Mitakiki Woman's Collaborative
Step Into Australian Desert Dreamtime at Olsen Gruin Gallery
LA WeeklyJordan Riefe
May 10, 2019
Walk into Olsen Gruin Gallery in Culver City and step into another place and time. Surrounding viewers are what look like large-scale abstract expressionist paintings from the mid-century by mavericks who drank, cursed and smoked too much. But titles like "Mamungari ‘nya," "Ngura Pilti" and "Ngayuka mamaku ngura ini Makiri," all painted in 2018, are the first hint these might not be what they look like. In fact, they are figurative paintings by indigenous artists from Central Australia that constitute the dazzling new show, APY Lands LA: Central Desert Painters of Australia, through May 30 in Culver City. Presented in partnership with the Australian Consulate-General Los Angeles, it is the largest collection of Australian indigenous art ever shown in the Southland.
Featured image: Taylor Cooper, "Malara: 1 Wanampi Tjukurpa" 2018. acrylic on linen, 59.8 x 48 inches
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APY LANDS LA Central Desert Painters of Australia