art

Aboriginal, Art, australia, Bay Gallery Home, Dreamtime, giftware, New Art, NEWS, provenance, Visual Language

Bay Gallery Home welcomes you throughout December

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Over December we have many beautiful gift ideas for you (we should all treat ourselves to a guilty pleasure at Christmas time) and your loved ones including our stock of fabulous  paintings and our new home and giftware items.  Keep an eye on our website for new products as it will be updated over the next week.  On December 7 we will be open late for the Tetbury, Gloucestershire Christmas light party.  As the main event is on our doorstop we're the perfect place to party while you shop.  We'll be keeping things merry by serving wine, beer and cheeses.

On December 18 we will be holding another event as part of the Tetbury Edit collective - we'll be sharing more on that later.

Our last day of trading in the gallery is Saturday 23 December until 2 January.  We can honour any websales over that period but please take into account post office opening times.

Aboriginal, inspiration, Bay Gallery Home, Interior Design, New Art, Desert Mob

When Nature meets Desert Art

Bay Gallery Home is celebrating the start of Desert Mob this week with a painting by one of our favourite emerging artists whose work is reflected in our beautiful Cotswold Chrysanthemums. The Dreamtime story depicted in the painting is a Wardapi Jukurrpa or Goanna Dreaming.  At the site where this story sits you'll find yellow & white ochre which is used for love potions and ceremonial purposes.  

Desert Mob falls immediately after Darwin Art Fair both of which are important cultural events in the Indigenous art calendar.  Bay Gallery Home proudly supports members of Desert Mob through our Tetbury gallery in the heart of the Cotswolds so drop in or visit us online to learn more.  

Wardapi Jukurrpa by Ruth Nungarrayi 46cmx30cm acrylic on linen

Wardapi Jukurrpa by Ruth Nungarrayi 46cmx30cm acrylic on linen

Father's Day weekend special exhibition 17 - 18 June 2017

Bay Gallery Home is holding a special exhibition for father's over the Father's Day weekend to offering father's a glass of wine or coffee while visiting the gallery on Saturday or Sunday.

Aboriginal Father's teach their children the many skills needed to survive in the harsh Australian outback environment.  They are instrumental in teaching their sons how to hunt and share their wood fashioning expertise to make spears, boomerangs and shields from the incredibly strong Mulga tree found throughout the desert and depicted in many of our paintings.  (we will have examples of these on display) The Father's also teach their young boys and men the Dreamtime stories through secret ceremonies and initiations some of which can take months to complete.  This repetition of the Dreamtime through ceremonial dances and song is essential to the preservation of their culture including the deep knowledge they have of the land, animals flora and fauna.

We wish you all a Happy Father's Day.  

A fantastic new painting currently being stretched ready for our Father's Day exhibition.

A fantastic new painting currently being stretched ready for our Father's Day exhibition.

Art, provenance, Bay Gallery Home

Snake Vine Dreaming, Yanjirlpiri : contemporary uses of traditional iconography

Ngalypi Jukurrpa Yanjirlpiri, Snake Vine Dreaming, by Geraldine Napangardi Granites

Ngalypi Jukurrpa Yanjirlpiri, Snake Vine Dreaming, by Geraldine Napangardi Granites

Our Art gallery seeks to showcase the versatility of the contemporary Australian Aboriginal artists, whose brilliant and diverse work is rooted both in the very real modern-day challenges of their culture & their rich heritage. One of these artists is Geraldine Napangardi Granites, who brings her own dynamic, modern painterly interpretation to a traditional subject matter : the Snake Vine Dreaming, or Ngalyipi Jukurrpa. 

The Snake Vine Dreaming Geraldine paints is associated with a specific country in the Australian Central Desert: Yanjirlpiri, or ‘star’ (known as Mt. Nicker), lying to the west of Yuendumu. In Aboriginal culture, Dreamings have specific ‘kirda’ (owners), and in the kirda of this Dreaming are the Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men & Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women. Geraldine is one such Napaljarri/Nungarrayi artist, the daughter of the celebrated artist Alma Nungarrayi Granites and granddaughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims (dec) and Bessie Nakamarra Sims (Dec): two of Warlukurlangu Artists Artists Aboriginal Corporation founding artists. Born & bred in Yuendumu, she lives locally with her four children and has developed her artistry by observing her grandfather’s art and that of Judy Napangardi Watson, a Warlpiri artist at the forefront of a move towards more abstract rendering of Dreaming stories.

In Snake Vine Dreaming traditional iconography, sinuous lines represent the Ngalyipi (snake vine), and straight lines represent the witi (ceremonial poles) and karlangu (digging sticks). Geraldine's painting pools from this tradition, whilst giving us a visual representation of how intricately interwoven this plant is in the daily physical & spiritual life of its people, and the profoundly interconnected relationship of the Aboriginal people to Country.

