Born in Mungapunju, south of Yuendumu, Paddy Stewart was one of the pioneers of contemporary Aboriginal art. He was one of a handful of Aboriginal initiates in Papunya who, in the early 1970s, decided to paint some of the legends - or Dreams - that they were custodians of, in order to gain recognition for their culture, which had previously been scorned by the Australian authorities. They decided to settle in Yuendumu, 100 km north of Papunya.
Here a group of senior Aboriginal leaders, including Paddy, decided to paint sacred ancestral designs on doors. Of the thirty doors painted, eighteen were painted by Paddy.
In 1989, on the occasion of the exhibition "Les magiciens de la Terre" (Centre Georges Pompidou & Halle de la Villette, Paris), he was invited by Jean-Hubert Martin with other Aboriginal artists to create a monumental floor painting in the image of those traditionally painted in the Australian desert regions during sacred ceremonies. The impact of this exhibition, which has since gained a cult following for finally giving non-Western artists the status of contemporary artists, led to international recognition of Paddy's work and the inclusion of his paintings in prestigious public collections, including the following short list:
-Seattle Art Museum, U.S.A., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvin Grove, Glasgow, Scotland, Flinders University Art Museum, South Australia, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Newmont Mining, U.S.A., South Australian Museum, Adelaide, Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht |
MY SELECTION OF WORKS
