Born c. 1937
Title - Wandjinas, 2002
Size 72cm x 69cm
Acrylic on canvas
Offered with this work is a Certificate of Authenticity
Price: $1,600 (free shipping)
Sale Price AUD 1,400(free shipping)
Lily is recognised as being one of Australia's most important contemporary aboriginal artists.
Lily specialises in representations of Wandjina, executed in a refined style, full of subtle tonal variations. The Wandjinas are painted on rock walls in the Kimberley region of Western Australia often near caves. The local aboriginal people would call on the Wandjinas for an increase in bush tucker or children.
Lily has painted two Wandjinas surrounded by caves. Lily's style is distinctive, precise and powerful with a certain whimsical charm. This work is an excellent depiction by Lily of the Wandjina image, highly detailed with her well-known imaging. Lily has painted the work to achieve an overall bright and happy effect - the background colour is warm, the contrast colouring of the Wandjina image and dotting sit well. This format enables Lily the freedom to paint an exceptionally strong work, indicative of the rock art in her country and including the cave rocks. Every Wandjina figure she paints seems to have a personality of its own.
She has exhibited her work extensively and her work is sought after in Australia and internationally.
Lily was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for Contribution to Art in 2003.
Her works are held in a number of public and private collections including Artbank, Sydney, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Berndt Museum of Anthropology, University of Western Australia, Christensen Collection, held Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, U.S.A.
Exhibitions include:
1981 - Art of the Australian Aborigine, Museum fur Volkerkunde, Leipzig, Dresden, Germany
1988 - Karnta, Touring South-east Asia
1990 - Balance, Brisbane
1991 - Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW
1992 - Broome Fringe Festival
1993 - Images of Power, National Gallery of Victoria
1994 - Power of the Land, Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria
2003 - "Spirit Country", Matsunoyama, Hokkaido and Tokyo, Japan
2004 - "Aborigènes - les couleurs du Rêve", Muséum d'Histoire naturelle, Lyon, France
2005 - PALS Art Exhibition, Wardarnji Aboriginal Cultural Celebration, Fremantle
2006 - Dreaming Their Way: Australian Aboriginal Women Painters, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC
2007 - Back To The Board, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney and Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
