Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia

Posted by LDFA on August 29, 2018

An exhibition featuring the work of Australian indigenous women is currently on show at The Phililps Collection in Washington, USA. The nine artists are from a variety of areas highlighting a diversity of artistic practices and include Nonggirrnga Marawili, Wintjiya Napaltjarri, Yukultji Napangati, Angelina Pwerle (Ngal), Carlene West, Regina Pilawuk Wilson, Lena Yarinkura, Gulumbu Yunupingu, and Nyapanyapa Yunupingu. Angelina Ngal from Utopia is sometimes incorrectly known by her late husband’s surname.

“In recent years, women have been at the forefront of contemporary Aboriginal Australian art. The innovative pictorial and conceptual tapestries included in Marking the Infinite demonstrate why. Through a weave of intimate marks, the nine artists map their knowledge of sacred Country, but such is the generous expansiveness of their works that they are not curtailed by these bounds. It is energising to think that women from one of the world’s oldest cultures, working in remote parts of Australia, are making some of the most globally relevant art today.” Sally Grant, Australian Book Review, 28 August 2018

Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia is on display until 9 September.

To view further details please click here

and to read the review by Sally Grant published in the Australian Book Review please click here

The Melbourne Fair

Posted by LDFA on August 22, 2018

August is Art Fair season in Melbourne! Lauraine Diggins Fine Art again participated in The Melbourne Fair which was on show 9th-12th August at Caulfield Racecourse and showcased over 50 specialist dealers focussing on fine art; furniture; decorative arts; books, prints and posters; jewellery; fashion and vintage couture. It has been described as an Aladdin’s cave of treasures with something for every interest.

Lauraine Diggins Fine Art exhibited a selection of paintings, sculptures and works on paper which are now on view at the Gallery, including artworks by Nicholas Chevalier; Ethel Carrick Fox; Andrew Sayers; Danila Vassilieff and Roland Wakelin.

Contrasting coastal scenes by Arthur Boyd and Elioth Gruner show the wilds of the sand dunes of the ocean (Ocean Beach at Rye, 1957) against the jewel-like light and atmosphere of a wide expanse of sand against rippling waves (Figures on the Beach, 1917).

A selection of indigenous painting included a striking four-panel ochre work by Freddie Ngarrmaliny Timms, (Jimbaline, 1994) including Doon Doon Station, a scene associated with atrocities committed by pastoralists, a timely work in the wake of the Colony exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.

We also exhibited a focus on Australian ceramics with works by Merric Boyd; John Perceval; Stephen Bowers and Zhou Xiaoping.

And gain an insight into the workings of an artist with Robert Clinch’s Dreamscape sculpture, depicting a playground day and night (complete with working streetlight) which features in his intricate lithograph pair of the same name.

It was a pleasure to see many of you at the Fair and to meet new friends of Lauraine Diggins Fine Art.

Vale Charles Blackman OBE

Posted by LDFA on August 22, 2018

We pay tribute to Charles Blackman (1928 – 2018) who passed away Monday 20 August, aged 90. Represented in the National Gallery of Australia and in all public State Galleries, in addition to numerous private and corporate collections, his work is celebrated and widely recognised throughout Australia and internationally. Blackman was a self-taught artist and found inspiration for his art in personal references. His Schoolgirl and Alice in Wonderland series of artworks are particularly renowned. Drawing has always been an integral and essential part of Blackman’s artwork and the intimacy of his drawings are of great appeal. Although depictions of the world around him, they are often a personal reflection or response, felt rather than seen, and so evoke grander themes of the human experience.

Lauraine Diggins has fond memories of working with Charles for the exhibition A Line Around a Dream: Charles Blackman (1994) in particular his quick wit, generosity, and wonderful sense of humour. She recalls his great knowledge of music and literature, which shaped his art. “The innocence, humour and sometimes childlike naiveté, which comes through in his art, was a reflection of his own ‘larger than life’ personality. It was a privilege to know him and to be able to show his work. He had a truly wonderful capacity to create great art imbued with real emotion, which enable viewers to really share the experience and feel a connection. His contribution has made the world a richer place and his legacy will live through his art.”

The Charles Blackman Foundation released the following statement which can be read in full on the artsreview:

“It is with deep sadness that we announce this morning that our beloved father Charles Blackman OBE passed away just one week after his 90th birthday celebrations.

