A NEW INTERNATIONAL SECONDARY MARKET EXHIBITION

EMILY KAM KNGWARRAY, Alhalkere - My Country
Bill Whiskey | Rockholes Near The Olgas 2007 | Sold for AUD $650,000 to a private U.S. museum

We are pleased to announce that our annual secondary market exhibition, SIGNIFICANT will be presented across all three of our galleries–in Melbourne, Sydney, and New York–in 2025, in a new initiative that aims to establish an international selling platform for Australian First Nations art.

Previously a mainstay of our flagship Melbourne gallery, the annual exhibition, SIGNIFICANT has, for the past seven years, offered exceptional secondary market works of art by leading modern and contemporary artists to Australian and international collectors.

The new format exhibition, which will take place 8 May–4 July 2025 across all three sites, is intended to further elevate awareness of and appreciation for Australian First Nations art and to provide increased exposure and access to a broader, international marketplace.

Sales of Australian First Nations art recorded a total of AUD $13.5 million at auction in 2024, compared to AUD $12.8 million in 2023. However, there are currently only two auction houses in Australia, and none internationally, that represent this sector of the market with a dedicated auction.

In 2024, D’Lan Contemporary’s overall sales totalled approximately AUD $30 million – with Australian gallery sales amounting to AUD $21,630,000 and New York gallery sales to approximately AUD $8,345,000).

Secondary market sale highlights included Emily Kam Kngwarray’s Bush Plum Country 1989 which sold for USD $700,000 to a U.S. institution and Bill Whiskey’s monumental Rockholes Near The Olgas 2007 which sold for AUD $650,000 to a private U.S. museum.

Alec Mingelmanganu’s Wanjina circa 1980 – one of the last remaining large-scale Wanjina paintings by the artist to remain in private hands – sold to a private collector in Sydney for an undisclosed sum.

And in what was a thrilling discovery, Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa’s foundational work, Mikantji and Tywerl 1971, sold for AUD $500,000, and fittingly found its home in an Australian Institution.

Finally, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa’s Tingari Ceremonies at the Waterhole Site of Pinari 1997 sold for AUD $180,000 to a private collector in New York.

Founder & Director, D’Lan Davidson said, ‘We are excited to present this new, international format exhibition, and to provide a crucial platform from which to raise the profile of this important segment of our market.’

D’Lan Contemporary is now accepting final consignments of exceptional works of art for SIGNIFICANT and for participation in two of the world’s most prestigious art Fairs, TEFAF Maastricht, and Frieze Masters 2025. Please contact us for a confidential valuation if you have a work of art, or a collection you are considering selling.