D’Lan Contemporary Launches New International Secondary Market Exhibition

D’LAN CONTEMPORARY LAUNCHES NEW
INTERNATIONAL SECONDARY MARKET EXHIBITION

Melbourne, Sydney, New York, January 21, 2025 – D’Lan Contemporary is pleased to announce SIGNIFICANT, its annual secondary market exhibition, which will be presented across all three of its galleries in Melbourne, Sydney, and New York for the first time. This expanded format, which will take place May 8 to July 4, 2025, aims to establish an international selling platform for Australian First Nations art.

For the past seven years, SIGNIFICANT has been a mainstay of D’Lan Contemporary’s flagship Melbourne gallery. The exhibition has offered secondary market works by leading modern and contemporary Australian First Nations artists to Australian and international collectors. The new format exhibition is intended to further elevate awareness of and appreciation for Australian First Nations art and to provide increased exposure and access to a broader, international marketplace.

The market for Australian First Nations art continues to grow. Sales of such art recorded a total of $8.38 million USD at auction in 2024, up from to $7.95 million USD in 2023. However, there are currently only two auction houses in Australia, and none internationally, that represent this sector of the market with a dedicated auction.

Gallery Founder and Director, D’Lan Davidson said, “We are excited to present this new, international format exhibition, and to provide a crucial platform from which to raise the profile of this important segment of our market. Australian First Nations art is an increasingly vital and vibrant sector, which has long been ready for greater attention on the global stage.”

In 2024, D’Lan Contemporary’s overall sales totaled approximately $18.63 million USD. The sales were distributed internationally, with the Australian gallery sales amounting to roughly $13,432,000 USD and the New York gallery sales to $5,182,000 USD. Last year, the gallery’s secondary market sale highlights included Emily Kam Kngwarray’s Bush Plum Country (1989), which sold to a U.S. institution, and Bill Whiskey’s monumental Rockholes Near The Olgas (2007), which sold a private U.S. museum.

Additionally, Alec Mingelmanganu’s Wanjina (circa 1980)–one of the last remaining large-scale Wanjina paintings by the artist to remain in private hands–sold to a private collector in Sydney for an undisclosed sum. Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa’s foundational work, Mikantji and Tywerl (1971), fittingly sold to an Australian Institution. Ronnie Tjampitjinpa’s Tingari Ceremonies at the Waterhole Site of Pinari (1997) also sold to a private collector in New York.

D’Lan Contemporary is now accepting consignments of exceptional works of art for SIGNIFICANT and for its participation in two of the world’s most prestigious art Fairs, TEFAF Maastricht and Frieze Masters 2025.

ABOUT D’LAN CONTEMPORARY
D’Lan Contemporary was founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2016 by art advisor and gallerist, D’Lan Davidson, who was previously Head of Indigenous Art at Sotheby’s Australia and who has specialized in Australian First Nations art for more than twenty years.

Representing Australia’s most distinctive and dynamic art movement, D’Lan Contemporary presents regular exhibitions by leading First Nations artists at its galleries in Melbourne, Sydney and New York, alongside an international program of educational talks and events that celebrate and promote the rich art and culture of the country’s first peoples.

In addition to its international exhibition program, D’Lan Contemporary frequently sources exceptional works of art on behalf of museums, institutions, and noted private collections.

D’Lan Contemporary maintains strict ethical practices and is committed to generating positive industry change to create a sustainable marketplace for this important segment of Australian art and culture. The gallery contributes 30% of its net profits back to First Nations artists and their local communities.