Summer Celebration (section)

Thousands of tiny dots crowd across this canvas in warm shades of gold, red, and purple, blending together like a meadow of wildflowers glimpsed from the sky. This is a section of "Summer Celebration," painted in 1991 by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, one of Australia's most respected Aboriginal artists. She lived in Utopia, a remote community in the Northern Territory, and remarkably she only began painting on canvas when she was close to 80 years old.

Despite her late start, Emily gained fame fast for her fearless color and her signature dotting method. Her paintings grow straight out of her deep bond with her Country, from the seeds and plants to the shifting seasons of her homeland. The yam plant, known as Kame in her language, runs through much of her work, and here the dots seem to spread and multiply the way roots and blossoms take over the ground after rain.

Part of what draws people to her art is the way it sits between two worlds at once. Each dot holds old meaning tied to Aboriginal ceremony and culture, yet the whole painting feels fresh and modern, close to the abstract work you might spot in any contemporary gallery. Emily once said she painted "the whole lot," meaning her land and her life together, and this piece makes that claim easy to accept.