News - Muk Muk Fine Art suppliers of Aboriginal Art from Central Australia

Margaret Loy Pula wins 42nd 2013 Muswellbrook Art Prize Painting Section

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -1000

Margaret Loy Pula has won the 42nd Muswellbrook Art Prize 2013 Painting Section with her story "Anatye (Bush Potato)".

Margaret's winning entry was selected amongst 43 finalists.

Of the winning entry the judge said "Loy Pula's canvas shimmers with overall delicacy, yet beneath the subtle painted surface, a strong organising principle is evident".

The Anatye story is Margaret's fathers dreaming and portrays the country where Margaret comes from.

The work is on display at the Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery until 12th May.

Sulman Art Prize Finalist - Margaret Loy Pula

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -1000

We congratulate Margaret Loy Pula on her selection as a finalist in the prestigious Sulman Art Prize.

The Sulman Art Prize is held alongside the Archibald and Wynne Art Prizes and is an eagerly anticipated event within the Australian art community.

The winner will be announced this Friday 22 March 2013

Margaret Loy Pula wins 2012 Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Central Australian artist Margaret Loy Pula has won this year's Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize with her depiction of ‘Anatye” or Bush Potato.

Margaret is the first Indigenous artist to win this award and was chosen from 98 finalists.

"My story with bush potato, that's my father's dreaming, that's where I'm from”, Margaret said of her entry. “The women go out to collect them using crowbars to dig up the ground.”

“The potatoes are cooked in hot coals and are an important source of bush food for the Anmatyerre people”.

This is the 10th anniversary of the Waterhouse Art Prize and the award "highlights the artistic interpretations of our natural world by local, national and international artists."

Of the winning entry, the judges said: "The work makes you want to look into it and go on a journey with it.

"This work has a wonderful delicacy, almost fragility, but there's a strength in the colours coming through. Spectacular detail leads to a work reminiscent of natural shapes, such as spider webs or leaf patterns, with strength coming from cells joined together."

"The work is so detailed, it's a very fine painting, she's very conscious of painting slowly and getting a perfect painting," said Sharon Mitchell of Muk Muk Fine Art in Alice Springs, Margaret’s agent and representative.

This year’s prize attracted a record 840 entries from Australia and overseas. The art prize was established by the South Australian Museum in 2002 to honour its first curator, the eminent zoologist Frederick George Waterhouse.

The 2012 Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize will be on show at the SA Museum until September 9.

It will then tour to the National Archives of Australia in Canberra from September 21 to November 11.

Margaret is represented exclusively by Muk Muk Fine Art, her next exhibition will open in the Alice Springs gallery on September 6^th.

Permanent Exhibition Space in Darwin

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -1000

MUK MUK FINE ART NOW IN DARWIN

2011 saw the commencement of Muk Muk Fine Art’s progression into the contemporary art scene and with this move exhibitions were held in Alice Springs then Darwin.

Following on from these succesful exhibitions Muk Muk Fine Art is pleased to announce it now has a permanent exhibition space in Darwin and an exciting calendar of Contemporary and Aboriginal art exhibitions will feature this year.

Muk Muk Fine Art brings to the Territory exhibitions by some of Australia’s leading and emerging contemporary artists and showcases Aboriginal art from Central Australia.

“Most of the contempoary artists have never been to the Territory so it is exciting to be exhibiting them. The response to our first two exhibitions has been fantastic, it is a great opportunity for art lovers to see artworks that are normally only displayed interstate” says Mike Mitchell, Muk Muk Fine Art Managing Director. “These artist’s are very excited to showcase their works in the Territory and we are very lucky to have them”.

A heavy exhibition schedule is in place for 2012 and several exhibitions for 2013 have already been locked in. Each exhibition will open in Alice Springs and run for a period of 2 weeks. It will then travel to Darwin where it will be displayed for another 2 weeks at 51 Smith St.

For more information on upcoming exhibitions please contact gallery@mukmuk.com

Margaret Loy Pula receives Highly Commended at the 2012 Alice Art Prize

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Margaret Loy Pula received a Highly Commended award for her painting "Anatye" at the 37th Alice Art Prize on Friday 12th May at the Araluen Art Centre.

