Lotus Liles featuring works by Harold Thomas

Harold Thomas, Red Lilies at Kakadu, Central Art - Aboriginal Art Store, 2009. ARTWORK STORY The painting depicts the wetlands at Kakadu in the Top End of Australia (Northern Territory). The wetlands is a habitat for many bird species, reptiles, frogs, freshwater fish species, insects and more than two thousand plants, including the spectacular water red lilies.

Central Art presents Lotus Liles featuring works by Harold Thomas

Harold Thomas has lived in the Top End for over thirty-five years and is renowned for his colourful depictions of its abundant bird life, changing seasons, wetlands and waterholes. His luminous compositions have a signature style, whether rendered in watercolour, oil, or acrylic: a magical, poetic quality all his own.

A Luritja and Wombia man born in Alice Springs, he is a member of the Stolen Generation who was taken from his parents at the age of seven. Harold is famous for designing the Aboriginal Flag in 1971. The flag's bold design and recognisable qualities saw it instantly taken up by the Aboriginal rights movement and it soon became the powerful symbol it is today.

Harold Thomas was the first Aboriginal person to be employed by a museum in South Australia, where he was able to immerse himself in the Museum's immense collection of Aboriginal art and artefacts from across Australia. This second education enriched his own work. His first solo show was held in Adelaide in 1972.

Often working in isolated conditions in the bush, Thomas suffuses his paintings with a mystical light and the unearthly colours of the North. His sound classical techniques are married to a deep love for the country and its unique wildlife. Without the intrusion of man-made objects, his compositions have a purity of form and a timeless quality. Harold Thomas is without doubt one of the most accomplished contemporary artists of his kind.


Exhibition opening: Currently Showing Continuing until: 31 December 2009. Please contact Sabine on (08) 8952 1711 or via email info@aboriginalartstore.com.au with any further querie

View the Exhibition Catalogue

View the Exhibition Slideshow

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