Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists From Aboriginal Australia

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art presents “Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists From Aboriginal Australia,” featuring the work of nine contemporary women artists hailing from remote Aboriginal areas: Nonggirrnga Marawili, Wintjiya Napaltjarri, Yukultji Napangati, Angelina Pwerle, Carlene West, Regina Pilawuk Wilson, Lena Yarinkura, Gulumbu Yunupingu and Nyapanyapa Yunupingu.

This leg of the national tour features the full breadth of the collection with 70 works showcased in two of the museum’s galleries. Miami-based collectors and philanthropists Debra and Dennis Scholl have lent the artworks, many of which are being seen publicly for the first time.

The exhibition features some of the most acclaimed artists in Australia, all of whom have works in the Australian National Museum’s collection. Nyapanyapa Yunupingu’s work has been shown at the Sydney Biennale. Her sister, Gulumbu Yunupingu, has work in the permanent collection of the Musée du quai Branly in Paris. Regina Wilson’s work was shown at the Moscow Biennale. Until the 1980s women in these Aboriginal cultures were not given the opportunity to paint for the market. As Aboriginal Australian men began to sell their artwork, women followed suit. This exhibition also narrates a story about a deeply profound sisterhood of women artists, who have risen to the challenge of becoming new leaders of their communities.

Photo: Wintjiya Napaltjarri, Women’s Ceremonies at Watanuma, 2007, Acrylic on Belgian linen, 72 1/20 x 60 6/25 inches