“The artist has created a work that resonates as a powerful image of the artist’s story of the bush potato. Using a restricted colour palette, this work captures a seemingly endless sense of depth and scale.” said Judge Nick Mitzevich,Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Held every two years the Alice Art Prize is the Northern Territory's largest contemporary art prize. A variety of mediums including ceramics, fabric, glass as well as painting, drawing photography and new media feature in the exhibition.

65 finalists from across Australia were selected from more than 380 entries. The exhibition is on display from 11th May utnil 10th June 2012.

2012 Wynne Prize Finalist - Margaret Loy Pula

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Muk Muk Fine Art congratulates Margaret Loy Pula on her selection as a finalist in the 2012 Wynne Prize Art Award.

The Wynne prize is one of Australia's most prestigious landscape art awards and hangs annually alongside the Archibald and Sulman art prizes.

This year's Wynne Prize attracted over 760 entries from which 32 finalists were selected. Margaret's depiction of "Anatye" or Bush Potato made the top 5 works of the exhibition.

Johnny Romeo opens the 2012 Exhibition Calender

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -1000

On March 8th Muk Muk Fine Art Gallery opened its first exhibition for 2012.

“Cop Killer”, an exhibition by young Sydney pop artist Johnny Romeo challenges the classic perception of an iconic Australian folk hero - Ned Kelly.

Part street artist, part graffiti artist, part pop artist, Johnny’s roots are intrinsically linked to the street art scene of Sydney’s inner west in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Johnny uses the genre of pop art to make bold claims and assertions about Australia’s history and consequently about both our present and our future.

The exhibition then travelled to Darwin where it was exhibited at The Vault Gallery, 51 Smith St.

Exhibition Opening - "Ngukur: The Place of Stones"

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -1000

The exhibition "Ngukurr - The Place of Stones" opened at Muk Muk Fine Art in Alice Springs on Thursday 10th November.

This exhibition features three of the most innovative and accomplished artists from the Roper River region of Eastern Arnhem Land; Gertie Huddleston, Angelina George and Barney Ellaga. The works on display are from a collection of older paintings, many held back for over a decade.

Colourful, vibrant and exhuberant these works are highly collectable.

Margaret Loy Pula wins 2011 Paddington Art Prize

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -1000

2011 Paddington Art Prize Winner - Margaret Loy Pula

Muk Muk Fine Art congratulates Margaret Loy Pula as the first female winner of the 2011 Paddington Art Prize.

The Paddington Art Prize was first established in 2004 and is awarded for a painting inspired by the Australian Landscape.This years award attracted over 600 entries. Margaret's work was selected from 60 finalists.

Margaret’s first solo exhibition was held at Muk Muk Fine Art in September 2010. She has since gone on to be a finalist 6 art awards, including Second Place in the Outback Open Art Award and winner of the 2011 Sunshine Coast Art Prize.

Margaret paints her father's dreaming and the stories that she depicts include country, bush food and ceremonial design. Her main story is "Anatye" or bush potato dreaming which is portrayed using a series of fine, microscopic dots.

Margaret's works are on display at Muk Muk Fine Art, 14 Lindsay Ave, Alice Springs.

Margaret Loy Pula wins 2011 Sunshine Coast Art Prize

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -1000

Muk Muk Fine Art congratulates Margaret Loy Pula on winning the 2011 Sunshine Coast Art Prize.

The Sunshine Coast Art Prize is a national 2D contemporary art prize and this years award attracted over 450 entries. Margaret is the first female artist to win this prize.

Margaret’s first solo exhibition was held at Muk Muk Fine Art in September 2010. She has since gone on to be a finalist in the Musswellbrook Open Art Prize, the Lethbridge 10,000 Art Prize and won Second Place in the Outback Open Art Award at the Broken Hill Regional Gallery.

Margaret's works are on display at Muk Muk Fine Art, 14 Lindsay Ave, Alice Springs.

To view Margaret's work click here.