A Superb Old New Guinea Shield Asmat People Irian Jaya West Papua Todd Barlin Collection

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield Jamasj Asmat People Mbuagani Village Remote NW Asmat Area, South Coast West  Papua (Indonesia) 

See my GALLERIES HERE   https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com

See my New Guinea Shields Gallery here https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/fine-tribal-art/new-guinea-tribal-art-oceanic-art/oceanic-shield/

This fine old shield was carved by an Asmat master carver or Wow Ipitsj who is an important person in the Asmat society, not only are they artists but ritual experts who bridge the living with their ancestors through ceremonial artworks including shields.

The main designs down the center of the shield are called Tar or Flying Foxes which are related to ritualized headhunting in times past. The designs on this shield are executed solely from the artist’s memory, he would have learned from watching a previous master carver. The elegant form of the shield is rounded at the top and bottom and with an expressive face of a totemic turtle or Mbu carved at the top.  The way the design is spatially placed on the front looks like it is dancing across the shield, there is great movement in the designs.

The physical protection of Shields is only one aspect of their use, shields in New Guinea also play an important ceremonial role & often are the vessel for ancestral spirits and often have a personal name that can be invoked to overpower an enemy.  Shields are often kept in Men’s ceremonial houses along with ancestral relics, old shields are family heirlooms and often have an oral history to them, the owner & their clans’ men often can tell you about every particular arrow or spear embedded in the face of the shield, they know the stories of each battle who might have been wounded or killed & how their shield with its ancestral power frightened or stunned their enemies so that they could be easily overcome.

The main Asmat creation myth is about the creator Fumeripitjs who was lonely so he carved figures from wood and then he made a drum, when he played the drum the carved wood figures came to life and that is how the first Asmat people were created.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

Field Collected by Todd Barlin in 1985-86, at this time Mbuagani Village was a very remote place and the people had little contact with the outside world and they spoke virtually no Bahasa Indonesia, it is a long way to visit this very small village.

No missionaries had tried to convert them as the Maryknoll Catholic Father Vincent Cole who arrived in Sawa Erma in 1980 wanted them to come to it in their own choice and time.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art / Field Collected in 1985-86   See my Biograpohy Here  https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/art-for-sale/oceanic-art-society-interview-by-margaret-cassidy/

Published & Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney Pages 21 & 31 (below)

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY HERE  EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artworks for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbours.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us 

 

A Superb Old New Guinea Shield Asmat People Irian Jaya West Papua Todd Barlin Collection

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield from the Asmat People on the Upper Unir River area in Remote Northwest Asmat Area, South Coast West Papua (Indonesia), 19th to very early 20th Century 

This very fine old Shield was collected by the Catholic Mission in the 1950s-1960s, it would date from the late 19th to early 20th Century. It is very similar to some of the first Asmat Shields collected by the Dutch Expeditions in the very early 20th century, those oldest shields collected in 1909 now in the Tropen Museum were smaller like this example and finely carved with the incised designs dancing across the face of the shield.  See the Dutch Expedition Photo 1909 below

The physical protection of Shields is only one aspect of their use, shields in New Guinea also play an important ceremonial role & often are the vessel for ancestral spirits and often have a personal name that can be invoked to overpower an enemy.  Shields are often kept in Men’s ceremonial houses along with ancestral relics, old shields are family heirlooms and often have an oral history to them, the owner & their clans’ men often can tell you about every particular arrow or spear embedded in the face of the shield, they know the stories of each battle who might have been wounded or killed & how their shield with its ancestral power frightened or stunned their enemies so that they could be easily overcome.

The main Asmat creation myth is about the creator Fumeripitjs who was lonely so he carved figures from wood and then he made a drum, when he played the drum the carved wood figures came to life and that is how the first Asmat people were created.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

This shield has always been my favorite shield and has been in my home since it arrived in Sydney in 1985 -86

Provenance: Catholic Mission Merauke. The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Art

 Exhibited: The Shields of Oceania 2000 Sydney College of the Arts at Sydney University at the Pacific Arts Festival for the 2000 Sydney Olympics (see photos below)

Published & Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney Pages 21 & 31 (below)

Provenance: Collected by Todd Barlin 1985-86

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbours.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us 

 

A Superb Old New Guinea Shield Asmat People Irian Jaya West Papua Todd Barlin Collection

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield from the Asmat People on the Upper Elianden River area in Remote Eastern Asmat Area, South Coast West Papua (Indonesia), Early 20th Century 

