Exhibitions

ReDot Fine Art Gallery is honoured to present our latest exhibition, ‘Sublime Wisdom of the Ömie Masters: The Final Release of Works by Brenda Kesi (Ariré) & Lila Warrimou (Misaso)’.

This exhibition follows on from the momentous show, ‘The Art of Isawdi (Fate Savari)’, which we presented in 2021/2022, in Singapore and then to critical acclaim at Delmar Gallery in Sydney.

This new exhibition features six rare and previously unreleased mud-dyed barkcloth works by Brenda Kesi (Ariré) [born circa 1937], along with twelve similarly unseen, barkcloth works by Lila Warrimou (Misaso) [born circa 1944], who is the Paramount Chief of Ömie women.

‘Notes from my Country’ is Naomi’s second full solo painting show with us, thirteen Acrylic on Linen artworks boldly exclaim the strides Naomi is making, thirteen reasons to take note of one of Australia’s most important Indigenous practitioners.

Her work remains as fresh and vibrant today as it was in the early days under the tutelage of Robbi Neale at the Lockhart River Art Centre. The confidence in the brushstrokes evident in each, and every, work as Naomi challenges herself to explore new ideas, concepts, and techniques to give life to her voice.

Canvases have become larger, more intense, fluid. The control of colours engaging, designs increasingly complex and the narrative ever more subtle, all-in direct response to the increasing demand and expectations of the collectors and Institutions that are lining up to purchase her work.

The future for Naomi looks very bright, the pipeline of Institutional events remains full for the foreseeable future and as Naomi’s star shines brighter so her ideas seem to blossom and grow, enabling ever more complex projects and ideas to be developed.

Years in the making and a major project of dedication and passion for all involved, ReDot Fine Art Gallery, in association with Ömie Artists, are thrilled to finally present THE ART OF ISAWDI (FATE SAVARI), a solo exhibition of Isawdi (Fate Savari), undisputedly one of the most outstanding senior Ömie artists from Papua New Guinea.

Born circa 1933, well before first contact with the modern world for her remote region, Isawdi’s work has come to symbolise the connection between colliding cultures. The isolation from outside influence allowed her to hone her skills unreservedly in the ancient and rare art of barkcloth painting (sometimes referred to as “tapa art”), which is the primary artform created by the Ömie people. While barkcloth art has sadly become extinct across most continents of the world, it has miraculously survived to the present day in the remote villages of Ömie, deep in the interior mountains of Oro Province. In this idyllic time and place, Isawdi learnt a wealth of exquisite designs and motifs, that resonate with the beauty of her sacred mountain lands, as well as with her unique Melanesian culture.

For a master painter of this calibre to spring from this astonishing Pacific painting movement is truly a precious gift to not only Papua New Guinea’s artistic and cultural heritage, but to humanity at large. While we can identify similarities between Isawdi’s art and other world indigenous artforms—such as the abstract symbolism predominantly based on the natural world—for those paying close attention and able to discern the fine nuances, what Isawdi is presenting to us is wholly unique in its scope and vision, and a monumental achievement for her people and culture.

Alongside her breath taking barkcloth paintings, a never seen before suite of 88 works on paper is also presented, documenting the magnitude of her vision in splendid detail. These extraordinary works are an explosion of artistic knowledge transposed to a medium more familiar to the global public, allowing a permanent marker and representation of her culture for future generations of Ömie.

This suite, of never seen before works on paper, draws parallels to the 1971-1972 Papunya boards. The measure of Isawdi’s importance to Omie culture cannot be overstated. Isawdi is to Ömie as Shorty Lungkata Tjungurrayi, Kaapa Tjampitjinpa and Johnny Warrangkula Tjupurrula, to name but three, were to the pioneers of the early Papunya Tula Art Movement.

Another parallel that comes to mind is the Yirrkala crayon drawings of 1947, an unrivalled document of Yolngu knowledge and law. These 365 works were made by the senior leaders of the Yirrkala community through their collaboration with the anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt. The major difference is that Isawdi’s works on paper were a self-initiated desire to share culture, not encouraged by external forces. The painstaking documentation of the Yirrkala drawings done by the Berndt’s is—in this instance of Isawdi’s works—undertaken by the relentless passion of Brennan King, the Ömie Artists manager, to ensure that this culture is preserved as accurately as possible for future generations. His exhibition catalogue essay, ’Seeing through the Eyes of the Heart: The Art of Isawdi (Fate Savari)’ examines her art and this particular body of work in tremendous depth, as well as providing a rare and intimate account of her remarkable life and world view.

Isawdi’s work is the pith—the absolute essence of her culture and we hope that this exhibition goes some way in affirming Isawdi’s rightful legacy as one of the most important contemporary Pacific artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Isawdi’s art can be viewed in public institutional collections around the world with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) being a very early supporter of this artistic powerhouse along with Museum Victoria. International institutions such as the Fowler Museum at the UCLA, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge and the British Museum also boast collections of Isawdi’s art.

REDOT FINE ART GALLERY is excited to announce the first international solo shows for Delores Tipuamantumirri & Alison Puruntatameri, two of the most collectable and exciting artists of the renowned community art centre of Munupi Arts & Crafts Association.

With the hard work of Guy and Gina Allain, we have been diligently and regularly discussing, curating, culling and developing this important collection of works from these two artists since NATSIAA 2018, when we spotted the emerging talents of Alison and the bold advancements of Delores, whom is the daughter of acclaimed Tiwi artist Cornelia Tipuamantumirri.

3 ½ years later, after many twists and turns and the completely changing face of the world, with many many difficult periods, we have finally been able to bring this show to you to remind us all of the resilience of Indigenous culture and our joint commitment to never allow adversity block creative excellence.

Banapa, which literally means “nets” is homage to the people of Pirlangimpi on Melville Island. Delores with her own creative ingenuity interprets the traditional geometrical designs associated with the remarkable cosmology of the Tiwi People and Alison has developed a style of intertwined winding stripes, vertical and horizontal lines, or other delicate shapes of natural ochre dots, creating patterns, often of linear composition, that resonate with the traditional customary rituals and the associated sophisticated body paintings of the Tiwi people.

Culture remains strong, artists like Delores and Alison ensure this. I hope you enjoy this shimmering, optical extravaganza of works, each individually stunning and collectively symbiotic.

REDOT FINE ART GALLERY is excited to announce the first group exhibition of artwork by the renowned community art centre, Spinifex Arts Project, in almost 3 years. Since our popular 2018 exhibition the world has changed almost immeasurably, bringing new challenges to us daily as we manage the COVID pandemic. However, one thing has remained comfortingly unchanged throughout, the incredible quality and bold statements the works of these desert artists emit.

Making a Mark, is a painstakingly curated collection of 38 works on linen that will be presented to the public virtually for now, and physically at a date that COVID permits, having taken most of the last 3 years to amass.

The works represent the continued cultural journey that these artists are traversing, ensuring cultural continuity for their people and continued connection to land. Works by senior artists such as Lawrence Pennington, Lennard Walker and the late Mr. Underwood have been sensitively chosen to sit alongside, and help the development of, the younger torch bearers of community such as Timo Hogan, Ian Rictor and Patju Presley.

Two collaborative works by the females of the community, produced in 2019 complete the exhibition, ensuring all voices and Tjukurpas are heard!

A must-see for anyone interested in following the on-going developments in Indigenous Art and an opportunity to better understand the evolution of one of Australia’s finest community based Indigenous art projects.