Ancestral Modern: Australian Aboriginal Art from the Kaplan & Levi Collection features contemporary painting and sculpture by Australian Aboriginal artists. Curated by Pamela McClusky, Curator of African and Oceanic Art at the Seattle Art Museum, the exhibition celebrates the renaissance that has occurred since the 1970s within the millennia-old traditions of indigenous Australian art.
Aboriginal people gained increased power and visibility in the late 1960s, following decades of grassroots activism. Since then, many artists have translated motifs from traditional art forms, such as rock and body painting, to media that can be more easily shared with viewers around the world. Their sculptures, large, colorful canvases, and intricately patterned bark strips and hollow logs bear symbols that communicate beliefs and histories, laws and rituals, and a profound connection to the land.
When visiting the exhibition, tag your experience on social media with #AncestralModern
Members of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are respectfully advised that some of the artists featured in this exhibition have passed away.
Additional Reading
Learn more about The Language of Symbols in Ancestral Modern from our Blog.
Emily Kam, “Kngwarray Anooralya [Wild Yam Dreaming],” 1995, Synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 59 13/16 x 48 ⅟16 in., Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VISCOPY, Australia Courtesy American Federation of Arts
Tommy Mitchell, “Walu,” 2008, Synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 40 x 60 in., Promised gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan to the Seattle Art Museum, © Tommy Mitchell Courtesy American Federation of Arts
Ngilpirr Spider, “Snell Kurtal,” 2005, Synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 83 7/8 x 59 13/16 in., Promised gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan to the Seattle Art Museum, © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VISCOPY, Australia Courtesy American Federation of Arts
Galuma Maymuru, “Munurru (Rough),” 2005, Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark, 64 9/16 x 30 5/16 in., Promised gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan to the Seattle Art Museum, © Galuma Maymuru Courtesy American Federation of Arts
Dundiwuy Wanambi, “Wuyal with Dhulaku the Euro,” 1991, Natural pigments on wood, 64 9/16 x 9 1/16 x 7 3/16 in. Promised gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan to the Seattle Art Museum, © Dundiwuy Wanambi Courtesy American Federation of Arts
Press
Credit
Ancestral Modern: Australian Aboriginal Art from the Kaplan & Levi Collection is organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Seattle Art Museum.
It was made possible by the generosity of Mrs. Donald M. Cox, the Wolfensohn Family Foundation, and an anonymous donor.
Support for this exhibition at the Blanton is provided in part by Ellen and David Berman.
The Blanton presentation is organized by Claire Howard, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Blanton Museum of Art