 works of art from Arnhem Land will take place on London?s South Bank, featuring some of Australia?s leading contemporary artists. Josh Lilley Fine Art in conjunction with Maningrida Arts and Culture, (community based art centre responsible for the cultural assets of the Aborginal people in the Maningrida region), will be exhibiting an important body of new work from Western Arnhem Land Australia. This will include painting and sculpture by the internationally acclaimed John Mawurndjul, as well as works by leading artists Samuel Namunjdja and Owen Yalandja. The exhibition aims to readdress certain preconceptions of Aboriginal art being purely ethnographic or ?other?, focussing instead on the aesthetic strength of the work as a vibrant contemporary art, giving a new audience the opportunity to view the development of this groundbreaking movement within the context of a contemporary exhibition space.
Historically, one of the challenges of representing Aboriginal art is that the number of artists and different styles are so vast that exhibitions can sometimes become generic in nature. In the last five years however with the proliferation of solo exhibitions such as John Mawurndjul?s landmark retrospective at Museum Tinguely Basel October 2005, and his epic recent commission for Jean Nouvel?s newly designed Musée du quai Branly in Paris June 2006,much has changed as collectors and art lovers have begun to recognize the significant position this work now commands within the contemporary art world.
Arguably the most dynamic group of artists to come out of Australia for a generation, RARRK-LONDON will be the most comprehensive commercial exhibition of Arnhem Land Art in Britain to date.Having recently been received to mass critical acclaim through retrospectives in Basel, Hannover, and Sydney in the past 2-3 years, there is currently great momentum surrounding a desire to place the work of this group within a contemporary art dialogue. A recent review in Time Magazine proclaims ?Mawurndjul has taken bark painting into the exalted realm of fine art?.
RARRK-LONDON will present over 100 paintings and sculptures by 15 different artists. The exhibition will include multiple sculptural installations, video, and a selection of more than 30 bark paintings ranging from 60cm to 2.5m in height.
There will be a forum taking place at the venue on Saturday September 22nd, chaired by Dr Anthony Downey from the Sotheby?s Institute of Art, and featuring a panel of contemporary artists, critics and curators.
John Mawurndjul and Samuel Namunjdja will be in London for the opening on Thursday September 20th, and will be available for interview on that day at the press preview at 11.30am. PRIVATE VIEW - Thursday September 20th 2007, 6-9pm
BARGEHOUSE Oxo Tower Wharf - South Bank - London SE1 9PH
September 21st - October 7th 2007
In September 2007 a major exhibition of over 100 works of art from Arnhem Land will take place on London?s South Bank, featuring some of Australia?s leading contemporary artists. Josh Lilley Fine Art in conjunction with Maningrida Arts and Culture, (community based art centre responsible for the cultural assets of the Aborginal people in the Maningrida region), will be exhibiting an important body of new work from Western Arnhem Land Australia. This will include painting and sculpture by the internationally acclaimed John Mawurndjul, as well as works by leading artists Samuel Namunjdja and Owen Yalandja. The exhibition aims to readdress certain preconceptions of Aboriginal art being purely ethnographic or ?other?, focussing instead on the aesthetic strength of the work as a vibrant contemporary art, giving a new audience the opportunity to view the development of this groundbreaking movement within the context of a contemporary exhibition space.
Historically, one of the challenges of representing Aboriginal art is that the number of artists and different styles are so vast that exhibitions can sometimes become generic in nature. In the last five years however with the proliferation of solo exhibitions such as John Mawurndjul?s landmark retrospective at Museum Tinguely Basel October 2005, and his epic recent commission for Jean Nouvel?s newly designed Musée du quai Branly in Paris June 2006,much has changed as collectors and art lovers have begun to recognize the significant position this work now commands within the contemporary art world.
Arguably the most dynamic group of artists to come out of Australia for a generation, RARRK-LONDON will be the most comprehensive commercial exhibition of Arnhem Land Art in Britain to date.Having recently been received to mass critical acclaim through retrospectives in Basel, Hannover, and Sydney in the past 2-3 years, there is currently great momentum surrounding a desire to place the work of this group within a contemporary art dialogue. A recent review in Time Magazine proclaims ?Mawurndjul has taken bark painting into the exalted realm of fine art?.
RARRK-LONDON will present over 100 paintings and sculptures by 15 different artists. The exhibition will include multiple sculptural installations, video, and a selection of more than 30 bark paintings ranging from 60cm to 2.5m in height.
There will be a forum taking place at the venue on Saturday September 22nd, chaired by Dr Anthony Downey from the Sotheby?s Institute of Art, and featuring a panel of contemporary artists, critics and curators.
John Mawurndjul and Samuel Namunjdja will be in London for the opening on Thursday September 20th, and will be available for interview on that day at the press preview at 11.30am. PRIVATE VIEW - Thursday September 20th 2007, 6-9pm
RARRK - LONDON at the Barge House, Oxo Tower Wharf - South Bank - London SE1 9PH
An eighty page full colour catalogue is available through Annandale Galleries