‘The composite self’, a theme in the exhibition ‘Looking Out, Looking In’ at the Queensland Art Gallery until 6 August 2023 explores the multidimensional nature of identity, and the idea that our sense of self is informed by numerous influences, including our social circles and familial ties. For example, Vincent Namatjira’s double portrait Albert and Vincent…
Continue reading » “The composite self: Exploring the self-portrait”
Gifts made to the Gallery through a Will have been central to the development of QAGOMA’s Collection. Since 2018, a generous bequest received from Helen Dunoon has helped to bolster the Gallery’s holdings of works on paper. Here, Lucy Whyte highlights some of the acquisitions made possible by this support. Over the last three years,…
Continue reading » “A legacy of works on paper: The Helen Dunoon Bequest”
Three painted terracotta pots by Arrernte–Luritja artist Irene Entata depict three distinct periods in Arrernte artist Albert Namatjira’s life, including the sad circumstances of his death. One of the foremost artists of the Hermannsburg Potters, Irene Entata (1946–2014), is known internationally for her unique painted ceramics. Much of her art fondly depicts a time that…
A conventional portrait — a seated half-figure painted from life — which is disrupted by the subject’s race. In mid-twentieth-century Australia, Indigenous people had rarely figured in a genre that confirmed the status of ‘elder statesman’ upon its (mainly male) subjects. William Dargie’s Portrait of Albert Namatjira 1956 (illustrated) has subsequently become the most identifiable…
Continue reading » “This portrait of Albert Namatjira has become his most identifiable image”
William Dargie’s iconic image of Albert Namatjira has become the most identifiable image of the artist, and Ben Quilty and Vincent Namatjira have each been inspired to incorporate this original into their versions. Ben Quilty’s painting Albert 2004 features two identifiable Australian identities placed together, Namatjira, the pioneer of contemporary Indigenous Australian art, and the…
Continue reading » “Albert Namatjira, an Australian identity”
Ntaria, the former Lutheran Hermannsburg Mission, located about 130 kilometres west of Alice Springs, is now home to the Hermannsburg Potters. The Arrernte people from this area – inspired by the example of their forebear, Albert Namatjira – are famous for their watercolours of the desert interior of Australia. When the Arrernte community took responsibility…
Continue reading » “The full-bodied vessels of the Hermannsburg Potters document their culture”
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.