About the exhibition

Three years in the making, this splendid touring retrospective exhibition has been generated by the Art Gallery of South Australia and celebrates the work of one of Australia’s greatest painters of the late twentieth century. The Anmatyerre man, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was a precursor and pioneer of Western Desert ‘dot’ painting movement which emerged in central Australia in the early 1970s. This movement is now recognised as one of the most powerful developments in recent Australian art history, and all of its major shifts can be charted through the three decades of Clifford Possum’s extraordinary artistic career.

A painter of complex abstract designs encoded with his inherited Dreaming stories, his multi-layered painterly surfaces radiate a vastness of uncontained beauty and exude ancient knowledge about the oldest living culture in the world.

Of all the Western Desert artists, Clifford Possum was one of the most innovative and accomplished. Throughout his painting career he invented wholly new devices and sets of symbols, such as his startling ‘spindle’ in his Love Story Dreamings, creating engaging visual ploys for the European onlooker and a wave of inspiration for his artist peers. Clifford Possum’s orchestration of complex Dreaming subjects on an unprecedented monumental scale almost all the way through his oeuvre remains unsurpassed. This technical brilliance and ability to suitably share his culture with a broader audience drew mounting numbers of admirers in Australia, and rapidly gained international recognition.

Fifty-two works have been carefully selected for the exhibition including some of his greatest masterpieces drawn from public and private collections throughout Australia, Europe and the United States. Dr Vivien Johnson is the curator of the exhibition and author of the accompanying scholarly and richly illustrated book. This recently released book reveals many new and penetrating insights on art and life of Clifford Possum and his formative role in the emergence of Western Desert art as an international phenomenon.

Once the exhibition closes in Adelaide, it will tour to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. National tour dates appear below.

Admission charges

Guided Tours

Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday at 1 pm
Meet at the entrance to the exhibition. Entry charges apply - see above

Private Tours
Get a group together of ten people or more and have your own private tour.
Telephone 8207 7075 or 8207 7035 to be put in touch with the Gallery Guide Booking Officer
(Please note that approximately 2 weeks notice is required)

Exhibition entry fees apply

Friday 31 October at 12.45 pm
Kerry Smallwood, Kelton Foundation, speaks about the art of Clifford Possum in the Kelton Foundation Collection, Los Angeles. The presentation will include a unique recording of the artist singing a song-line to one of the paintings.

Tuesday 18 November at 12.45 pm
Tracey Lock-Weir, Associate Curator of Australian Paintings and Sculpture, speaks about Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Warlugulong, 1976.

Saturday 22 November at 11am
John Kean speaks about the art of Clifford Possum, whom he met and befriended in the mid 1970s when working as an Art Adviser at Papunya.

Tuesday 2 December at 12.45 pm
Franchesca Cubillo, Artistic and Cultural Director at Tandanya, speaks about selected works in the exhibition.

Free Public Lectures

Saturday 1 November at 2.15 pm
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri: the early years
Dr. Vivien Johnson, curator and author, presents a talk with visuals on the early carvings and paintings of Clifford Possum.

Sunday 2 November at 2.15 pm
Supernova: the iridescent life and times of an Indigenous artstar
Brenda L. Croft, Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of Australia, speaks about the art of Clifford Possum.

Saturday 8 November at 2.15 pm
Love Magic: an introduction
with special reference to the work of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.
Dr Christine Nicholls speaks about the Indigenous Australian people of Central and Western Deserts who have powerful traditions of love magic, rituals and ceremonies involving the painting of special designs and Dreamings, the singing of secret love songs, and other forms of artistic expression.

Saturday 22 November at 2.15 pm
Clifford Possum at Papunya: John Kean re-collects
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was the brightest star in a constellation of artists working around the remote government settlement of Papunya in the late 1970s. John Kean met the artist when appointed as an Arts Adviser at Papunya around this time. John Kean will identify Clifford Possum’s particular genius and explore the relationship of his practice to that of the remarkable community of artists from which he emerged.

Members' Events

Thursday 6 & Thursday 27 November at 11 am
Tour the exhibition with an Art Gallery Guide
followed by morning tea in the Members’ Lounge.
Tickets: $15, Members $12 (includes exhibition entrance and morning tea)
Bookings: contact Yvonne telephone: 8207 7050

Education

This exhibition offers a unique opportunity for art students to experience and research the work of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.

School group booking information
Bookings are required for all school group visits to the Gallery and to Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.
Telephone: 8207 7033 (best contact time 3.30 – 5 pm school days) or fax: 82077070

Guided Sessions
Look & Learn Education Guide sessions (primary students) and Education Officer floor-lectures (secondary students).Duration 30 min. Group size per session: one class.

Admission
School group: $20 per class size group (no charge for teachers and adult helpers)
DECS Classified 1-4 schools and country schools: free

Education Pack
Education notes in pdf format

Teachers Briefing
Tuesday 4 November  5.30 – 7 pm
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri Teachers Briefing
Tracey Lock-Weir, Associate Curator of Australian Paintings and Sculpture will introduce the exhibition. All bookings: telephone: 8207 7033 fax: 8207 7070

For more information about the Art Gallery Education Section, see click here

Free screenings

The Desert Dreamers will screen at 12 noon daily in gallery 25
The BBC film The Desert Dreamers (1976) looks at the paintings produced by the people from the settlement of Papunya and their outstandingly beautiful works of art relating to the richness of Aboriginal life and culture. Other video material depicting the artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri will be shown throughout the exhibition.

All film enquiries to Cate telephone: 8207 7035

Films courtesy of ACMI and the SA Video and Film Collection.

To see what other events and activities are on at the Gallery
click here to go to the Calendar of Events

At the Bookshop

Catalogue
The exhibition will be accompanied by the definitive publication on the life and work of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, written by Dr Vivien Johnson. With a scholarly text and lavish illustrations, it honours the life work of this great Australian artist.
$69.95 (hard back only) 246 pages, 100 illustrations.

Merchandise
A wonderful range of cards and posters will be available to coincide with the exhibition. Also look out for a range of beadwork and other related products, the perfect gift.

Members of the Gallery, full-time students and school orders receive a 10% discount on all items not marked nett. The Bookshop is open from 10 am until 4.45 pm every day except Christmas Day.

For more information about the Gallery Bookshop, click here or
telephone: (08) 8207 7029  fax (08) 8207 7069

Tour Dates

Sponsors