Sydney – D LAN GALLERIES is delighted to announce Bark Masters – the gallery’s second exhibition dedicated to showcasing masterworks by some of Australia’s most important bark painters – will open in Sydney on 9 July.

Bringing together 23 works, the exhibition will once again shine a light on the lives and artistic practice of the cultural custodians behind one of the world’s oldest continuous art forms.

Bark Masters 2026 presents a rare opportunity to engage with one of Australia’s most distinctive artistic traditions, offering audiences an unparalleled encounter with works that speak to both historical foundations and living vitality of bark painting.

Among the exhibition’s highlights is a 1973 bark painting by senior Wunuambal artist Jack Karadada, a custodial figure whose practice was dedicated almost entirely to the image of the Wanjina. Acquired shortly after its completion and held for twenty-five years in a private collection in England, before returning to Australia, Wanjina Spirit invites comparison with the finest paintings of other Wanjina masters, including Alec Minglemanangu and Charlie Numblemoore.

Namarnday Spirits Dancing 1960 is a rare example of Samuel Wagbara’s work from Minjiland, Croker Island. The work carries remarkable provenance, having passed through the hands of Dorothy Bennett, one of the most significant collectors of her generation and a key figure in the network of collectors and curators who shaped the institutional history of Aboriginal bark painting in Australia. With works of this period, subject matter, and provenance appearing rarely on the market, Namarnday Spirits Dancing represents an exceptional opportunity for collectors and institutions alike.

Also among this presentation is a 1980s bark painting by senior Kunwinjku artist Peter Maralwanga, a cultural leader whose practice balanced deep ceremonial knowledge with formal experimentation. Maralwanga produced figurations of ancestral beings that rank among the most distinctive in West Arnhem Land bark painting, with major works held in the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Museum of Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

Other major highlights include works by Nym Djimungurr, Nandabitta Maminyamandja, Yirawala MBE, Jimmy Midjaw Midjaw, Narritjin Maymuru, Thomas Nadjiwarra Amagula, and Mathaman Marika.

This year, accompanying paintings on bark will be three-dimensional figures revealing the ways in which artists employed different mediums to express cultural narratives and ceremonial knowledge.

Untitled – Three Mimihs 1978, by pioneering Kunwinjku sculptor Crusoe Kunningbal is among this expanded presentation and demonstrates the interconnected nature of artistic practice across different physical forms all with their own unique place in the Indigenous art canon.

We look forward to sharing details of a special event at D Lan Galleries Sydney with the Karrkad Kanjdji Trust during the Bark Masters exhibition. KKT’s vision is for First Nations communities to be connected to and caring for Country, safeguarding vital ecosystems for future generations. KKT was created by Traditional Owners and innovative leaders representing Aboriginal community-controlled organisations from across Arnhem Land. As the initiative has grown, the founding partners have invited Aboriginal community-controlled organisations across the region to join. They collectively govern KKT by nominating members to the KKT board, as well as other experts who walk beside them.

Indigenous Australian bark paintings have often been the foundation of many of the great private collections of Australian First Nations art. The growing global interest in this unique medium reflects a deepening appreciation for their value as sophisticated manifestations of cultural knowledge.