Exhibitions

NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) week begins July 4th and runs until July 11th.

NAIDOC began in the 1920’s to increase awareness in the community, on a wider scale, of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.

Today, NAIDOC is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures that recognizes the contributions of Indigenous Australians in various fields.

This year, as part of the NAIDOC week celebrations, ReDot Fine Art Gallery will be exhibiting, at the Australian High Commission in the Atrium Gallery, representing various art centres and artists.

These talented and intriguing artists highlight the importance of their culture and it’s preservation through the essence of their tremendous and vibrant works.

ReDot Fine Art Gallery is pleased to bring you works by artists such as Sally Gabori, Geraldine Nowee, Eubena Nampitjin and Judy Watson in a spectacular show to celebrate this very important week for Australian culture.

This exhibit will be on display from Sunday, July 4th until Tuesday, August 31st.

Australian Indigenous art is not all that we had imagined it to be. When one thinks of Aboriginal art, a genre driven by a nomadic way of life, one thinks of watering holes and an ancient form of communicating. The meaning behind the beautiful, and sometimes-colourful dots and circles depicting the land, and one’s country, are not immediately apparent in traditional Aboriginal art.

But there has been an interesting evolution brewing since the 1960’s and 1970’s as urban artists have begun to use other mediums to convey messages rooted in politics and social expression. Based on the fact that most urban artists come from areas in which the greatest impact of colonization was felt, the works of these urban artists portray strength in the face of hardship and the success that can triumph struggles.

Hailing from the town camps of Alice Springs, Tangentyere Artists, the art centre, is the answer to the artists being able to take control of their art, and empowering them to further their presence in the art world, as another facet of Aboriginal art.

As a result of this progression, these artists are creating refreshing and unique works. These works don’t just step outside of the bounds of traditional Indigenous art; they are also exploring exciting new technical approaches for communicating their stories through their art. These stories still draw from the rich history of their past and their ancestors, but are also merged with European forms in duality. The legacy of colonization is apparent in the everyday lives of Aboriginals and urban artists are making a strong statement in intriguing ways.

ReDot Fine Art Gallery is pleased to exhibit these works as another electrifying and unexpected face to Aboriginal art. We will be showcasing for the 1st time in Singapore works by award winning artists Dan Jones, senior artists, Grace Robinya, Annie Purvis, Betty Conway, Amy Napurulla, Alison Inkamala, Carmel Chisholm, Yvonne Kunoth, Eileen Moore and Sally Mulda, as well emerging stars such as Jane Young.

The show will be attended by Jane Young, Grace Robinya and Dan Jones, as they add a special touch to the event and share their stories of living in town camps with the Singapore public.

The paintings in "Ingalimpa Tjuntu" - Singing songs, ’We sing the country and that’s how we find the way’ brings together both the way aboriginal artists use the Tjukurrpa (indigenous dreamtime stories) to tell and share the stories of their country through painting and the role of the Tjukurrpa to guide them when physically travelling across the vast desert landscape.

The exhibition invites the viewer to consider how we all navigate through our own country and landscapes both real and imagined. This is a true cross-cultural experience in considering both how Audi embraces notions of personal passion and how an aboriginal artist embraces personal passion and the role of vehicles and modes of transport to achieve and express this. The exhibition brings together the two key passions which currently drive Warlayirti Artists - the support and production of exceptional contemporary art which draws its inspiration from the Tjukurrpa and the Motika Project.

The Motika Project is an arts-based project that encompasses film, photography, painting and advertising and is being produced by Warlayirti Artists with the communities of Balgo, Mulan and Billiluna. It is an inspiring and innovative cultural project to shift behaviors and perceptions through by and about indigenous Australians. It aims to capture the role of the ‘motika’ (aboriginal word for ‘motor car’) for indigenous Australians. It’s this form of progressive attitude for self-expression and passion which is shared between Audi and the “Motika Project”. Audi is glad to have this prestigious exhibition at the Audi Forum Tokyo, and we would like to share the interest and yearning indigenous people have for the “motika” through the respective works of “Ingalimpa Tjuntu”.

