Mellon Indigenous Arts Program

Freshwater Saltwater Weave

Freshwater Saltwater Weave is a series of glass works by contemporary urban-based Arrernte artist Jenni Kemarre Martiniello. Her works in hot blown glass, coldworked glass and canes are inspired by the aesthetics of Aboriginal woven forms, such as dilly bags, eel traps, fish traps and fish scoops.

Martiniello will be visiting Kluge-Ruhe as a resident artist September 15 – October 15, 2018. We invite you to celebrate the opening of this exhibition at Night at the Museum on September 20. Martiniello will speak briefly at this event, but  will give a full tour of her exhibition on Saturday, September 22 at 10:30 am and will present an Artist Talk on Thursday, October 11 at 6:00 pm. She will be in residence at the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Glass Studio from September 27-30.

Image: Jenni Kemarre Martiniello, Yellow Rushes Fish Basket #2, 2017, hot blown and coldworked glass with canes. 

About Jenni Kemarre Martiniello

Jenni Kemarre Martiniello is an award-winning visual artist, poet, writer, and photographer of Arrernte, Chinese and Anglo-Celtic descent. She was NAIDOC Artist of the Year in 2010, and was awarded Canberra Critics Circle Awards for Visual Arts in 2011 and 2013. In 2013 she won the prestigious Telstra Prize for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art. Her works are held in numerous public and private collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Australian Parliament House Collection, the National Museum of Palau, the National Art Gallery of the Solomon Islands, the Corning Museum of Glass and the British Museum. Jenni works from her studio at Canberra Glassworks. She is represented by Sabbia Gallery in Sydney and Paul Johnstone Gallery in Darwin, Australia.

The Virginia Film Festival's VFF at Violet Crown series presents EL INCA.

'El Inca' is a tragic love story based on the life of two-time World Boxing Champion, Edwin “El Inca” Valero. A charismatic boxer from the Venezuelan Andes, Edwin fights in rings around the world, puts on great shows, and defeats all his rivals with his fulminating knockouts. But as his professional rise begins to sky-rocket, his personal life is put in jeopardy. Trapped in his insecurities, Edwin brings about his own destruction by cheating on his wife and becoming addicted to drugs. Based on powerful true story, this vertiginous film focuses on the life of a talented young man who reaches success, but ends up being the victim of his excesses and his countless fears. View the movie trailer here. 

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NGERRINGKRRETY: ONE VOICE, MANY STORIES

Regina Pilawuk Wilson

Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA | May 25 - July 27, 2018

This summer, three exhibitions of Aboriginal art involving one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, Regina Pilawuk Wilson, will be on view in Charlottesville and Washington, D.C. Join us for an opportunity to meet this remarkable artist, activist and matriarch.

This solo exhibition of Regina's work at Second Street Gallery features paintings on canvas and paper, as well as fiber works and prints. The inspiration for Wilson’s works come from the traditional weaving practices of her people. “My painting,’ says Wilson, ‘it’s about the weaving. In case our daughters or grandchildren forget, it’s on the painting. My big sister told me to do the story on painting for our kids, so they can remember what our ancestors used to do a long time ago. The story, it’s there from a hundred thousand years ago.” In shimmering detail, Wilson recreates weaving techniques in paint on canvas—stitch by stich—creating luminous rhythmic abstractions.  Wilson’s large-scale masterworks, which have brought her international acclaim, will be exhibited alongside her virtuosic fiber-works that show both the innovation and strengt h of tradition in contemporary Aboriginal art.

Regina Pilawuk Wilson’s artwork will also be on view this summer at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. in the Marking the Infinite exhibition of Aboriginal paintings by established women artists.

EXHIBITION SPONSORS

The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Durrmu Arts Aboriginal Corporation, Embassy of Australia, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

Opening Reception - Friday, May 25, 5:30pm

Gallery Tour with Aboriginal Artist Regina Wilson - Saturday, May 26, 2:00pm

Ngunguni: Old Techniques Remain Strong

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection
May 24 - September 9, 2018

 
“These paintings are a symbol of our cultural legacy. We need to keep this legacy strong.” Artist Regina Pilawuk Wilson

Ngunguni is an exhibition of paintings on eucalyptus bark from northern Australia. In 2017, the Kluge-Ruhe Collection received a request from the small art center of Durrmu Arts in the West Daly Region for images and information about artworks from their community held in its collection. After seeing this information, the elders proposed a project to revitalize bark painting in their region. This exhibition is a result of this exchange, and includes earlier artworks from the 1960s alongside contemporary works created this year, all from West Daly.
 
Regina Wilson’s artwork will also be on view this summer at Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia and at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. in the Marking the Infinite exhibition of Aboriginal paintings by established women artists. 

Opening Reception, May 24, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Tour with Aboriginal Artist and Curator Henry Wilson, May 26, 10:30 am