This beautiful old shield with striking deeply incised circular designs & highlighted with red and white ochre. The back of the shield has a fine dimpled surface and an old patina from long use. The shield was most likely carved with stone tools,  the people in this area of the Upper Eilanden & Brazza River were still using stone axes when I visited & were extremely excited to get steel axes, machetes & knives, at this time the upper Eilanden River area was a very remote place in and the people had little contact with the outside world and they spoke no Bahasa Indonesia and only came out of the forest to the riverside when they heard outboard engines on canoes hoping to trade for steel axes. No missionaries had tried to convert them yet as they were still living nomadic and free in their forest & built houses in the tree tops for protection both from other tribes and also from mosquitoes who don’t live up in trees.

The physical protection of Shields is only one aspect of their use, shields in New Guinea also play an important ceremonial role & often are the vessel for ancestral spirits and often have a personal name that can be invoked to overpower an enemy.  Shields are often kept in Men’s ceremonial houses along with ancestral relics, old shields are family heirlooms and often have an oral history to them, the owner & their clans’ men often can tell you about every particular arrow or spear embedded in the face of the shield, they know the stories of each battle who might have been wounded or killed & how their shield with its ancestral power frightened or stunned their enemies so that they could be easily overcome.

The main Asmat creation myth is about the creator Fumeripitjs who was lonely so he carved figures from wood and then he made a drum, when he played the drum the carved wood figures came to life and that is how the first Asmat people were created.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

This shield has always been my favorite shield and has been in my home since it arrived from the village.

Provenance: Collected by Todd Barlin 1985-86

Published: The Shields of Melanesia by Crawford House Press 2005 Page 161 Figure 6.8 (above)

Exhibited: The Shields of Oceania 2000 Sydney College of the Arts at Sydney University at the Pacific Arts Festival for the 2000 Sydney Olympics (see photos below)

Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney  

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbours.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us 

 

Superb Old Australian Aboriginal Clubs from the 19th Century Australia

Superb Old Australian Aboriginal Clubs from the 19th Century  ( these can be sold as a collection of fice or individually)

Australian Aboriginal Clubs come in many shapes & sizes from the many language groups across the continent of Australia.  Clubs were mainly made for hunting or warfare but also used for dance & ceremonies.

Some varieties were used for hand-to-hand combat, and smaller, lightweight throwing clubs which were employed in both warfare and hunting. Throwing clubs were projectile weapons hurled at human enemies or game from a distance to strike an incapacitating blow. Like many clubs, this work has a pointed, bulbous head intended to deliver a powerful blow to the target. The shaft and head are adorned with incised designs. These might have been purely decorative, but, like many designs in Aboriginal Art, they had deeper cultural significance.

Large boomerang-shaped Clubs from South Australia are some of the most beautiful large clubs.

Here you see Clubs from various areas like South-eastern Australia, Queensland & Central Australia, each club is beautiful & unique.

Provenance: Old Collection Australia and The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us 

A Superb Old Garuda Mask Himalaya Area India or Tibet

A Superb Old Garuda Mask Himalaya Area of India or Tibet 

This beautifully carved old Garuda Mask has the most expressive face that is highly three-dimensional making it more sculptural than an average mask. The feathers on the top of the head are depicted as a crown showing its spiritual importance.

Historically, from classical Indian mythology, Garuda was originally an ancient Hindu sun symbol, half vulture, half-man, who served as the vehicle of the god Vishnu and his wife, Lakshmi, and lived on a diet of Nagas (snakes).

It is not known exactly how old the Garuda is, but from the beginning of the universe, Vishnu, who maintains order, rides a Garuda. The Garuda’s body can grow to cover the whole sky or shrink to the size of a canary. Most of the time, the Garuda appears with the body of a bird with a human torso.

In Buddhist belief, Garuda became the vehicle of Vajrapani and, paired with a twin, the symbol of the transcendent Buddha Amoghasiddhi.

Garuda is yet another form in which various buddhas arise to remove disease and injury caused by Nagas and poisoning. Metaphorically the worst ‘poisons’ are desire, hatred and ignorance.

When the Garuda devours snakes and swallows the poisons of delusion, jealousy, and hatred, and then can transform them into renewed strength, illuminating his body and stretching his wings even more to soar into space.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the Garuda is seen as a protective image decorating doorways and talismans. We can also see the Garuda as one of the four dignities—the four creatures representing the qualities of lungta, or the Wind Horse, one for each cardinal direction: Garuda in the north; Snow Lion in the east; Tiger in the south; and Dragon in the West (in some regions, the directions may change).

