Rosella Namok
Sold Paintings
DOB: 19 May 1979
LANGUAGE GROUP: Aanghkum
COMMUNITY: Lockhart River, Far North Qld
Born in 1979, Rosella Namok is an Ungkum speaker who grew up in Lockhart River. She began painting with the Lockhart River art Gang at an early age, Rosella Namok’s paintings are very contemporary in style, and she depicts her own stories about life in her isolated Aboriginal community, about the people around her, how they live and the things they do.
She also paints about the country in Lockhart River and the influences of the weather there. Rosella spends a lot of time with the senior women at Lockhart. The younger generation are not as interested in the traditional laws and cultural influences, so Rosella is incorporating many of these aspects of her community history into her paintings, to prevent them from being lost forever.
In describing her art, Rosella Namok explains “I paint about country and people around me…about traditional culture…about things that happen… things we do… the weather… our isolated community. My recent paintings have been about how people live in our community and about Country.”
Rosella has two children, and when she is not painting, she enjoys fishing and camping with family.
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
ATSIC Collection, Canberra
Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra
Brisbane Club, Brisbane
IES, Brisbane
Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns
Columbus State University, Georgia USA
Emerald Shire Council, Emerald, QLD
Federal Court of Australia, Brisbane
Flinders University, Adelaide
Macquarie University, Sydney
Monash University, Melbourne
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne
Northern Territory University, Darwin
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Queensland Health Rights Commission, Brisbane
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
State Library of Queensland, Brisbane
The Esk Collection Tasmania
The High Court of Australia, Canberra
The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
University of Queensland, Brisbane
Warrnambool Art Gallery, Victoria
Wollongong University, Wollongong
International Education Services Brisbane
Foundation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Musee de l’art aborigene australien, La Grange, Switzerland
Department of Environment and Heritage
Georgia State University Collection, USA
High Court of Australia, Canberra
Kluge-Ruhe Collection, Virginia, USA
Macquarie Bank Australia
Artbank, Sydney
2020 Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery – Finalist
2011 Top 50 Most Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine
2010 Top 50 Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine
2009 Top 50 Most Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine
2004 High Court of Australia, Canberra – High Court Centenary Art Award
2004 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney – Finalist
2003 20th NATSIAA, Darwin – Finalist
2003 Redlands Westpac Art Prize, Sydney – Winner
2002 Top 50 Most Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine
2001 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney – Finalist
2001 Top 50 Most Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine
2000 The Fifth National Indigenous Heritage Art Award – Lin Onus Youth Award
2000 17th NATSIAA, Darwin – Finalist
1999 Momento Awards, Brisbane – Most innovative product by an indigenous artist
1999 Cape York Art Awards Laura Festival – 2nd Prize Works on Paper
1999 Nominated for Young Australian of the Year Arts Section
1998 15th NATSIAA, Darwin – Finalist
1998 Member of the Lockhart River Art Gang, which won the National Heritage Commission Art of Place Community Endeavour Award
1997 Rena Allen Jones Award, Warrnambool Art Gallery Victoria: screenprint selected for acquisition
1997 Arts Queensland – Personal Development Grant
2019 Matches 4: Rosella Namok – Sand Scribe, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2019 Large Showroom; Large Works, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2018 Nature’s Way, Rosella Namok, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2015 Rosella Namok, Japingka Gallery, Perth
2013 Rosella Namok – Naagchi Ngumu’luugku – I Come from There, Japingka Gallery, Perth
2009 Rosella Namok, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2008 Rosella Namok, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
2008 Ngaachi Bla Mepla, Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane
2008 From Sand Beach Side, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2007 Sea Country, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2006 Up North, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
2006 Rosella Namok, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2005 Rosella Namok: New Works, Adele Boag Gallery, Adelaide
2005 Rosella Namok: New Paintings, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2005 My Puuya – My Life Essence, Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane
2004 ‘nother side, October Gallery, London
2004 Rosella Namok, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2004 Rosella Namok at The Essoign Club, Melbourne
2004 Kungkay Ma (Up North), Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane
2003 Rosella, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2003 Rosella Namok, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
2002 Tinta, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2002 Happen’ this way, Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane
2001 Melpa Sarbie Paint, Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane
2001 Ee right this way, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2000 Me come from ‘yah, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2000 ‘nother way, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1999 ’bout here’ – Lockhart River, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2021 Lockhart Legends II, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2021 Gold at Lockhart River, Art Mob, Hobart
2021 The Women’s Show | 15th Anniversary Exhibition, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
2020 Across the Top 2020, Art Mob, Hobart
2020 Lockhart Art Gang – Sharing Our Stories, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2020 Top Ten – Our Most Popular Artists 2019, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2019 Across the Top, Art Mob, Hobart
2019 Overcoming Adversity, Art Mob, Hobart
2019 Lunar Legacy, Art Mob, Hobart
2019 Matches 7: Michael Nelson Jagamara – A Shared Space, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2019 Lockhart Legends, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2019 defining tradition | black + white, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2019 International Women’s Day, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2019 Defining Tradition | the colorist’s, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2019 Stories from my heart – Which Way, Art Mob, Hobart
2019 On the Coast – The Art of Fiona Omeenyo & Rosella Namok, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