Charles Blackman is regarded as one of the most important figurative painters in Australia. Best known for his Schoolgirl and Alice in Wonderland series, Blackman’s artistic practice spanned painting, drawing, sculpture and tapestry, using his multidisciplinary approach to explore the female psyche, poetry, music and aesthetic philosophies.”

To read further biographical details please click here

Baroque or Rococo?

Posted by LDFA on July 20, 2018

Tiepolo Banquet of Cleopatra NGV collection — Giambattista Tiepolo *Banquet of Cleopatra* 1743-44 oil on canvas 250.3 x 357 cm
Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne

Whilst there are similarities between these linked art movements there are a number of distinctions between Baroque and Rococo style.

A succinct summary of each is helpfully explained by an article recently published by INVALUABLE, giving a definition of each art period and listing some of the key players.

Learn more about the key differences between Baroque and Rococo art by reading here…

NAIDOC WEEK 2018

Posted by LDFA on July 10, 2018

Lauraine Diggins Fine Art recognises the celebration of Naidoc Week (8 – 15 July 2018) which this year focuses on the important role women have played and continue to play as influential role models.

We see this in the community of Utopia where the women artists in particular have forged a presence on the international art stage – particularly, Emily Kam Kngwarray; Gloria Petyarr; Kathleen Petyerre – and continue to build on this legacy with younger artists including Genevieve Kemarr Loy.

Utopia, a former cattle station in central Australia (around 240kms north east of Alice Springs) was handed back to the Anmatyerr and Alyawarr people as Aboriginal freehold land in 1979. The women at Utopia were instrumental in the land rights claim, as they presented evidence of their ownership of the land through Awelye (women’s ceremonies) including body paint designs. Sales from batiks created by the women in the late 1970s enabled funds to be available to support the successful land claim.

The paintings by artists from Utopia are a contemporary expression of the cultural knowledge an artist holds about country, formed through the medium of acrylic paint. Although often superficially depicting the food and flora of their landscape, such paintings reveal an artist’s inextricable link to country and the deeper intimate knowledge of cultural heritage and ceremony.

Currently on view at Lauraine Diggins Fine Art are paintings by Nancy Kunoth Petyarr and her daughter Elizabeth Kunoth Kngwarray. Click here to read more about Utopia and the artists from this region.

ELIZABETH KUNOTH KNGWARRAY 212070 (detail) — ELIZABETH KUNOTH KNGWARRAY *Yam Seeds and Flowers in my Grandmother’s Country* 2012

Constance Stokes : greatest draughtsman

Posted by LDFA on July 4, 2018

Bella d’Abrera, granddaughter of Constance Stokes was a recent guest on the Sky News program Outsiders (Monday 25th June) where she spoke about the importance of Stokes’ rigorous academic training and the impact of travelling and seeing important artworks in London and Paris and how that shaped her art.

“She was able to use one line to capture the solidity and weight of the figure and this was entirely based on her training, really rigorous training as a younger artist and that western tradition.”

218044 Stokes female nude — Constance Stokes 1906 – 1991 (*Female Nude*) 1964 ink on paper 24 x 33.5 cm

“Stokes was once mentioned in the same breath as Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, Arthur Boyd, as a great Australian artist. She exhibited during the 30s, 40s, 50s and then again after the war in the 60s and 70s.”

“In London in the 1930s, she directly inherited that Renaissance idea of looking at the form.”

“Sir Kenneth Clark, who came to Australia in the 1940s and he met all the artists and he saw her work and he said, Constance Stokes is one of the world’s greatest draughtsman.”

“…she came back to Australia and she became the most sought after portraitist in Victoria at the time, so she had people queueing to get their portraits done by her…”

For an edited transcript please click here or to listen to the podcast click here

Click here to view artworks by CONSTANCE STOKES available at Lauraine Diggins Fine Art

Constance Stokes The Mime Tribute to Marcel 1981 — Constance Stokes *The Mime Tribute to Marcel* 1981

Chinese and Indigenous Australians: an artistic relationship

Posted by LDFA on June 27, 2018

Zhou Xiaoping Our Country 2017 ink, oil on rice paper laid down on canvas 130 x 95 cm

Eugene Yang reports in the ABC news that this year marks 200 years since the first arrival of Chinese migrants to Australia in an article exploring the connections between Chinese and Indigenous Australians – including the work of Zhou Xiaoping and his collaborations with indigenous artists over the past thirty years, the focus of our exhibition earlier this year. Yang reports on the tendency towards wariness rather than celebration of cross-cultural experiences, something with which Zhou is familiar:

“From the 1990s to today, he has faced suspicion from white Australians claiming his work is exploitative of Aboriginal art, yet does not recall receiving any such criticism from Aboriginal people.