They are commonly depicted on lungta prayer flags, which flutter in the wind in high places so that the prayers written on them can be spread to the whole world. The Garuda is also a yidam, especially in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, which prescribes important specifications about his colour and implements so that the practitioner can visualize the Garuda completely.

Provenance: Old Collection Australia & The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Asian Art

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us 

 

A Superb Japanese Carved Wood Bonito Tuna for Fisherman’s Shrine

A Superb Japanese Carved Wood Bonito Tuna Fish made for a Fisherman’s Shrine by the Master Carver Ushioda Kousai (1909-1981)

Since the Kamakura period (1185–1333) Tuna Fish has been worshiped by fishermen, in the Nakiri area as a local deity with the legend of Dandarabotchi remains, and a straw sandi-hiki ritual is held every September to pray for a big catch of Tuna. It is also often used as an offering in Tosa Province’s shrine Ema Offering a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku where prayers for a big catch, good harvest, prosperous business, and good luck.

This superbly carved statue of a Bonito Tuna Fish is carved to approximately two-thirds of the real Bonito Fish. The dynamic yet realistic lacquering and fin formations represent the thoughts and prayers of the fishermen who struggle with Bonito every day when fishing.  The Sculpture has a spirit that seems to have been carved into it. This is a masterpiece filled with sensitivity and faith, with lovely round eyes and a slightly open mouth that show the observational eye of a fisherman.

A large, plump, and splendid bonito. Not only do you feel the warmth that only wood carving can provide, but It also has tension and feels heavy. The dull & glowing fish-like colours are also beautifully reproduced. This is a work that perfectly expresses the power of swimming vigorously through water.

Provenance:  Carved by the Master Carver 潮田皓哉Ushioda Kousai (1909-1981) He studied wood carving under master sculptors Keiun Kato and Masahiro Sawada, both of whom were students of Koun Takamura, and followed the lineage of Koun Takamura, the king of modern wood carving, with a solid style that valued traditional carving and was active and recognized at Japan Fine Arts Exhibition and Shinkaijusha Exhibition for a long time.

The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Asian Art                                               This Sculpture comes with an appraisal box with a signature.   

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us 

Eight Beautiful Colour Drawings by Fritz Klee (1876 – 1976) Signed & Dated 1955

Eight Beautiful Abstract Colour Drawings by Fritz Klee (1876 – 1976) Signed & Dated 1955

These magnificent abstract organic hand drawings are ornamental compositions in bold, bright colours by the German artist Fritz Klee.

Professor Fritz Klee (1876 Würzburg – 1976 Stuttgart), was a German porcelain designer and architect, founding director, and long-time professor at the State Porcelain School in Selb. In 1910 Fritz Klee designed the exhibition space at the World Exhibition in Brussels. In 1911 Fritz Klee was appointed Royal Bavarian Professor because of his outstanding achievements. From 1917 to 1922 Klee was also the artistic director of the porcelain factory art department at Lorenz Hutschenreuther A.G., for which he made a large number of designs until 1939. In 1939 Prof. Fritz Klee left Selb and the college for the porcelain industry at his own request after 31 years of hard work and success. he moved to Stuttgart with his wife Frieda. But that was not the end of his work, after this time numerous graphics were created by him, at the age of 99, the professor still practiced drawing and creating brightly coloured collages daily. Prof. Fritz Klee was 100 years old and died on December 12, 1976, in Stuttgart Germany

I bought these drawings for myself as I am always looking for vintage modern artwork that goes well with my Oceanic Art Sculptures, old and new look amazing together just as they do on the Surrealist Andre Breton’s Office Wall now on permanent display at the Pompidou Centre in Paris

Provenance: Fritz Klee (1876 – 1976) & The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us 

A Superb Old Cubist Sculpture by by Japanese Artist Katsumi Koremasu Signed & Dated 1966

A Superb Old Cubist Sculpture by Japanese Artist Katsumi Koremasu Signed & Dated 1966

See more fine Japanese & Asian Art from my collection Here  https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/asian-art/

This finely carved Cubist Sculpture by the Japanese Artist Katsumi Koremasu, dated 1966.  You can see the cubist influence of Picasso and other early 20th-century Western Artists in this fine Sculpture.  Carved from a single piece of hardwood, the two heads; one on the right playing flute and the figure on the left appear to sing with his mouth open, and his eyes are shown at different angles & sizes.

