Cologne, 19 November 2010
The Museum Ludwig in Cologne is presenting an aboriginal art exhibition, entitled “Remembering Forward, Australian Aboriginal Painting since 1960”.
Australian artists have diverse origins and the exhibition will present important contemporary works to enhance the viewers’ understanding of these paintings. Nine artists from different regions, including the Western desert, Kimberley and Arnhem, were selected to show the different aboriginal cultures in Australia.
Aboriginal contemporary art comprises two main characteristics: the relationship between artists and their traditions and myths and a visual language which appears modern to the Western eye.
This exhibition underlines the artists behind the works, their individual style and development. Their works are not mere expressions of cultural history but artistic representations of the interpenetration of modernity and tradition. The selected artists chose to focus on the theme of dreams, derived from an oral tradition and explaining the creation of the world. These myths describe how their ancestors created the Earth whilst thinking of the future. The presented works have to be understood as a commitment instead of a new vision of cultural history.
Due to the modern materials used in the 1970s like acrylic and linen, the artists created innovative visual shapes which become references to Western abstract art.
The selected artists include Paddy Bedford, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Queenie Mckenzie, Dorothy Napangardi, Rover Thomas, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Clifford Possum Tjalpaltjarri, Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula, Binyinyuwuy, Tom Djawa, Gunguyuma and Samuel Lipundja from the New South Wales Gallery.
The exhibition will open on 20 November and end on 20 March 2011.