The snake vine, or Ngalyipi [Tinospora smilacina]) is found in the trees and shrubs of sandy spinifex plains and sandhills, this green creeper has many uses in daily life and is of great ceremonial importance. The vine is made up into as a shoulder strap to carry parraja (coolamons) and ngami (water carriers), or exploited for its medicinal uses: as tourniquets, and its leaves and vines are used as bandages for wounds. The Warlpiri people sometimes chew the leaves to treat severe colds, or pound the stems into poultices to cure headaches.

The importance of Yanjirlpiri cannot be overemphasized, as the sons and grandsons of Japaljarri and Jungarrayi men are brought here from as far away as Pitjantjatjara country (to the south), and from Lajamanu (to the north) to be initiated. This witi ceremony is performed at night under the stars, during which Napaljarri and Nungarrayi women will dance but then look away and block their ears when it is time for the men dance. In men’s initiations, Ngalyipi is used to tie the witi (ceremonial poles) to the shins of the dancing initiates, and to tie yukurruyukurru (dancing boards) to dancers’ bodies.

You are always welcome to pay a visit to our Art gallery in Tetbury, Gloucestershire or to browse through its digital counterpart in the ART section of this website.

We regularly post blogs on the provenance of our artwork. If you are interested in learning more about Dreamings, do have a read of our blog The Dream before the Art.

NEWS, My Country, Musée du Quai Branly, provenance

Working with the Musée du Quai Branly

In an exciting collaboration with Le Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, Bay Gallery presents a limited range of Australian Aboriginal art stationary from our My Country wallpapers.

The Musée du Quai Branly houses the art and artefacts of indigenous cultures, with an Australian Aboriginal collection in its Oceana Section. It most notably holds the largest international commission of contemporary Indigenous art from Australia. In 2013, with the aim of integrating non-European art into the architectural concept of the building, architect Jean Nouvel commissioned a series of contemporary Aboriginal art installations to be painted on the ceilings, roof and façade of the building on Rue de l’Université.  Eight artists were called upon: four women (Lena Nyadbi, Judy Watson, Gulumbu Yunupingu, Ningura Napurrula) and four men (John Mawurndjul, Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford, Michael Riley, Tommy Watson), each originating from different communities and cultures, reflecting the art of the territories and urban art.

Dayiwul Lirlmim (Baramundi Scales) by Lena Nyadbi, on the roof of the Musée du Quai Branly. Photo: Rooftop Art Adaptation, Musée du quai Branly, 2013. © musée du quai Branly, photo: Cyril Zannettacci

Dayiwul Lirlmim (Baramundi Scales) by Lena Nyadbi, on the roof of the Musée du Quai Branly. 

Photo: Rooftop Art Adaptation, Musée du quai Branly, 2013. © musée du quai Branly, photo: Cyril Zannettacci

It is against this historical backdrop of interest and investment in the Australian Aboriginal art movement that buyers from Arteum came across our My Country collection at LDF, commissioning us to supply their museum shop with My Country wallpaper-covered stationary.  

We now have a limited edition of My Country post books and notebooks available for sale on our Homeware & Accessories page.

 

And for those with a further interest in the intersection of Australian Aboriginal Art and Architecture, here is a short video documenting the Quai Branly project:

Short film following the making of Australia's greatest indigenous art commission. Interviews with architects, planners and artists. The viewer gains an insight into the complexities of such an important project .

provenance

The Dream before the Art

Jitilypuru Jukurrpa by Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker. The original painting is available for purchase on our ART page.

Jitilypuru Jukurrpa by Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker. The original painting is available for purchase on our ART page.

In her life as an artist Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker stands in a family tradition of reputed Utopian painters. The Red Mallee Dreaming she inherited from her grandmother Topsy Pwerle Jones, who along with her aunt Joycelyn Petyarre Jones influenced Sylvaria's evocative feathery compositional style.

The Jitilypuru, or Red Mallee flower is a Eucalyptus species found in arid areas of the desert, and used by the Aboriginals as a sweetener (Eucalyptus rhodantha (Rose Mallee). It is a plant with few yet long-living flowers, lasting 20-30 days and daily producing large amount of nectar. Flowering occurs between March and November, peaking in the winter months of June to August. 

The colour and scale dynamics in this painting beautifully convey the delight of this vibrant, fragrant flower in the arid Australian desert landscape, and through its image the artist expresses her and her community's connection with Country, with its bright sweet gifts.

Photo credit: www.malleenativeplants.com.au

Photo credit: www.malleenativeplants.com.au

Red Malee Dreaming by Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker, detail.

