From the 28th of March 2026 until the 14th of March 2027, the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection presents “Color is Life: Women’s Work Today”, a celebration of First Nations women artists from across Australia. The artists represented here have created bold works of art that vibrantly reflect their lived experiences and living cultural practices. Artmaking has long been a life force for women and their communities. As the Tiwi artist Jean Baptiste Apuatimi said, “Painting makes me alive.”
BUGAI WHYOULTER, “Wantili”, 2014, acrylic on linen, 155.89 × 155.89 cm. © Courtesy of the artist and Martumili Artists
Many of these women witnessed immense change as the impacts of colonization rapidly encroached upon their homelands. Through their art practices, they could share their ways of being, thinking, and seeing. Australian First Nations women have continued to assert their place at the vanguard of contemporary art practice. They may have been hindered at the outset by longstanding associations of their art with “craft,” but their experimentation with both new and traditional mediums has become their greatest strength.
JENNI KEMARRE MARTINIELLO, “Yellow Rushes Fish Basket #2”, 2017, hot blown and coldworked glass, 32.39 × 37.78 × 41.28 cm, (detail), © Courtesy of the artist.
While maintaining the cultural practices that belong to women, such as weaving, the innovative artists in this exhibition also sought new modes of cultural expression. Each artist has a colorful story to tell. Country is a kaleidoscope of colors, especially if you know where to look.
YULYURLU LORNA NAPURRULA FENCER, “Yarla Dreaming”, 2002, acrylic on canvas, 171.13 × 126.68 × 2.7 cm, (detail), © Estate of the artist; Licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd.
