A spokesperson describes the event as follows:
“…Curated by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) especially for North American audiences and drawn exclusively from their world-leading collection in Melbourne, Australia, the exhibition features over 200 works by more than 130 artists. Through a rich display of iconic masterpieces, including many that have never-before left the country, The Stars We Do Not See charts watershed moments in Indigenous art, revealing a rich history of creativity that predates the arrival of the British…"
“...The Stars We Do Not See introduces audiences to customary forms and styles in Indigenous Australian art, including the conceptual map paintings of the Central and Western deserts (sometimes colloquially referred to as ‘dot paintings’), ochre bark paintings, cultural objects and ambitious experimental weavings, as well as the work of new media artists, who both challenge and build upon tradition with ground-breaking works in neon, video, photography, sound and much more.
Highlighting the diverse and distinct visual iconographies of Indigenous Australia, which is made up of more than 250 distinct Indigenous nations, the works featured span the entire Australian continent, including the Tiwi Islands, Arnhem Land, Far North Queensland, the Torres Strait, the Central Desert, Southwestern Australia, the Kimberley, the Southeast, and more..."
WHEN & WHERE:
National Gallery of Art
Washington: October 18, 2025 – March 1, 2026
Denver Art Museum, Colorado
April 19–July 26, 2026
Portland Art Museum, Oregon
September 2026–January 2027
Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts
February–June 2027
For more information visit the museum websites.
Image Credits
- Clockwise from left: Patju Presley, Apanyin (detail), 2004. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased, 2004© Patju Presley / Copyright Agency, Agency 2023.
- Birmuyingathi Maali Netta Loogatha, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Gabori, Warthadangathi Bijarrba EthelThomas, Thunduyingathi Bijarrb May Moodoonuthi,Kuruwarriyingathi Bijarrb Paula Paul, Wirrngajingathi Bijarrb Dawn Naranatji, Rayarriwarrtharrbayingat Amy Loogatha, Dulka Warngiid(detail), 2007. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased with funds donated by Catherine Allen, Carolyn Berger and Delma Valmorbida, 2007© Birmuyingathi Maali Netta Loogatha;Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda SallyGabori; Warthadangathi Bijarrba EthelThomas; Thunduyingathi Bijarrb MayMoodoonuthi; Kuruwarriyingathi BijarrbPaula Paul; Wirrngajingathi BijarrbKurdalalngk Dawn Naranatjil;
Rayarriwarrtharrbayingathi MingungurraAmy Loogatha / Copyright Agency, Australia 2023. - Mick Wallangkarri Tjakamarra, Old Man's Dreaming on Death or Destiny (detail), 1972. Synthetic polymer paint on composition board. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of North Broken Hill Ltd, Fellow, 1987 © The Estate of Mick Wallangkarri Tjakamarra, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency / Copyright Agency, Australia.
- Brook Andrew, Sexy and Dangerous (detail), 1996, printed 2005. Computer-generated color transparency on transparent synthetic polymer resin. National Gallery of Victoria. Melbourne Purchased with funds from the Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2005. © Brook Andrew / Copyright Agency, Australia 2023.
- Emily Kam Kngwarray, Anwerlarr Anganenty (Big Yam Dreaming) (detail), 1995. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Presented through The Art Foundation of Victoria by Donald and Janet Holt and family, Governors, 1995. © The Estate of Emily Kam Kngwarray / Copyright Agency, Australia 2023.
- Timothy Cook, Kulama (detail), 2012. Earth pigments on canvas. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Robert Martin Bequest and NGV Supporters of Indigenous Art, 2019. © Timothy Cook / Copyright Agency, Australia 2023.
