A chat with Jed Farquhar
What inspired you to open an Aboriginal art gallery?
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We opened our doors in January 2020 trading for the first 12 months as Kool Koala Art. We offered a large range of 5mm acrylic prints, mainly photography & abstracts. Covid hit only 2 months later and made our first year incredibly difficult. We decided to use our Farquhar family name as it is already known & respected from my father's almost 40 years in the kitchen industry in Adelaide, and so we entered 2021 as 'Art by Farquhar'.
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As we grew we eventually toyed with the idea of having paintings and we purchased our first few through an online auction site. At the same time, my father Michael suggested we look at doing prints of these artworks as there was no marketplace for it and got in contact with renowned indigenous artist Chern'ee Sutton. We were extremely grateful to be able to source some images for prints from the Sutton family and to receive some very high quality paintings on consignment from them.
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After we added these to our range, we had artists slowly start coming into our shop simply because we showed up under google when they were looking to sell their paintings. It started off with Justinna Sims Napaljarri & husband Marshall Jangala Robertson, purchasing a small series of paintings titled Seven Sisters Jukurrpa & Seed Dreaming. After we had these pieces framed and advertised, through word of mouth we were lucky to get more and more artists come through the door. The best thing about this, in my opinion, is that we grew organically and never went out to or contacted artists to come to us.
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Jed Farquhar, Michael Farquhar, Justinna Napaljarri Sims & Marshall Jangala Robertson - with Justinna's "Seven Sisters Jukurrpa"
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After about 3 years now we have worked directly with over 40 Adelaide based artists, forming great relationships & partnerships with artists like Bernadine Johnson Kemarre, Julieanne Turner Nungurrayi, Rhoda Tjitayi, Janice Stanley, Carolanne Ken & Teresa Baker.
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Can you tell me more about the style of Aboriginal art that you showcase in your gallery?
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We predominantly house a lot of dot paintings, but recently have acquired some abstract styled paintings by APY Lands artist Janice Stanley, which are quite unique. These ones are based off the salt lakes from her home and with her technique and blend of colour, every single piece is unique.
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Jed Farquhar & artist Janice Stanley, with her "Pantu" (Salt Lake) painting
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We have a lot of "My Country" based paintings, which are a birds eye views of their native lands, as well as a lot of paintings that depict the scrub and flora of their homes. Since we started working with more APY based artists in late 2022, we have a lot more jukurrpas (dreamings) that are native to these lands.
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We work with some very special artists from the same family, including Julieanne Turner Nungurrayi & son Farron Furber Jampitjinpa, who both paint Budgerigar Dreaming, which is based off their homeland of Mount Allen. They are both extremely precise and neat and when you look at each of their pieces, you can see how much care goes into it. These are the kind of works I cherish as I know how much time & effort they take.
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Farron Furber Jampitjinpa - "My Country / Budgerigar"
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Julieanne & Farron's paintings are up there with my favourites and the best bit about working with these two is that they are great people.
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How do you ensure that the artists you work with are properly compensated for their work?
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To put it shortly, we do our best to look after our artists. In Adelaide, artists have a number of avenues to sell their art and with us being down South of the city we are not always a convenient choice. The fact that many of our artists make the effort to communicate and visit us to sell their artwork reassures us they have trust in us and appreciate how we treat our artists.
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Teresa, Kay, Barbara & Marita Baker, visiting us in January 2023.
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We provide our artists with cut canvases and paints free of charge, and pay them a very fair rate for their work once complete. We do not tell artists who they can and can't paint for and work with them purely off our relationship we create. Often galleries operate on consignment sales (artists aren't paid until the work is sold), which means they can be left years without being compensated for their work. From our communications with our artists, we have been advised that they would like to be paid on the completion of the painting rather than on consignment, so this is how we operate with them.
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On top of this, we also have a reproduction print range, which a large percentage of our artists are signed up to. When we sell a print of their work, the artist receives a percentage royalty of the sale price. For perspective, every artist we have offered a reproduction agreement to has accepted it. I personally handle the photography of the pieces, as well as the printing of this on our Epson printer.
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How do you think the appreciation of Aboriginal art has evolved over time, both in Australia and internationally?
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Personally, I have only had experience in this field for around 3 years, so I'd be lying if I claimed to be an expert in any way. I am learning every day more and more about Aboriginal art, particularly directly through our APY & Northern Territory artists.
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In Adelaide, I think there is a lot of growth to be done, with many clients coming in with little to no knowledge. When Adelaide's new Aboriginal Arts and Cultures Centre "Tarrkarri" opens, I personally believe the industry and demand for local art will skyrocket. Although at the moment we do not operate with any Kaurna artists, we work with a lot of Adelaide living artists who are very talented. I believe a lot of internationals visiting will show great interest to Aboriginal art & that its growth & popularity will continue.
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With the online side of things, we are seeing a lot of interest from clients based in Europe & the United States. Every week we are receiving enquiries for original paintings, and with us being a relatively new gallery, I envision this will also grow.
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What do you think sets your gallery apart from other galleries that sell Aboriginal art?
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I think what Art by Farquhar has to offer is we sell art that is sourced locally whenever possible. We have fostered organic relationships with artists and do not go to central Australia to source the artwork. Our staff can relate to the artworks as we know the artists personally, and have experienced and been educated on what their works are about.
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Bernadine Johnson Kemarre & husband Stephen Pitjara Martin
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We treat our artists with the utmost of respect, and we understand that we cannot operate as a business without them, so we treat them accordingly. There's a reason so many artists choose to paint for us.
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What is your personal favorite artwork in your gallery's collection and why?
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I have a few favourites. The best piece in our gallery (in my opinion) is a collaborative piece we have by Teresa Baker, Kay Baker & Clarise Tunkin. We have it on our hanging rack to the left when you walk in, and I insist clients take a view at it as it is spectacular.
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Minyma Malilia-Nya - Kay Baker, Teresa Baker & Clarise Tunkin (Fregon, APY)
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I also love Carolanne Ken's work, with her Miniyma Malilu Tjkurrpa being my favourite. Her style & blend of colours are great. We were lucky enough to have her & sister Joanne Ken in here painting for a few days last month.
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My favourite artist altogether though has to be Julieanne Turner Nungurrayi. If you have met me you would know I always harp-on about how talented she is and how amazing the work is that she produces. I was fortunate to source one of her few black & white based Budgerigar Dreaming's which I have hanging proudly on my wall at home. Her work is great because of the exorbitant amount of detail which goes into it, as well as the fact that she doesn't paint very often, so there are only limited pieces by her.
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Julieanne Turner Nungurrayi - "Budgerigar Dreaming & Bush Tucker"
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Do you have any upcoming exhibitions or events planned at the gallery?
We are looking at doing an exhibition in the future with our local artist's works, possibly collaborating with an APY family we work with, but it is a work in progress away.
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Have you noticed any trends or changes in the types of artwork that your customers are interested in over the years?
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From my experience artwork styles move in waves. We have months where black & white pieces are majority of our sales, then we might have a shift to a different style or artist in particular. I am still trying to figure out what causes these trends, but I have a suspicion it is related to the artwork shown in renovation shows.