Bunch Auctions to Spotlight Emily Kame Kngwarreye Amongst Many Aboriginal Artists on October 19th

The Contemporary & Aboriginal Art Catalog features works by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa and variety of indigenous artists

Open for Bidding now through October 19th

(5) Emily Kame Kngwarreye (Australian, 1910-1996) "Body Stripes", set of (5) paintings, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 36" each

CHADDS FORD, Pennsylvania (October 10, 2021) – Bunch Auctions is proud to announce that three major works by Australian aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye, will be amongst the highlights of October 19th's Fine Art auction. Kngwarreye will headline the aboriginal segment of the 246 lot sale.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye was born at the beginning of the 20th century, and grew up in a distant desert area called Utopia. In her younger years when most Aboriginal women were contracted out as domestics, she was employed as a ranch stock hand. This early display of the power and sovereignty would later translate to her prolific paintings.

For the majority of her life, Emily had little contact with the world outside of her clan country, Alhalkere. She began painting in the late stages of her life, beginning her career in 1988 around the age of 80, and swiftly became an artist of international stature. Though she had a late introduction to the craft, her incredible productivity allowed her to produce over 3,000 paintings during her brief eight-year métier until her death in 1996.

Emily Kame Kngwarrye (Australian, 1910-1996) "Yam Dreaming", acrylic on canvas, 35-3/4" x 47-1/2"

Alhalkere is the home to the Yam Dreaming site from which Kngwarreye takes her bush name, Kame. She sought inspiration from her lifelong dedication to the women's Dreaming sites here in her native land. Alhalkere was the place and essence that was continually infused into her extensive stylistic range of artwork. Her dreamscapes may have translated to canvas in the simple form of streaks & stripes, erratic fields of dots, or mercurial maps of line and color -- but her commentary takes us back to the memories and visions of Alhalkere:

Emily Kame Kngwarreye, interview with Rodney Gooch, translated by Kathleen Petyarre:

Whole lot, that’s whole lot, Awelye (my Dreaming), arlatyeye (pencil yam), arkerrthe (mountain devil lizard), ntange (grass seed), tingu (Dreamtime pup), ankerre (emu), intekwe (favourite food of emus, a small plant), atnwerle (green bean), and kame (yam seed). That’s what I paint, whole lot.

(5) Emily Kame Kngwarreye (Australian, 1910-1996) "Body Stripes (Blue)", acrylic on paper, 30" x 22-1/2"

Whether she paints the lineal forms found on tribal body design & scarification such as in Lot 70162 "Body Stripes" or the web-like patterns of the yam as seen in Lot 70164 "Yam Dreaming", Kngwarreye's raw energy in her linework visualizes the intense connection between herself and her nation.

Even after her death she still stands as one of the best known Aboriginal artists, and the most admirable leader of the Utopia art movement. The stories she paints are a spiritual journey into her ancestral history, sacrality and spirit of her culture.

Auction: Tuesday, October 19, 4PM EST at Bunch Auctions

Browse the complete catalog at www.bunchauctions.com