We are delighted to host Penelope Jackson and Monash University Press to launch the publication Unseen: Art and Crime in Australia on Wednesday 19 November at 6pm at the Gallery.
Join the author Penelope Jackson in conversation with Hilary Thurlow discussing Unseen, a riveting look at art thefts, fakes, forgeries, vandalism, ‘disappeared works’ and more.
RSVP Please RSVP by Mon 17 Nov
A growing appreciation for the painters of Utopia has seen a rise in the number of exhibitions showcasing their artwork, including Classics from the Golden Age of Utopia at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney, with paintings by Emily Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre and and Ada Bird Petyarre along with other peers from Utopia (showing until 14 September) and the recent exhibition of Emily’s artworks at the National Gallery of Australia, and now showing at the Tate Gallery, London. The National Museum of Australia mounted a retrospective of Emily Kngwarreye back in 2008 which also travelled to Japan.
Please find links below to a series of reviews for your interest and we welcome your visit to Lauraine Diggins Fine Art throughout September to view a selection of paintings by leading artists from Utopia. Preview the exhibition here.
JOHN MCDONALD – S.H. Ervin exhibition: …there was a time in the 1990s when Utopia was home to some of Australia’s most important living artists. The best work that emerged from this tiny settlement in the centre of the continent was jaw-dropping and is now selling for huge sums. https://www.everythingthe.com/p/classics-from-the-golden-age-of-utopia?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-restack-comment&r=4cgyu3&triedRedirect=true
THE GUARDIAN: The Indigenous Australian artist started painting as an old woman, making over 3,000 extraordinary works in just a few years. Emerging from a profound sense of place, they leave the viewer teetering with wonder. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jul/08/emily-kam-kngwarray-review-tate-modern-london-indigenous-australian-artist
JOHN MCDONALD – Tate exhibition: Emily in London – not a new TV series, but an historic moment for Australian art. For the very first time, Tate Modern is hosting a solo exhibition by an artist from the former colony. Inevitably, the artist is Emily Kame Kngwarreye – “that old lady” from a tiny community in the very heart of Australia, who passed away in 1996 but left a reputation that has continued to expand across the planet. Artists such as Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd and Fred Williams may feature in the Tate’s collections, but no Australian has previously been the subject of a survey at its flagship gallery, Tate Modern, which is currently celebrating its 25th birthday. https://www.everythingthe.com/p/emily-kam-kngwarray?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-restack-comment&r=4cgyu3&triedRedirect=true
ARTNET: Emily Kam Kngwarray’s Market Booms. Prices for the prolific Australian artist’s works are rising swiftly as institutions mount major shows. https://news.artnet.com/multimedia/art-market-minute-jul-21-2669263
JOHN MCDONALD – NGA exhibition: There can be no doubt about the exceptional talent of “that old lady”, as she is described by her relatives. The best of her work is simply breathtaking. One marvels at Emily’s ability to switch effortlessly between styles, her self-confidence, the speed and vigour with which she applied the paint. All the detailed studies of her homeland in Central Australia, all the minute discussions of her motifs such as the yam and the emu, cannot explain her natural ability. If the rest of the world is clamouring to see more of Emily, it’s because there’s nobody like her. https://www.johnmcdonald.net.au/2023/emily-kam-kngwarray/
Showing throughout September at Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, a selection of paintings by artist from Utopia including Emily Kam Kngwarreye; Gloria Petyarr; Nancy Petyarr; Kathleen Petyerre; Angelina Ngal; Kathleen Ngal; Poly Ngal; Greenie Purvis Petyarr, Cowboy Loy Pwerl; Elizabeth Kunoth Kngwarray; Genevieve Kemarr Loy. With the global interest in Emily Kngwarreye including an exhibition at Tate Modern, it is timely to celebrate leading artists from Utopia and their elegant artworks. Characterised by a harmonious balance of colour, a beautiful sense of movement and intricate mark making across the canvas, many of these paintings exhibited are on a grand scale, suggestive of the vast country some 350kms north east of Alice Springs that is depicted. These are representations of Country; of ceremony; of cultural relevance touching on initiation, food, flora, fauna and each artist’s relationship with Country.
To preview the artworks online, please click here
Lauraine Diggins Fine Art is pleased to again bring a selection of paintings, works on paper, sculpture and ceramics to show at The Sydney Fair at the Kensington Room, Randwick Racecourse. Open Friday 30 May 10am – 6pm, Saturday 31 May 10am – 6pm and Sunday 1 June 10am – 5pm.
Please contact us for a complimentary ticket and enjoy over 50 dealers showcasing art, furniture, jewellery, fashion, decorative arts and more.
Our exhibition of paintings by Guanting Li continues at the Gallery in Melbourne and will be finishing on Friday 6 June. A selection are on display at The Sydney Fair.
Elizabeth Kunoth Kngwarray travelled to Sydney with fellow artist Genevieve Kemarr Loy to view her painting hanging as a Finalist in the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. We’re delighted to announce she has also been named a Finalist in this year’s Hadley’s Art Prize in Hobart.