Red Malee Dreaming by Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker, detail.


 Dreamtime is the English translation of the word Jukurrpa, with a meaning encompassing the creation myths and transmitted memories of the Australian Aboriginal people, an immemorial expressive tradition. Jukurrpa is so intrinsically connected with this 40,000 year old community's history and wisdom that the most accurate way of translating it has been to allude to our sense of the formative intangible experience, memory, the divine, the imagination, the dream that inspires creation.

"Our Art is born from the dreams of each artist and the intense colours we see in our land... Through dreams, we can enter the other – parallel – world, in which since creation, gods, spirits and men have lived together." **

Every artist has a Dreaming, which they will interpret throughout their life, enjoying their connection to their dream and the keys they hold to community life.

Red Malee Dreaming by Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker, detail.

Red Malee Dreaming by Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker, detail.

** Quoted from the excellent documentary The Men of the Fifth World:

The aboriginal culture of Australia, includes a large number of tribes inhabiting the oceanic continent before the arrival of the white man. But all that rich culture is doomed to survive in stocks in which its people are destined to extinction.

NEWS, My Country

Australian Aboriginal Art as Surfaces for the Architectural & Design industry

Our inaugural Australian Aboriginal Art Wall Tiles, from original artworks.

Our inaugural Australian Aboriginal Art Wall Tiles, from original artworks.

Design Curial singled us out of  170 national and international exhibitors at Surface Design 2017, introducing some of the most innovative surfaces for the architectural, design and construction industries.

Aboriginal, australia, Bay Gallery Home, NEWS, provenance

Australian Aboriginal Women Artists

The voices of the amazing Australian Aboriginal women artists we represent, the sale of their artwork & the My Country Interiors collection means their communities earn crucial revenue streams.

This allows them to gain independence, access to health care, maintain their origins, cultural heritage and connection with the land.

Through their roles as artists they are expanding the global awareness of an ancient culture in contemporary times. The artist communities we represent are made up of men and women, who have distinct but equally valuable stories to tell and paint of their people and country & it is our privilege to share them and give them a platform. 

• #designwithorigin  #internationalwomensday  #australian#aboriginal •

My Country, NEWS

WIN Award Win!

How thrilling for Bay Gallery Home's My Country collection to be recognised as Interiors Surface Design of 2016 by the World Architecture News WIN Award!

Bay Gallery Home My Country Australian Aboriginal Art Wallpaper Tiles Rugs WIIN Award World Interior Architecture

Here is our ever glamorous Alexandra picking up the award, which was presented by Piers Taylor, at a ceremony hosted at the stunningly refurbished Design Museum.  

 

 

My Country, provenance

Symbols : visual stories

Australian Aboriginal Art Bay Gallery Home

Visual language is integral to the Australian Aboriginal culture. Here (as elsewhere) Art is more than the final product that moves us, art is defined by its creative process. Here, all of creation is in relationship, at one with the land, and the artists are in relationship with their community, sharing stories. 

Whether painted on musical instruments or on canvas, the artists recount mapping myths, rituals and sacred topography – they are metaphors for life's journeys, full of symbolism and references to history, botany, topography and the traditional rural Aboriginal way of life.

Can you recognise any of these symbols in the ceramic tile designs below?
 My Country ceramic wall tiles, core collection (30 cm x 30 cm)

 My Country ceramic wall tiles, core collection (30 cm x 30 cm)

My Country, NEWS

BUILDING PIECES reviews us at Surface Design 2017

Building Pieces reviews us as one of the 'new surfaces' to pay attention to... Quite right.

'BUILDING PIECES' PRESS REVIEWS BAY GALLERY HOME'S AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL WALLPAPERS, RUGS & TILES INTERIORS COLLECTION AS SEEN AT SURFACE DESIGN 2017.

'BUILDING PIECES' PRESS REVIEWS BAY GALLERY HOME'S AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL WALLPAPERS, RUGS & TILES INTERIORS COLLECTION AS SEEN AT SURFACE DESIGN 2017.

Another snapshot of our My Country collection at Surface Design - combining botanical wallpaper & geometric rugs.

You can read the full review here.

NEWS, Surface Design 2017, My Country

Architects Data File: 'truly unique designs'

Bay gallery home's australian aboriginal wallpapers, tiles & rugs exhibited at surface design 2017 and reviewed by architects data file.

We are back from London's yearly Surface Design Show full of gratitude for how well we were received.

We were even singled out in the Architects Data File as one of the 'best in new surface innovation'.

Aboriginal, Bay Gallery Home, Interior Design, Made in the UK, Rug, My Country, provenance

Designing with Art

Starting with Water Dreaming, by Shorty Jangala Robertson.

