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About the Artists
Our vibrant and dynamic artists are from the Utopia region; a large remote area of Central Australia which, until recently, had no government funded art centre. As a result of their pioneering efforts, they have one of the strongest and richest art histories.
PAST EXHIBITION
Utopia Life
12 Feb - 26 April 2021
Utopia Life celebrates the bright, contemporary and naïve works of husband and wife Dinny and Josie Kunoth.
Twelve new works paint a vivid, colourful portrait of their culture and life in Central Australia's remote Utopia region.
EXHIBITION ARTWORK
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ABOUT
Deep into Central Australia’s remote Utopia region, there is a small community nestled in the bush where Dinny and Josie Kunoth live.
Several bright coloured buildings are home to the residents of this community which include a portion of Dinny and Josie's nine children and their families.
The community is just out of range of cellular coverage and a pay phone stands tall outside one of the main houses providing crucial connection to the outside world.
An empty garage near the community's entrance shows evidence of having been used as a painting studio; on those days when the elements don’t permit being outside.
But Dinny and Josie like to paint in their open air studio. It is just a short walk from the community - up a small winding dirt track on a gradual incline that gives the studio an unexpected platform to view the community and surrounds with ease. The sun sets beautifully on the unimpeded horizon here.
A wind break around the studio has been made of corrugated tin, branches and rope that Dinny and Josie’s family put together.
Canvases are rolled up and stored in an organised fashion on makeshift shelves among the branches, and an old car has been positioned nearby to act as a storeroom; housing boxes of paints, brushes and other art supplies.
Several rugs and blankets are laid across the red dirt which is where these two creatives do their work. They paint and create wood carvings, and their works in both mediums are held in national art gallery collections around Australia.
BUSH FOOTBALL
Dinny and Josie both like to create artworks that are a vivid, colourful portrait of their culture and life here.
One of the main subjects featured in this exhibition is of bush football. Bush football is a sport that receives a passionate involvement from the Utopia community throughout the course of its season and is one of this couple's favourite sporting events - both live and on TV.
Pictured is the Arlparra football ground near to their home; a place where the toughest of football games are played, and are attended by people from hundreds of kilometre's around.
Local teams are named after and don insignia of some of the AFL’s most prominent teams.
Dinny and Josie barrack for their community's Apungalingum Eagles.
I LIKE TO GATHER AROUND THE TELEVISION WITH MY SONS ALAN, SIMON, PATRICK AND BENJAMIN AND WATCH THE AFL – EVEN BETTER IS GOING TO SEE MY SONS PLAY FOR THE APUNGALINGUM EAGLES IN OUR LOCAL BUSH FOOTBALL COMPETITION. FAMILIES COME FROM ALL AROUND TO WATCH THE BUSH FOOTBALL GAMES, ALTHOUGH NOT AS MANY PEOPLE AS AT THE MCG." - DINNY KUNOTH
