Shop Dale's expertly chosen paintings for concepts behind the works and tips on what to look for when buying Aboriginal art.
Dale is our Senior Curator who grew up visiting the remote region of Utopia as a child. She has worked professionally with Utopia artists for more than 20 years and has curated numerous exhibitions around the globe. She brings a unique perspective and insight into artist motives, techniques and background to the design process.
A beautiful painting by 90-something year old Galya with depth and intrigue. Can you see the underlying markings? They represent Awelye or body paint, which Galya has covered in layers of dots.
Galya grew up in a time when hunting game and collecting seeds were daily rituals, and women's ceremonies, called Awelye, were more regular than they are now.
This piece is one of the happiest paintings I've ever seen. Pure joy. Painted in warm sienna with a layering of deep yellow, titanium white and a cool ash pink on top.
90cm x 90cm
Featuring carbon black as a key colour up against bright hues, this painting was completed after Joycie took part in our 2023 Black + White series. Joycie rarely uses black other than in her background.
The black plays beautifully with colours in this painting, and there are plenty of white and pastels that keep this piece light and bright. If you have black elements in your home this would tie in beautifully. The size is also playfully in between large and small; big enough to be a feature piece on your wall whilst keeping the price point low.
75cm x 75cm
It's the colours; the depth with the perfect amount of black showing through; the visible markings beneath the dots; the meaning and the artist; it's all these things for me.
Galya is a special lady in her 90's, always laughing and making others smile, living a traditional desert life in remote Utopia.
90cm x 45cm
Like her sister Galya, Emily lives a rich traditional life in Utopia's remote north east. Her paintings reflect her Awelye, women's ceremony, in her trademark triangular shapes. This is simply how she remembers being taught to paint them on her body some 80 or so years ago.
Painted in a beautiful deep vermilion, pink blends and white.
90cm x 45cm
Featured in our current exhibition, this stunning Leaves painting was painted in three distinct layers; first a blend of Magenta and Vermillion, second with Vermillion and white and finally a soft scattering of leaves in Ash Pink and white.
Esther is grand daughter to one of Australia's most beloved artists, the late Gloria Petyarre.
120cm x 90cm
A calming palette of greens, blues, purple and a hint of pale yellow. The linear brushstrokes depict the yam and its bright purple flower, which is accentuated with intricate dot work that symbolise the yam seed. There is a good level of movement created by Jeannie's distribution of colours and free flow of brush strokes.
Perhaps unintended, the colours coincidentally mimic the trailing yam leaves and its purple flower authentically.
Jeannie painted this piece as part of an ombre collection; playing with dark and light shades hence the darker shades in the top left. It makes this piece one of my top picks because there is always something to gain visually when there is interest such as this, and in this case an added element of depth.
90cm x 90cm
An incredibly beautiful pastel dot painting by acclaimed artist Polly Ngale, who passed away in 2022, with layers of superimposed dots.
Polly would fill up every inch of canvas with colour. In her late 80's/early 90's, she was losing her eyesight which contributed to the layers that would develop in pursuit of covering up the black canvas. She loved using lighter and brighter colours for this reason and telling you how 'good' each painting was as she was doing them.
90cm x 60cm
Dulcie is our leading lady painting this Utopian style and this is a classic and timeless oversized piece with absolutely movement beautiful movement. Painted with Matisse's Titanium White on a matte black canvas, it will compliment many decor styles and be a large featured artwork.
I recommend stretching it around a 2cm deep stretcher frame so it will hang relatively flush to the wall, and without any box frame around it. This way the movement will feel as though it carries off the canvas and into the space.
180cm x 120cm