To view artworks by Elizabeth Kunoth Kngwarray, please see our stockroom or contact us.
Congratulations to ELIZABETH KUNOTH KNGWARRAY
Finalist in this year’s Wynne Prize for Landscape painting at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Wynne Prize for Landscape Painting 2025 Art Gallery of New South Wales Entries: 758 (52 selected) Showing : 10 May – 17 August 2025
Elizabeth’s paintings are also showing at the AAADA Fair this weekend at the Malvern Town Hall. Click here for further information or contact us for complimentary entry tickets.
Elizabeth Kunoth Kngwarray depicts aspects of Aharlper in Utopia in the Northern Territory in this painting. The work was created at her home at Iylenty, some 360 kilometres north-east of Mparntwe/Alice Springs. As a cultural custodian, Kngwarray is concerned with transmitting stories and ceremony through her artworks, preserving and continuing her community’s rich cultural practices.
To complete this work, Kngwarray, a three-time Wynne finalist, laid her canvas flat on the ground, applying paint with bottles of varying nib sizes to produce intricate flicks of colour. These ‘flicks’ reference the yam, a native food plant and medicinal source. The yam’s low, sprawling form is evoked through the electrifying reds and blues Kngwarray has applied in varying intensities to create dynamic pools of colour that spread across the canvas. Interspersed among these bold hues are tiny flecks of white, yellow and teal. They shimmer and glint, similar to how the yam’s seeds and flowers gently move when a breeze brushes past the plant.
Click here to view Elizabeth’s work in our stockroom or please contact us for further information.
Concurrent exhibitions now showing until 7 December : Stephen Bowers – A Conference of Birds and Mark Thompson – sine qua non.
This exhibition brings together two celebrated artists from South Australia, internationally acclaimed ceramicist, Stephen Bowers and Mark Thompson, one of Australia’s leading set and costume designers in addition to being a painter and ceramic artist. Both artists showcase ornate patterning in their work and are inspired by the history of art and design within their own unique style.
Bowers also looks to creatures, here a flock of birds across a series of plates, portrayed in bright colours against complex, fragmented backgrounds inspired by designs from ceramics, engravings and textiles. These works speak to the idea of pattern-in-nature and nature-in-pattern and reflect on the tensions of humanity’s appropriation of the natural world for our own use, the fragments representing this broken relationship.
Internationally acclaimed ceramicist, Stephen Bowers presents a flock of birds across a series of plates, vividly portrayed in bright colours against complex, fragmented backgrounds inspired by designs from ceramics, engravings and textiles. This rich mash-up of visual ideas is playfully and skillfully rendered using meticulous brushstrokes that are imitative of industrial process. The ornate patterning inspired by the history of art and design, speaks to the idea of pattern-in-nature and nature-in-pattern and reflect on the tensions of humanity’s appropriation of the natural world for our own use, the fragments representing this broken relationship.
Mark Thompson, one of Australia’s leading set and costume designers in addition to being a painter and ceramic artist, showcases ornate patterning in his work, inspired by the history of art and design within his own unique style. In this current exhibition, Thompson utilises the sculptural form of the bust for many of his fantastical works, with decorative elements and characteristic theatrical flourish. Another reference is the tradition of ceramic creatures, including the wonderful Juggling Pug with links to the Order of the Pug, established in Bavaria around 1740 with resulting porcelain commissions of that time.
Preview the exhibitions and download the illustrated catalogues with essays by Leslie Ferrin, Director Ferrin Contemporary, USA and John Neylon, Australian arts writer.
Lauraine Diggins Fine Art is participating at the AAADA Sydney Fair at Paddington Town Hall 7 – 10 November. The Gallery will be staffed during this time for visitors to the Stephen Bowers and Mark Thompson exhibitions, although you may wish to ring to confirm your visit time 03 9509 9855.
Robert Clinch is one of many artists included in the current exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Medieval to Metal: The Art and Evolution of the Guitar, opening tomorrow Sat 12 October and showing until 2 February 2025.
Robert Clinch’s lithograph Arpeggio is characteristic of his work with his detailed and meticulous rendering of an ‘urban capriccio’.
Clinch’s striking imagery transports the viewer to a fictional but hauntingly real world; telling accessible tales of loneliness, joy, injustice, humour, melancholy and whimsy. Clinch paints entirely from drawings, executed plein-air, often at numerous locations and then adapted for composition in the studio. The same fastidious approach is devoted to his beautifully hand-drawn limited-edition lithographs.
Browse Robert’s work on our site here
The Sydney Fair at The Kensington Room, Randwick Racecourse this weekend Sat 1st and Sun 2nd June. Over 50 dealers showing art, antiques, jewellery, furniture, fashion, collectables and more. We are exhibiting a selection of Australian art from colonial to contemporary paintings, works on paper and ceramics.
See our website for further details.
