He was invited to Oprah Winfrey's private party, welcomed her to Australia with a smoke ceremony, painting, dance and digeridoo music; he has danced for Bill Clinton's daughter, received a standing ovation from the Saudi Arabian National Guard and performed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic games! 

Now his impressive resume will be complete as he will paint and perform at Kate Owen Gallery this week!!!

Kurun is a renowned artist, digeridoo player and dancer, but most of all he is known for his iconic Aboriginal Artwork.  He will be painting new works in the gallery, is happy to be photographed and you may even be lucky enough to buy an artwork you have seen him paint.  Kids especially will enjoy this experience.

Most of all, Kurun is a warm and friendly guy who is great to talk with - he straddles Australia's cultures with true Indigenous-Aussie spirit, and loves to talk about his art, his culture and his music.  View some of Kurun Warun's Aboriginal Art or read his biography. 

The two paintings below are 'Lee Moo Pareeyt (Dry Water)' and 'Black Boy', both 72 x 200cms.

We are pleased to invite you to join us for a Christmas drink and to watch/meet with Kurun, tomorrow and Saturday (23 & 24 December), from 12 - 5pm for a little break from the silly season whirlwind.  All are welcome.

Good, Strong, Powerful!  National Gallery of Australia is showing works by Kukula  and others from Mwerre Anthurre artists in this show which runs until 15 January 2010.  Check out these fascinating naive artworks by indigenous artists across Australia - all with some form of disability.  You might like to check out the NGA's downloadable fact sheet too.

At Kate Owen Gallery, we have a number of Kukula's artworks in stock... and being very impressed by her works and those of fellow artists Adrian Robertson and Billy Kenda, we featured an exhibition of works from her art centre earlier this year.  Kukula McDonald's works are presently focused on the wild black cockatoos of the Australian bush, and she captures the character and spirit of these unique birds perfectly  (not an easy task, as many an artist who has attempted it can tell you!) 

Kukula spends her life in a wheelchair and the first focus of her artwork was just that - Wheelchairs!  She painted them relentlessly and it is said that she knows every make and model of every wheelchair owned by an aboriginal person throughout the country!

Now her focus is on the black cockatoos and their environment.  A poignant subject as well, given that birds in artworks often represent a subconscious yearning for freedom.  Her works are a unique and delightful representation of these cheeky outback characters by a gifted and plucky artist.  

Please join us for a very special occasion!

Next Thursday 13th October, from 6 - 8pm, we will quietly be opening our exciting new indigenous art COLLECTORS' GALLERY. The spacious top floor of 680 Darling St. Rozelle, will be transformed to showcase secondary market fine art by a host of Australia's greatest master artists.

This one's been a long time coming... this amazing Watarru Community Collaborative is one of the few works that regularly gets pulled out for visitors to the gallery and when it does it often gets left out as everyone who walks by is drawn to it.  The work uses the unique combination of a typical white man's geographical expression of a landscape and an aboriginal perspective in which we delve into legendary images and stories.

This collaborative artwork includes the following female artists:

Katrina Pollard Nampitjinpa - granddaughter of Telstra winner, Ngoia Pollard

Bronwyn Jimmy - daughter of Wipana Jimmy

Tinpulya Mervin - community leader and artistic leader for this work

Wipana Jimmy - community leader, key driver of the establishment of Watarru community in the mid 1980s and cousin of Jimmy Baker

Anne Dixon Nangala - daughter of Wipana Jimmy

Imitjana Pollard - daughter of Ngoia Pollard

Watarru Community Collaborative   Jimmy's Country   200 x 248 cm   $19,775 - WCCG0002