For a small but distinguished group of western Arrernte and Luritja landscape watercolourists, to paint Central Australia’s dynamic river red and ghost gums, rugged mountains and discreet watercourses and rivers is to distill a privileged knowledge of land. Though these artists follow in the footsteps of Albert Namatjira – the pioneer of pictorial realism in Aboriginal art – they bring fresh and individual expression to familiar aesthetic terrain.

Mossenson Galleries, in conjunction with Ngurratjuta Iltja Ntjarra; Many Hands Art Centre is proud to present a collection of new works from six artists, highlighting both the endurance of a significant artistic tradition and its development and rejuvenation.

Gentle but distinct variations in style and design shape the landscapes of Lenie Namatjira, Gloria Pannka, Ivy Pareroultja, Peter Tjutjatja Taylor, Mervyn Rubuntja and Kevin Wirri. Gloria Pannka, the granddaughter of Albert Namatjira, was taught to paint by her father Claude and utilises a muted, subtle palette in her delicate explorations of spatial depth. Mervyn Rubuntja, another direct descendant of the original Hermannsburg ‘school’, sees the landscape differently and accords it dynamic, stylised colour and structure. Notwithstanding the considerable artistic individuality, the consistency of this exhibition lies in each artist’s awe of the subject matter – largely the MacDonnell Ranges – and the depth of their affection for it. Indeed, the significance of these paintings lies deep in their subject matter; it is in the history, the sacredness of the sites and the interior songlines of the land – knowledge available only to the Arrernte.

The mythology of Albert Namatjira and the critical reception of his work throughout the decades has given way to a widespread recognition of the watercolour landscape tradition as a dignified expression of Aboriginal identity.

Paintings by Ivy Pareroultja, Gloria Pannka and Mervyn Rubuntja have been selected to hang in the 2008 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

Part proceeds from the sale of works in these exhibitions will go to the Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation to fund "Trips to Country". Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku (WDNWPT)is a charity that supports renal patients from remote communities who have had to relocate to Alice Springs for lifelong dialysis treatment.