According to The Australian, Zhou was defended by Marcia Langton, Chair of Indigenous Studies at The University of Melbourne.

Professor Langton labelled this criticism as the result of problematic conceptions of Aboriginal people lacking autonomy and needing white protectors.”

To read the article Chinese and Indigenous Australians share a long, ‘untold history’, that’s been captured through art (Eugene Yang, ABC News, Sat 23 June 2018 ) please click here

Please click here to view the exhibition Zhou Xiaoping: The Cross-Cultural Influences of Chinese and Indigenous Art where you can also view the exhibition opening by The Hon Senator Mitch Fifield and hear Zhou Xiaoping speak about his art.

Father and Son 2008 — Zhou Xiaoping *Father and Son* 2008 synthetic polymer on canvas 165 x 230 cm

An opportunity to view : Andrew Sayers Room with a View

Posted by LDFA on June 12, 2018

Canberra Museum and Art Gallery are celebrating 20 years of collecting visual art with an exhibition showing until 17 June 2018, featuring Room with a View by Andrew Sayers from the CMAG collection which curator Deborah Clark describes as “like haiku” with its simplicity of line and form capturing a sense of light, space and atmosphere through the depiction of Sayers’ favourite subject, the landscape. We welcome you to read the article from the Weekend Australian focussing on Andrew’s gouaches and to view the current works available at Lauraine Diggins Fine Art by selecting Andrew Sayers from the artist list on our site.

Andrew Sayers The Australian Review April 2018

A Closer Look At…..ZHOU Xiaoping – the art of collaboration

Posted by LDFA on April 6, 2018

EXHIBITION:
ZHOU Xiaoping: The Cross Cultural Influences of Chinese & Indigenous Art
3 March – 21 April 2018

ZHOU Xiaoping’s referencing of indigenous culture has come from his own experience and immersion in the Australian indigenous landscape, through his relationships with Aboriginal people, and his genuine interest in indigenous culture and art – it is a celebration of his own experiences and journeys, the friendships he has made and his desire to share his understanding of this culture with an audience through his own art.

Follow this link to read more about Xiaoping’s work and experiences, please take A Closer Look At… Zhou Xiaoping collaborations

Cultural Consul’s visit from the Consulate-General of The People’s Republic of China, Melbourne

Posted by LDFA on March 28, 2018

It was a pleasure to receive a visit by Bin ZOU and Xiaohong ZHANG, Cultural Consul’s of the Consulate-General of The People’s Republic of China in Melbourne and Marty MEI, Press Secretary to the Premier of Victoria, Hon Daniel Andrews.

Our guests enjoyed the diversity and unique artistic style of Xiaoping ZHOU’S exhibition, The Cross Cultural Influences of Chinese and Indigenous Art

Marty MEI, Lauraine DIGGINS, Bin ZOU, Michael BLANCHE & Xiaohong ZHANG

Image description:
Painting on left hand side:
ZHOU XIAOPING 1981 – AND JOHNNY BULUNBULUN 1948 – 2010
Discovery of Trading 2009
synthetic polymer and ochre on canvas
232 x 168 cm

Painting on right hand side:
ZHOU XIAOPING 1960 –
Back to Back, Portrait of Jimmy and Xiaoping 1998
synthetic polymer on rice paper laid down on canvas
207 x 154 cm

EASTER HOLIDAY CLOSURE HOURS
Lauraine Diggins Fine Art will be closed on
Friday 30 March – Monday 2 April 2018
re-opening Tuesday 3 April 2018

EXHIBITION: ZHOU Xiaoping: The Cross Cultural Influences of Chinese & Indigenous Art 3 March – 21 April 2018

EXHIBITION:
ZHOU Xiaoping: The Cross Cultural Influences of Chinese & Indigenous Art
3 March – 21 April 2018