The powerful storytelling and collaborative generosity of Yankunytjatjara/Arrernte artist Robert Fielding is on display at Maitland Regional Art Gallery this month.
It's called Tjukurpa - Handle It and it showcases Fielding's unique 2022 state print portfolio, produced in collaboration with Melbourne-based Trent Walter at Negative Press, which draws upon the ideas and powerful storytelling in Fielding's diverse backstory of works.
An artist, storyteller and a keeper of Tjukurpa (ceremony and culture) who lives and works in Mimili Community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, Fielding is descendant to the first Afghan cameleers and the Yankunytjatjara and Western Arrernte people of the central desert.
"With a committed curiosity, a passion for collaboration and a compelling turn of phrase, Robert Fielding is one of Australia's leading contemporary artists," Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) director Gerry Bobsien says.
"Over the past year, Fielding and the team at Mimili Maku Arts worked closely with us at MRAG and embarked on conversations with the community in the lead up to a significant exhibition of Fielding's work here on Wonnarua Country.
"At the heart of this exhibition is Fielding's enduring and persistent passion for printmaking and his unflinching commitment to telling the stories of his family, teachers and Elders."
This collection, exhibited for the first time in Maitland, pushes the boundaries of central desert art, spanning and expanding the fields of paint, print, photography, poetry, drawing, film and sculpture.
"These artworks are about holding onto the importance of Mimili," Fielding says.
"Holding onto the importance of all your male teachers, all your matriarchs - Mayatja, Wati, Tjilpi Minyma, Kungka.
"It's about holding onto what Mimili is about because this is where I came from. It's about holding onto the importance of what this is, the importance of taking back the land and holding it tightly.
"We are all affected by our kinship, our relationships, our connection, our success, our highs, our lows and our rejections, but this work tells us don't ever let go of that light, that candle of what Mimili is all about. Tjukurpa. Maku. Iwiri. The roots of this community."
The exhibition will also feature some of Fielding's other significant works from the past decade, bringing together threads of his past and present to create a new conversation between times, places and cultures.
Fielding will be in residence in Maitland, alongside four other Mimili artists and accompanied by Trent Walter, to collaborate with artists and Elders from Mindaribba Local Aboriginal Land Council, share knowledge and make new work.
Robert Fielding's Tjukurpa - Handle It is showing at MRAG from November 9 to March 9.
Lionel's Place
A Maitland Regional Art Gallery touring exhibition launches at Performance Arts Culture Cessnock (PACC) on Saturday, November 2.
Lionel's Place features more than 140 artworks by one of Australia's most internationally successful printmakers, Lionel Lindsay.
The exhibition spans four decades of Lindsay's career, from 1910 to 1950, encompassing themes such as landscapes, mythical and domestic gardens, portraits, still life, and animal studies. His work reflects both an intense passion for travel and a deep connection to the natural world.
It also highlights his mastery of etching, wood engraving and watercolour painting, inviting viewers on a journey through exotic landscapes abroad and familiar scenes at home.
Born in Creswick, Victoria, in 1874, Lindsay emerged as one of Australia's most influential artists, with five of his siblings also pursuing careers in the arts - including his renowned brother Norman Lindsay.
"Lionel's Place is a fantastic exhibition to introduce a younger generation to the awesomeness that is Lionel Lindsay," art tutor Vanessa Evans says.
"His insanely intricate and delicate prints are a joy to inspect up close - they enable the viewer to really appreciate the immense concentration and focus used by Lionel to produce his images."
