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Melbourne, Sydney, New York, April 9, 2025 – The 10th edition of SIGNIFICANT, D’Lan Contemporary’s annual secondary market exhibition of leading modern and contemporary Australian First Nations artists, will for the first time be presented simultaneously across the gallery’s Melbourne, Sydney, and New York locations. This unified international exhibition aims to build a global selling platform for Australian First Nations art that supports First Nations artists and communities.
On view from May 7 to July 3, 2025, the New York gallery will have its opening celebration on May 7, the Melbourne gallery on May 8, and the Sydney gallery on May 10. The gallery’s founder and director D’Lan Davidson will be present at the celebrations in Melbourne and Sydney as well as the New York gallery’s panel on First Nations art toward the end of May. Additional information on the panel will be announced in the coming days.
This year’s exhibition will include important works by Brook Andrew, Paddy Bedford, Gordon Bennett, Daniel Boyd, Sally Gabori, George Jomeri, Emily Kam Kngwarray, Ngarra, Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa, Uta Uta Tjangala, Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, Patrick Tjungurrayi, Yala Yala Tjungurrayi, Carlene West, Bill Whiskey, and a collaboration between Gabori and senior Kaiadilt women artists, among others. Like all of the gallery’s sales, 30% of the net profits from SIGNIFICANT will go to First Nations artists and their local communities.
“We are excited to present SIGNIFICANT across all three of our galleries for the first time,” said Davidson. “This annual exhibition has provided a crucial platform for First Nations artists and this new, international edition brings this important segment of our market to a broader range of international collectors.”
Included across the three spaces in the 2025 edition of SIGNIFICANT will be over 80 works from preeminent Australian First Nations artists, including painting, works on paper, and sculpture. The selection will represent a broad cross section of First Nations communities, contemporary periods, and artistic styles. This unique global presentation underscores the profound cultural significance and artistic innovation inherent in First Nations art, offering a unique opportunity for international audiences to engage with the diverse narratives, histories, and contemporary expressions of these artists on a unified platform. By simultaneously showcasing these works across its three locations, D’Lan Contemporary is hoping to emphasize the universal relevance, enduring impact, and continual innovativeness of First Nations artistic practices.
Particular highlights include Rockholes Near the Olgas (2008) by Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri, which will be on view in the New York gallery. The six-foot by six-foot painting depicts the creation of significant sites throughout the Country of his childhood, which is southwest of Alice Springs. The expressive, textured work, like many of Whiskey’s, holds particular meaning for him, as he never returned to his homelands after leaving in his early life.
On view in the Melbourne gallery, the expansive painting Sweers Island (2008) is a collaboration between senior Kaidilt women Sally Gabori, Amy Loogatha, Netta Loogatha, May Moodoonuthi, Dawn Naranatjil, Paula Paul, and Ethel Thomas. The Kaiadilt people inhabited Bentinck and Sweers Islands in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria until 1947, when, following a series of natural disasters, the entire population was evacuated and transported to Mornington Island by Presbyterian missionaries. In 2005, led by the then 81-year-old Gabori, these Kaiadilt women began to paint. They each established their own distinct visual language, represented places of significance, shared their ancestral knowledge, created cultural legacies, and produced vibrant, personal works of art.
In Sydney, SIGNIFICANT will present the rare and historically important painting Budgerigar Dreaming (1972) by Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa, the artist widely acknowledged as the founder and first master of the contemporary Aboriginal art movement in Central Australia. The work will appear in the upcoming feature film Honey Ant Dreamers, which brings to life the pivotal role that Tjampitjinpa played in the genesis of the Western Desert Art Movement in Australia. D’Lan Contemporary will contribute its commission from the sale of Budgerigar Dreaming to the film’s production.
To view the web version of the catalogue for SIGNIFICANT, please navigate here.
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.
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FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES
For International Requests:
Max Kruger-Dull
Tel: +1-212-675-1800
Blue Medium, Inc.
max@bluemedium.com
For Australian Requests:
Nicole Kenning
Tel: +44 7739 519 290
D’Lan Contemporary
nicole@dlancontemporary.com.au |
