previous Exhibitions
Betty Kuntiwa Pumani • Tjukurpa Mulapa Nyangatja - This Story Is Vital And True
Alcaston Gallery is honoured to present an important exhibition of new paintings by highly respected artist and ngangkari, Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, Tjukurpa Mulapa Nyangatja - This Story Is Vital And True at the Alcaston Gallery Exhibition Space - 84 William Street Melbourne from 5 July – 28 July 2023.
Renowned for her visionary large-scale compositions and refined tonal palette, Pumani’s paintings conjure the granite hills, low scrub, sandplains, and waterholes of her ancestral Country of Antara in northwest South Australia, a landscape of red soil blooming with white tobacco flowers.
Like the landscapes they evoke, Pumani’s paintings speak to deeper resonances – of family, ancestors, and inherited knowledge. As Pumani describes, ‘The story I have painted is the very important law of Antara. My mother would always tell me; “You can paint this story - this story is vital and true.” I am very proud of the Maku story and of keeping our grandmother’s and grandfathers’ story strong. I am glad to be able to pass it down to the younger generation, teaching them and showing them everything that needs to be known.’
In this new body of work, Pumani reaffirms herself as one of Australia’s most distinctive and sophisticated painters, balancing dramatic colour moments with swathes of creamy tonal variance that seem to shimmer across the canvas.
Pumani’s extraordinary rise in the Australian contemporary art world accumulated in 2021 with a major commission at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney, as part of The National 2021: New Australian Art. Pumani spectacular ten-metre work was a sensation of the Biennial and was officially acquired by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney into their permanent collection.
© The Artist, Mimili Maku Arts and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne 2023
Barbara Mbitjana Moore • 2023
Alcaston Gallery is honoured to present significant new paintings by the esteemed Anmatyerre artist, Barbara Mbitjana Moore.
Rendered in sweeping arcs of vibrant colour Moore’s paintings are profoundly personal, uniting the Central Desert landscapes that define her. Meticulously recalled from memory, Moore paints the undulating landforms of Anmatyerre Country near Nturiya, north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, the Country of her birth. Her vivid palette stems from the lands around Amata in South Australia, the ...
Judy Holding •WOVEN: CONNECTED
Alcaston Gallery is delighted to present Judy Holding’s new exhibition Woven: Connected, including watercolour on paper, casts and additive sculpture.
Holding’s visual vocabulary of symbolic forms conveys a profound connection to the landscapes of regional Victoria and Murrumburr Country in Kakadu, in the Northern Territory.
The painterly lens through which Holding depicts the landscapes of Murrumburr Country is shaped and informed by her connection with Murrumburr Senior Traditional Owner, Jessie ...
HERMANNSBURG POTTERS•Teaching Young Ones
Alcaston Gallery is proud to present new ceramic works by the internationally acclaimed Hermannsburg Potters, Teaching the Young Ones, on exhibition at the Alcaston Gallery Exhibition Space – 84 William Street Naarm/ Melbourne from 29 November until 15 December 2023.
Through each exquisite ceramic work, the artists eloquently convey their connection to Country and community, unveiling the rich tapestry of contemporary life in Western Aranda Country in the Northern Territory, resulting in a ...
ALCASTON GALLERY - A CONTINUING CELEBRATION OF WOMEN
In 2024, Alcaston Gallery is once again proud to celebrate and advocate for International Women's Day.
This year's theme is Inspire Inclusion; to inspire a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment; to build a more inclusive world for all women; to invest in women and accelerate progress!
Alcaston Gallery has invested significantly in First Nations women artists - with rewards for the artists, financially and culturally, having a significant rippling effect for their families and ...