是松勝美 Katsumi Korematsu Born in (1931) Okayama prefecture, Japan

Graduated from Bunka Gakuen Art Department

Musashino Art University Carving Department

Member of Jiyubijutsu (Free Art) Association – Tokyo

Art Works Exhibited in 

Matsumura Art Gallery – Nipponbashi, Tokyo

Nabisu Art Gallery – Ginza, Tokyo

Akasaka Gallery Sanko – Tokyo

Cubism is a Modern art movement that emerged around 1907 in Paris, France. Four important characteristics of Cubism are the application of multiple perspectives, the use of geometric shapes, a monochromatic colour palette, and a flattened picture plane.

Cubism’s novel handling of form, colour, and perspective signalled a shift from the existing conventions of European modernist painting. Cubism reimagined the treatment of form by rejecting the traditions of perspective, modelling, and foreshortening. The result of this method was a heavily abstracted composition that represented the subject from all angles or with overlapping picture planes.

Cubists intended to depict the entire structure of objects and people in their paintings without using techniques such as perspective or graded shading to make them look realistic. They wanted to show their subjects as they were rather than create an illusion of an object or person.

The use of linear perspective and the illusion of depth favoured by the Renaissance movement were in stark contrast to the two-dimensionality that Cubists worked to define. Cubist artists depicted their subjects from multiple perspectives simultaneously, working to represent every angle of the subject on the flat surface of a canvas and within a single picture plane.

Cube-like imagery, as well as other geometric forms like cones, spheres and cylinders often appear in early Cubist paintings and again later in the movement in Cubist sculptures. Cubists felt they could portray a subject’s form more accurately by using geometric shapes to represent its various sides and angles. The use of geometric shapes replaced techniques such as perspective and shading, which also emphasized the two-dimensional flatness of the canvas

Provenance: Old Japanese Collection & The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Japanese Asian Art

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

A Superb Abstract Metal Sculpture ” Twisted by Fate”

A Superb Abstract Metal Sculpture ” Twisted by Fate” 

This beautiful Steel Sculpture was a found object, an accidental sculpture created when a building was demolished.  I was visiting someone & I saw it lying under their table and immediately saw it as a sculpture and asked if I could buy it.  I knew what it would look like standing up on a custom base.  It’s not only the beautiful form but also the rusted patina & wear that add to its beauty.

After I acquired the sculpture I had it wrapped in brown paper & carried around while visiting friends, even wrapped in brown paper it looks like a sculpture or a piece of wild ginger root.

You can decide for yourself on its aesthetics as an artwork. Many people from the art world who have seen it in my gallery all had the same feeling as myself, it is a great sculpture

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art 

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us 

A Superb Collage Sculpture “Many Faces” by Japanese Artist Mr. Okada Noboru better known as “The Strange Knight “

A Superb Collage Sculpture “Many Faces” by Japanese Artist Mr. Okada Noboru better known as “The Strange Knight “

This beautiful collage sculpture is comprised of many individual carved wood faces that are put together in a mosaic, each of the expressive faces shows all ranges of emotions and are in different sizes & shapes.

This artwork reminds me of the many masks & faces I have collected in Oceanic Art over my lifetime.

Noboru could be considered an Outsider Artist as he was self-taught and seemed to mostly make artwork for himself. Okada lived a life of strangeness and solitude, as his artist name suggests, however, about 20 years ago, he decided to leave the city and open his own Mask Museum, whenever he appeared in public, he would wear his own masks to avoid the eyes of others; he lived as a masked man with about 20 rescued cats.

Okada’s private museum was located in Nasu Highlands in Tochigi Prefecture in Japan, he has more than 20,000 original masks that he made from scrap materials on display inside the museum, and covering the entire outside building in masks and sculptures.  The museum was closed after he died in 2018.

It is thought that the masks Okada creates are a kind of assemblage in which daily necessities and discarded items are reassembled, and the familiarity of the materials used brings him closer to the viewers.

Provenance: Made by Okada Noboru circa 1988 and was exhibited in the 1989 Kanazawa Crafts Award Japan 

The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Asian Art 

Okada Noboru Artworks Exhibited in Public Exhibitions in Europe

The Collection de l’Art Brut – Lausanne, Switzerland “Art Brut from Japan, Another Look – November 30, 2018 Through April 28, 2019”
https://www.artbrut.ch/en_GB/exhibition/japan-another-look

The Outsider Art Fair – Paris Oct 2020

A SELECTION OF WORKS FROM THE OUTSIDER ART FAIR –PARIS

Art Brut from Japan, another Look – November 2018 to April 2019

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us