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.

Over the past year, Australian First Nations art has experienced a remarkable ascent in international prominence, and I am delighted to present this year’s Art Market Report from an international perspective – a perspective which we are fortunate to be a part of. This significant rise in visibility, awareness, and appreciation has been propelled by several macro factors, including a select group of high-profile gallerists exhibiting and participating in major international art fairs.  However, there was no more important factor than Archie Moore’s historical win at the Venice Biennale 2024. Several other museum exhibitions which have had or will have considerable contributary effect are Maḏayin at Asia Society in New York, (and the corresponding symposium event at The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art), Emily Kam Kngwarray’s retrospective which travels to the Tate Modern, London in July 2025, and finally, the announcement of The National Gallery of Victoria’s collaborative exhibition The Stars we do not See at The National Gallery of Art in Washington. So, without further ado, let’s dissect this year’s art market results:

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Luke Scholes as Director, D'Lan Contemporary.Luke's focus will be to support the gallery’s vision to further collaborate with and represent First Nations artists and art centres, and to present a series of curated primary and secondary market exhibitions at its galleries in Melbourne, Sydney, New York, and internationally.

As with many senior Australian First Nations culture keepers who turn to painting, Goowoomji Nyunkuny Paddy Bedford’s deep cultural knowledge was a strong impetus for his late-life painting practice. He started painting for traditional ceremony at an early age and gained a deep respect for customary law through this practice. He conservatively observed its restrictions throughout his painting career, creating a visual language that brought East Kimberley painting to the world, without compromising traditional Gija conventions.

'The past few years have seen a remarkable surge in the visibility of Australian First Nations art on the global stage. A record number of First Nations artists took part in this year’s Venice Biennale—and Kamilaroi and Bigambul artist Archie Moore, who represented Australia, took home the event’s top prize. Next year, Tate Modern is hosting a solo show dedicated to Emily Kam Kngwarray, which has been developed in collaboration with the National Gallery of Australia, and the National Gallery of Victoria is touring the largest exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art ever presented internationally around the US and Canada.' - Zeta Xu, Art Monthly Australasia

'Global attention to First Nations art is on the rise, with numerous institutional exhibitions and climbing auction prices. Last week, at Frieze in London, visitors could also see work by a key First Nations artist, on view with a major international dealer in the field, D’Lan Davidson.' - Eileen Kinsella, Artnet

As with many senior Australian First Nations culture keepers who turn to painting, Goowoomji Nyunkuny Paddy Bedford’s deep cultural knowledge was a strong impetus for his late-life painting practice. He started painting for traditional ceremony at an early age and gained a deep respect for customary law through this practice. He conservatively observed its restrictions throughout his painting career, creating a visual language that brought East Kimberley painting to the world, without compromising traditional Gija conventions.

As with many senior Australian First Nations culture keepers who turn to painting, Goowoomji Nyunkuny Paddy Bedford’s deep cultural knowledge was a strong impetus for his late-life painting practice. He started painting for traditional ceremony at an early age and gained a deep respect for customary law through this practice. He conservatively observed its restrictions throughout his painting career, creating a visual language that brought East Kimberley painting to the world, without compromising traditional Gija conventions.

In May this year, members of the D’Lan Contemporary team travelled to the community of Yirrkala in north-east Arnhem Land to meet with Yolŋu artist Gunybi Ganambarr. We’d come to one of Australia’s most dynamic art centres, Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka. For generations this dynamic powerhouse has been producing some of Australia’s most exciting groundbreaking artists. Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka’s ethos and success has always relied on a concentration of convergences – tradition and originality, function and beauty, education and art, culture and commodity, individual and collective, Yolŋu and everything else.

D’Lan Contemporary is delighted to announce a new exhibition and book dedicated to works on paper by one of Australia’s most celebrated and critically acclaimed artists, Paddy Bedford. The exhibition – which opens in Melbourne on 17 August – will present over 40 works on paper by Bedford and will coincide with the publication and launch of a book of the same name.

Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (b.1926-d.1998), Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri (b.1920-d.2008), Uta Uta Tjangala (b.1926-d.1990), John Mawurndjul (b.1951), Makinti Napanangka (b.1930-d.2011), Prince of Wales (b.1937-d.2002), and Gordon Bennett (b.1955-d.2014) may be unfamiliar names to even the most discerning New York art collector, but that is about to change.  D'Lan Contemporary, one of Melbourne, Australia's well-established presenters of indigenous aboriginal artists, both living and dead, has now opened a second space in New York City at 25 East 73rd Street. 

We are delighted to announce that D'Lan Contemporary will open a second space in New York on East 73rd Street later this month with a solo exhibition of new works by acclaimed contemporary artist Daniel Walbidi. This new space – for which the focus will be showcasing the work of living Australian First Nations artists – will enable us to expand and develop our exhibition, events, and educational talks program and to further celebrate and promote Australian First Nations art with U.S. and international audiences. 

We are delighted to announce that D'Lan Contemporary will open a second space in New York on East 73rd Street later this month with a solo exhibition of new works by acclaimed contemporary artist Daniel Walbidi. This new space – for which the focus will be showcasing the work of living Australian First Nations artists – will enable us to expand and develop our exhibition, events, and educational talks program and to further celebrate and promote Australian First Nations art with U.S. and international audiences. 

Uwankara Uṯuḻu: All Together, currently on view in our New York gallery, showcases the work of two generations of Spinifex artists, those for whom 'painting secured what has always been known, their irrevocable right to Country, together with those who were inspired by these very same painters to represent their own rights through the medium of paint on linen.' We recently spoke to artists Timo Hogan and Noli Rictor, and Studio Manager Riley Adams Brown from the Spinifex Arts Project about the impact founding artists such as Simon Hogan, Lawrence Pennington, Fred and Ned Grant and others have had on the younger generation of artists.

As the art market powers into 2024, this is an important time to pause and reflect on what we can learn from what happened within the industry in 2023. This dynamic segment of the market is now ready to enter its next stage. Previously held back by the local ‘old guard’ – who are often resistant to change and in some cases, prepared to compromise their own policies and processes to stay ahead – the industry is now evolving, technologically and politically. Remaining agile and moving assertively with the 'market flow’ is, as always, the key to success and progression. It's time to look to the future – which is looking unquestionably bright for the art of our brightest First Nations artists, both past and present. So, let’s assess what occurred in 2023