ReDot Fine Art Gallery is proud to announce the 2nd Singaporean show of innovative works of the Martumili Artists.

Following on from last year’s first ever, sell out, international show we will be exhibiting the latest and most exciting works from one of the Western Desert’s newest and most refreshing Aboriginal art communities.

Martumili Artists was established in 2006 by Martu people living in the communities of Parnpajinya (Newman), Jigalong, Parnngurr, Punmu, Kunawarritji and Irrungadji.

The incorporation was a lengthy process due to the desire to find the right balance between the production of public art and the protection of important cultural knowledge.  The Martu people observed other communities and arts centres and engaged in long discussions until they decided what they would, and what they would not paint.

This considered approach has reaped amazing results, as well as quick domestic and international recognition from the art community.

The Martu are the custodians of vast areas of Western Australia and they lived a pujiman (traditional) life in the Great Sandy, Little Sandy and Gibson Deserts and in the Rudall River area until the 1950’s and 1960’s when a severe draught and weapons testing programme forced them to move into settlements established by missionaries and the Australian Government.

They are among the last Aboriginal people to come into contact with the white men and footage of first contact has caused intense interest recently in this area.

The works of Martumili Artists are grounded in strong cultural knowledge but its style is contemporary and modern, allowing these works to stand strong alongside any western comparison, drawing parallels with many established western artists.

Sandhills and waterholes and areas around the Canning Stock Route are depicted in abstract, raw, colourful, sometimes naïve, sometimes intense, maps of land and country.

They are some of the most innovative artworks being produced in Australia today, possessing strong cultural significance which has led to demand being high since the establishment of a gallery exhibition programme with most shows sold out quickly.

Martu artists now have their works placed in significant collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, The National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Museum of Australia as well as most private collections of Aboriginal art.

The Adelaide Biennale will present a beautiful large collaborative work by the senior artists, many of which will be showing here in April, again their only international show in 2010.

New works from Milly Kelly, Bugai Whylouter, Nancy Chapman to name but a few will all be on show at our Keppel Road premises, along with many other amazing canvases.

ReDot Fine Art Gallery is proud to present the second Singaporean show of the colourful works of the Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation.

Warlayirti Artists is located in Balgo, in the arid north east of Western Australia, between the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts. As a midpoint between Alice Springs and Broome, this remote community, originally known as Balgo Hills, was established as a Catholic mission in 1939. Its 400 inhabitants are mostly Kukatja speakers, but seven main languages can be found here, making it a rich cultural and religious area, steeped in history.

Warlayirti Artists represents more than 350 artists across three communities in the Kutjungka region. Some of Australia’s leading contemporary artists as well as a large number of promising young pretenders are producing bright pieces with deceiving simple compositions. These creations harbour complex stories of the landscape and cycles of life of the desert.

Warlayirti Artists was established in 1987 with the employment of an art-coordinator, following the success of the first exhibition of Balgo art titled, “Paintings from the Great Sandy Desert,” featured at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 1986. However, the first public paintings by Balgo artists were banners completed in 1981 for the celebration of Father Piele’s Silver Jubilee. Following this, people began painting on canvas board through the Catholic run Wirrumanu Adult Education and Training Centre.

Since those humble beginnings the organisation has grown significantly and the artists represented by Warlayirti Artists have emerged as some of Australia’s leading contemporary indigenous artists. As a result Warlayirti Artists contributes significantly to the social, cultural and economic well-being of the Indigenous residents of the Kutjungka region. It is the only organisation in the region that offers indigenous people the opportunity to actively participate in the market economy.

Balgo artworks have gained a reputation for their boldness and vigor, commanding respect wherever they are exhibited. Artists like Eubena Nampitjin, Elizabeth Nyumi, Tjumpo Tjapanangka, Boxer Milner and Helicopter Tjungurrayi paved the way for the new generation of talents. Some have now departed but the success and future of the community has been firmly cemented by the emergence of these new stars such as Christine Yukenbarri, Theresa Nowee, Imelda Gugaman and Pauline Sunfly to name but a few, all ensuring that Warlayirti Artists will flourish into the new century.