2018 Islands in the Sea, Foundation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Musee de l’art aborigene australien, La Grange, Switzerland
2018 My Country, Salt, Queenscliff, VIC
2018 Fiona Omeenyo & Rosella Namok, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
2018 Welcome to Thompson Street, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2017 Lockhart River Mob, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2017 Sand, Salt, Spirit, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney
2017 A SWEEP continues, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2017 Ngampula Aalkan Nyiiku Maanchima – Mepla: Rise of a new beginning, Art Mob, Hobart
2017 60 X 30, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2017 Coo-ee Art 35th Anniversary – Return to Oxford Street, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney
2017 Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2017 Weather Patterns II, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2017 Along the Lines, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2016 Rosella Namok & Lockhart River Painters, Japingka Gallery, Perth
2015 Wynners, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2012 Reunion: New paintings by Samantha Hobson, Rosella Namok and Fiona Omeenyo – Vivien Anderson, Melbourne
2011 Rosella Namok & Arone Meeks, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney
2011 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns
2010 Inaugural exhibition, New Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Galleries, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
2010 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns
2009 Twelve Degrees of Latitude: Regional Gallery and University Art Collections in Queensland
2009 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville QLD, and touring exhibition
2009 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Ipswich Art Gallery, Ipswich
2008 The Women’s Show, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
2008 From Cape to Cove, Holmes a Court Gallery, Perth
2008 Auckland Art Fair, Auckland
2007 Our Way: Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Lockhart River, The University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane; National University of Singapore, Singapore; Charles Wand Center, Stony Brook University, New York; The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
2007 Arte Indigena dall’Australia: Contemporary Indigenous Art of the Lockhart River Art Gang Queensland, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna, Palazzo Collicola, Spoleto, Italy
2006 Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2006 Dreaming Their Way: Australian Aboriginal Women Painters, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, and touring exhibition
2005 Kungkay, Lockhart River Art Gang, Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
2005 Dugongs of Hinchinbrook II, KickArts Gallery CoCa, Cairns
2005 Cairns NAIDOC Exhibition 2005, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns
2005 Affinities, NAIDOC Exhibition, ABC Ultimo, Sydney
2005 Aboriginal Dreaming, European Discovery, Australian Embassy, Paris
2004 Out of Country, Gallery 1601, Washington, DC
2003 Water: Prints from Lockhart River and the Tiwi Islands, Queensland University of Technology Art Museum, Brisbane
2003 The Art Gang: Contemporary Aboriginal Painting, Columbus State University, Georgia USA
2003 Story Place, Indigenous Art of Cape York and the Rainforest, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
2003 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville QLD
2003 Icons that Build a Collection, Cairns Regional Art Gallery
2003 Beneath the Monsoon: Visions North of Capricorn, Artspace, Mackay QLD, and Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns
2002 Wild Nature in Contemporary Australian Art and Craft, a travelling exhibition funded by Visions Australia and the Gordon Darling Foundation: Jam Factory, Adelaide
2002 New Ground, Main Street Gallery, Adelaide
2002 International Women’s Day Event, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
2002 Indigenous Highlights from the State Art Collection, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
2002 Indecorous Abstraction: Contemporary Women Painters, Light Square Gallery, Adelaide
2002 Collectible Aboriginal Art Event, Raintree Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery, Darwin
2002 Cape York Indigenous Art Showcase Exhibition, Ludwig Erhard Haus, Berlin
2001 Postcard Exhibition, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns
2001 Lines of Descent: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prints and Objects, Queensland University of Technology Art Museum, Brisbane
2001 Indigenous Highlights from the State Art Collection, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
2001 In my Eyes: An Exhibition of Fine Art Prints by the Lockhart River Art Gang and Friends, Vera Scarth-Johnson Gallery, Cooktown
2001 Gatherings, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane
2001 Federation Exhibition: Local Colour, Local Lives, Cairns Regional Gallery
2001 Dreamtime: Zeitgenoessische Aboriginal Art, The Dark & the Light, Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg, Austria
2001 A Few of my Favorite Things, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
2000 Uncommon World: Aspects of Contemporary Australian Art, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra ACT
2000 The Art of Place – Fifth National Indigenous Heritage Art Award, Old Parliament House, Canberra ACT
2000 Postcards Exhibition, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns
2000 Parma Belong Sand Beach: paintings and prints by the Lockhart River Art Gang, Queensland Aboriginal Creations, Brisbane
2000 Olympic Exhibition, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2000 In my eyes: an exhibition of fine art prints by the Lockhart River Art Gang and
2000 From the Top: Lockhart River – Samantha Hobson & Rosella Namok, Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane
2000 Friends, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns
2000 Fortitude: New Art from Queensland, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
2000 Beyond the Pale: Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1999 Postcard Exhibition, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns
1999 Message Stick: Art from North Queensland’s Lockhart River Aboriginal Community, Queensland Aboriginal Creations, Brisbane, and touring exhibition until 2001
1999 Lockhart River Art Gang ‘we searching’, Queensland Aboriginal Creations, Brisbane
1999 International Works on Paper Fair, Sydney
1999 23rd Biennial of Graphic Art, Ljubljana, Slovenia
1998 National Indigenous Art of Place Award, Old Parliament House, Canberra
1997 Rena Ellen Jones Award, Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool
1997 ngana nyllkana – us painting, with the Lockhart River Art Gang, Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns
1997 Mepla Sarbie Art with the Lockhart River Art Gang, Lockhart River Art and Culture Centre