Exhibit of Aboriginal Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of Dorothee Altenburg in Bonn, Germany
MB Abram Galleries is pleased to publish here a selection from the recent exhibit in Bonn, Germany of Aboriginal paintings and artifacts from Cologne artist and collector Dorothee Altenburg, a good friend of MB Abram Galleries.
Aborigine Im Gleichgewicht mit der Natur opened December 2, 2010 and was exhibited until January 18, 2011. Two German sponsors "Deutsche Wissenschaft Wissenschaftzentrum Bonn" and the "Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft" invited Altenburg to display 130 paintings and 25 artifacts. Attended by a huge, enthusiastic opening night crowd, this was one of the most well received exhibits of aboriginal art in Germany in many years.
Altenburg has had a long and warm relationship with the Australian aboriginal community. She has focused on two main areas, the contemporary body paint art of Mornington Island and the old master narrative work of the Western Desert, but her interest has extended broadly into other communities as well. Her collection is particularly rich in the women artists who have come to prominence in the last twenty years.
As stated by Peter Otto Los,one of the foremost experts on Australian Aboriginal Art in his remarks in the catalogue accompanying Altenburg's exhibit, "These are the dynamic of the Dreaming, the subconscious contact with the ancestors shaping the daily life and thought patterns of the indigenous population of Australia. Religious and intellectual communities from Europe, including parts of the German public have already developed a close relationship with these people. It is hope that this exhibition will reinforce these ties and stand as a reminder to the already well established paths between Aboriginal Australia and Germany". |
