D Lan Galleries is proud to return to Sydney Contemporary with a presentation of works by some of Australia’s most significant First Nations artists.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a dynamic group of paintings by the late Anmatyerr artist Emily Kam Kngwarray (c.1910–1996). Recently the focus of major retrospective exhibitions in Canberra, London and Switzerland, Kngwarray continues to break new ground for Australian artists internationally.

Fresh from the remarkable success of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ blockbuster exhibition Yolŋu Power, Yolŋu artists Gunybi Ganambarr and Noŋgirrŋa Marawili (c.1939–2023) are represented by a series of outstanding works on bark and metal. Gunybi’s monumental Spring Water Running Through Reeds (2024) features his sacred miny’tji (designs) cut into a large sheet of reclaimed aluminum.

The booth also features works by the late Pitjantjatjara artist Tiger Palpatja (c.1920–2012), whose paintings vibrantly depict his ancestral Country. Palpatja’s works, from his estate, will be exhibited in Australia for the first time. Ngaanyatjarra artist Cliff Reid (c.1947–2010) will be represented by two compositions drawn from men’s ceremonial designs.

Also on display are two striking collaborative works by the Spinifex artists of Western Australia’s Great Victoria Desert, painted by some of Tjuntjuntjara’s most famous male artists — Simon Hogan, Lawrence Pennington, Fred Grant, Ned Grant and Roy Underwood.

A small, rare group of paintings and works on paper by the late Gija artist and lawman Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford (c.1922–2007) will also form part of our presentation.