Starting with Water Dreaming, by Shorty Jangala Robertson.

This Ngapa Jukurrpa, or Water Dreaming is the work of a master of colour field abstraction: Shorty Jangala Robertson. Described as a stetson-wearing superstar, he didn’t start painting until he was quite elderly.  After a life of struggle and trauma involving being hunted by “white fella” during the Coniston massacre, and being separated from his mother during WW2, Shorty became a sought after world class artist.  His paintings are found in collections around the world, and notably in  the New South Wallers Art Gallery.

The Rug Makers: dedicated to their craft! Here they painstakingly colour match the artist's palette...

The Rug Makers: dedicated to their craft! Here they painstakingly colour match the artist's palette...

The technical expertise of our collaborators is key to our pioneering core range of wallpapers, ceramics wall tiles & rugs, and our made to order service.

My Country is unique in translating authentic Central Australian Aboriginal artwork into interior surfaces. Due to the meaning and spiritual importance of every element in the artworks, we make sure to enlist state of the art techniques to preserve the detailed quality of each piece.

Translating the quality of the artists' brushstrokes and character, and in particular their sophisticated use of colour across mediums posed a real technical challenge, to which our collaborators masterfully rose! 

Tada! Our vibrant Water Dreaming rug, 100% wool (200cm x 140cm).

Tada! Our vibrant Water Dreaming rug, 100% wool (200cm x 140cm).

Aboriginal, Bay Gallery Home, Interior Design, Made in the UK, My Country, Rug, provenance

View of Country

Mina Mina Dreamtime Rug, 100 % wool, hand knotted.

Mina Mina Dreamtime Rug, 100 % wool, hand knotted.

The wonderful throbbing, pulsating and constantly moving work of Pauline Nangala Gallagher is influenced by a semi-blindness in one eye. Whilst this might be a disadvantage in day to day life, it gives her a wholly unique perspective.  Pauline’s country is Pikilyi (Vaughan Springs), a sacred water hole  350 km north-west of Alice Springs.  Canvases and paints have been dropped to this remote location since 2005.  Pauline paints her stories using a huge array of colours influenced by the colours of her country.

Bay Gallery Home offers bespoke, made to order rugs from our vast collection of authentic Australian Aboriginal Artworks recounting the Aboriginal Dreamtime. 

My Country rugs are hand-knotted and available in wool, bamboo silk, Chinese silk or art viscose silk. They can be made to any size, colours may be altered, though the design must stay the same.  

Our rugs are manufactured through the ‘GoodWeave’ programme and distributed from the UK.

Rug, My Country, Made in the UK, Interior Design, Bay Gallery Home, Aboriginal, provenance

Dreamtime Rugs

Water Dreaming (Ngapa Jukurrpa) - Puruyrru, 100% wool hand made rug.

Water Dreaming (Ngapa Jukurrpa) - Puruyrru, 100% wool hand made rug.

The artist, Shanna, is the great grand-daughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims (Dec) and Bessie Nakamarra Sims (Dec), two of the senior Aboriginal artists at the forefront of the Aboriginal art movement.  Shanna started painting when she was 14 years old.  Her favourite Jukurrpa, or Dreaming, is the highly complex Water Dreaming, Puyurru, which she depicts in deceptively simple terms and an unrestricted palette.

Bay Gallery Home offers bespoke, made to order rugs from our vast collection of authentic Australian Aboriginal Artworks recounting the Aboriginal Dreamtime. 

My Country rugs are hand-knotted and available in wool, bamboo silk, Chinese silk or art viscose silk. They can be made to any size, colours may be altered, though the design must stay the same.  

Our rugs are manufactured through the ‘GoodWeave’ programme and distributed from the UK.

australia, inspiration, land, Bay Gallery Home, Art, Visual Language, Rug, Interior Design, My Country, provenance

My Country : inspired by the land

"Our art is born from the dreams of each artist and the intense colours we see in our land."

Australian Aboriginal Art Wallpaper, Tiles, Rugs : Bay Gallery Home, My Country collection - Patrick Courbally Stourton

My Country references the Australian Aboriginal philosophy and creative process, whereby all of creation is in relationship, at one with the land.

In our pioneering translations of our artists' artwork into interiors ranges : wallpapers, tiles, rugs, we bring something of the character of Australia's landscapes into your homes.

The artwork we represent stands in the tradition of a sophisticated visual language, composed of layers of regular irregularities of colour, geometry, repetition and scale dynamics.

The particular provenance and symbols of this art – mapping myths, rituals and sacred topography – results in a compelling, versatile aesthetic with a most subtle compositional depth of field. It imbues spaces with wider horizons of the imagination.

We are proud to introduce you to My Country !