SmithDavidson Gallery returns to Art Cologne for the 57th edition of the fair which takes place from 7 - 10 November 2024. SmithDavidson Gallery brings a curated selection of Australian First Nations Masters which include Rover Thomas Joolama, Freddie Timms and Emily Kam Kngwarray resonating with the work of Dutch artist Gerard Verdijk.

Celebrating the 90th anniversary of Gerard Verdijk (1934 - 2005) SmithDavidson highlights the later works by the artist. The late paintings by Gerard Verdijk show a great restraint in minimalist compositions, yet they are filled with layered and sensuous color fields that fill the voids around those solid objects and shapes. "For me, figuration and abstraction are unclear concepts. They are sooner indications that can be understood by everybody in a strictly personal and therefore different way. The notions with which I work, are therefore based less upon abstraction or figuration than on a similarity shared by these." - Gerard Verdijk. Alongside the Dutch artist, SmithDavidson presents its collection of Australian First Nations Art, including accredited names such as Emily Kam Kngwarray, Rover Thomas Joolama and Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford. Emily Kam Kngwarray is without a doubt one of the most acclaimed female First Nations artists. She may be considered one of the greatest contemporary Australian artists and her influence on the world of both indigenous and non-indigenous Australian art is indisputably great. The Tate Modern announced that it will stage a major solo exhibition dedicated to Emily in the summer of 2025. Rover Thomas has been recognized as one of the greats and one of the first major artists of the Indigenous fine art movement. He was one of the first Aboriginal artists to represent Australia at the Venice Biennial. You'll find his work's in every major gallery, including all the State galleries and the National Gallery. When visiting the NGA just before his death, Rover uttered his most famous quote. Upon seeing Mark Rothko’s work for the first time, having never been confronted with Western Art before, Thomas stopped and examined it for a while; then he said, “that white fella paint like me, but he don’t know how to use black.” In the short period of eight years that Paddy Bedford painted, he built up a rich oeuvre and was to be regarded as one of the most important indigenous artists of Australia. His work has a unique distinctive style: very graphical, use of striking colors, and sparse but precisely placed lines, often delineated by white dots. His works depict the East Kimberley landscape where he lived and worked his whole life, in combination with the Dreamtime stories of the emu, turkey and black cockatoo associated with his family.