Many of these artists will be on show for this inaugural show at our new premises and we look forward to welcoming you all there for a colour trip around the lands of this remarkable community.

The exhibition opens on Wednesday 24th February and runs until Tuesday 30th March 2010.

The ReDot Fine Art Gallery will start 2010 in a new venue.

After almost 6 years in the charming Everton Road shophouse, ReDot Fine Art Gallery is moving to new premises. From the 1st of January 2010, our increasing collection will get a bigger and brighter home where it hopefully will shine even more than it has at our current place.

ReDot Fine Art Gallery will be moving to ARTSPACE@HELUTRANS, a new space dedicated to Visual Arts located at the Tanjong Pagar Distripark, off Keppel Road just a stone’s throw away from our current location.

In the first show of the year, we will bring some of our best pieces out of the stock room. The old favourites and some new arrivals will be displayed in a striking manner, taking advantage of the space and high ceilings.

It will be a wonderful new era for ReDot and Aboriginal Art in Singapore and we hope you will support us in this new endeavour.

Opening on Wednesday 6th January 2010, the exhibition runs till Saturday 13th February 2010.

The ReDot Gallery is proud to show case a collection of affordable artworks from all our community art centres in the run up to Christmas 2009.

We have selected some wonderful pieces from our stockroom to help you with stocking fillers and buying that "loved one" something extra special for the holiday season. If you are still hunting for that something fresh and original come and see us, we are sure we can find something that will be ideal for YOU!

We will have a large range of pieces, from affordable art work, perfect for a child’s first art piece to stunning collectable pieces for your better half, maybe even for yourself as a personal thank you for the hard year we have had to endure.

Come and have a coffee or a glass of wine and check what we have to offer. This will be our last show at our current location, 11 Everton Road, so make sure not to miss it!

The Christmas Show opens on Monday 14th December and runs till Thursday 31st December 2009 but do please visit us any time before that if you want to avoid the mad rush and get those presents early!

The ReDot gallery is proud to welcome back the beautiful works of Australia’s foremost Aboriginal art community, Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, in what will be the 6th showing in Singapore of the stunning works of the desert masters.

Papunya, a settlement located 240 northwest of Alice Springs, in Australia’s Northern Territory, is considered the birthplace of the contemporary aboriginal art movement. In 1971 school teacher Geoffrey Bardon encouraged some of the men to paint a blank school wall. The murals sparked off tremendous interest in the community and soon many men started painting.

In 1972 the artists successfully established their own company, entirely owned and directed by traditional Aboriginal people from the Western Desert, predominantly of the Luritja/Pintupi language groups. It currently has 49 shareholders and represents around 120 artists living in the communities of Kintore and Kiwirrkura.

The Papunya Tula painting style derives directly from the artists’ knowledge of traditional body and sand painting associated with ceremony. The initial designs were very simple and iconographic but they soon became more complex and today they are highly regarded, being the most collectable group of artists in contemporary Australian art.

Hot on the heels of the majestic ‘Icons of the Desert’ exhibition in NY, which showcased some of the most significant early Papunya boards, we are very proud to have on show some of the most important recent works from this seminal art community.

In this exhibition works by ALL 8 of this year’s Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award finalists from Papunya Tula are on show: Doreen Nakamarra Reid (High Commended 2009 and General Painting winner 2008), Makinti Napanagka (2008 Winner), Yinarupa Nangala (General Painting winner 2009), Walangkura Napanangka, Nyilyari Napangati, Warlimpirringa Tjapaltjarri, George Tjungurrayi and Yulkultji Napangati. Other heavy-weights will also be on show in this collection of over 30 works in what has become the ReDot Gallery seminal annual show.

The exhibition opens on Wednesday 11th November and runs till Saturday 19th December 2009 and it is a must see for anyone interested in following the “songlines” of one of the art movements most important centers.

The show will be opened by Mr. Paul Sweeney, Art Centre Manager for the Papunya Tula Artists on Wednesday 11th November 2009. The exhibition runs till Saturday 19th December 2009.