Ngununggula's latest exhibition explores how we perceive dogs, and their importance to other physical and emotional worlds.
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Launched on November 18 and titled New Dog Old Tricks, it features a collection of paintings, sculptures, installations and animations.
Artists Billy Bain, David Griggs, Guido Maestri, Jason Phu, Julia Gutman, Madeleine Pfull, Marc Etherington, Nadia Hernndez, Noel Mckenna and Todd Fuller have been commissioned for the showcase.
"We're so delighted to exhibit the work of 10 of Australia's best artists practising right now," said gallery director Megan Monte.
"Dogs have been our companions for centuries and for just as long, artists have been drawn to these emotional and complex beings, using them to contemplate questions of bravery, loyalty, and compassion.
"These works explore a new perspective where the relationship between dogs and people is undone, so we can begin to imagine the world through their eyes."
Along with the artists' pieces, there will be artworks on loan from the Art Gallery of NSW, the National Gallery of Victoria, and private collections by artists such as Jeff Koons, Adam Cullen, Aleks Danko and Richard Walker, along with many others.
Exhibition highlights
People can look forward to unique elements such as:
- Paintings by Jason Phu that reference fictional and non-fictional dogs that are loyal. One takes its inspiration from popular animation series Futurama. The other references the story of Hachiko - a Japanese dog remembered for his loyalty to his owner, where he continued to wait for nine years after his death.
- Madeleine Pfull will showcase paintings that show the idea of owners looking like their dogs. She uses wigs, make-up and props to take a humorous and exaggerated approach.
- Two paintings by Noel McKenna that depict Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with his dog Toto, to show how dogs are used as tools in political campaigns.
- Oil landscape paintings and wax sculptures by Guido Maestri, that show how society views and treats wild dogs.
- A new life-sized sculpture by Indigenous artist Billy Bain, where he imagines a future as an artist does not work out. As a career change, he starts a dog-walking business.
Days for Dogs
To accompany the exhibition, the gallery is hosting Dog Days from December 17, where people and their beloved pets can come along.
There will be treasure hunts for dogs and their owners every Sunday
There will also be a pet Santa photo day on December 16, and Worst in Show on December 20 - a day including dog competitions, a doggy ball pit, caricatures and an obstacle competition.
The exhibition will run until February 4, 2024, and the gallery is open seven days from 10am to 4pm.
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