The Antoni and Belinda Cipa Collection

This collection evolved over several decades commencing with the purchase of two artworks by Minnie Pwerle from Aboriginal Galleries of Australia in Flinders Lane, Melbourne in 2005. Visually arresting and with a colour pallet I adore, these pieces have been joined by works from several artists with, coincidently, either immediate and or extended family connections and or country to Minnie Pwerle. With a subsequent desire to experience Australia’s “Outback” and find Minnie Pwerle’s “Utopia” Tony and I took every holiday opportunity to explore North and West from our home in Victoria. We traversed the length and breadth of the Nullarbor Plain and the Stuart Highway, the Oodnadatta, Birdsville and Tanami Tracks, the French Line across the Simpson Desert and the Savannah Way across northern Qld. Always stopping in Alice Springs on these numerous trips for supplies inevitably led to us to establish a warm and long relationship with Steve Ariston (sadly deceased) and his partner Amy Ariston at their Palya Proper Fine Art Gallery. Their passion for, knowledge of and supportive relationships with Artists from the Central Dessert region was clearly extensive and did inspire our enthusiasm for building this Collection of remarkable paintings. Each painting has inferred on us a sense of affinity with the unique desert regions of Australia and given us great pleasure to view daily in our home. To me, each of the paintings, individually and as a collection, capture a unique sense of space and time. They emit feelings of power, purpose and energy as well as a sense of silence, respect, intrigue and knowledge. In 2024 we were fortunate to join a crew to travel southward along the Canning Stock Route in WA with a passing through the Great Sandy, Gibson and Little Sandy Deserts. This four-week trip was a huge highlight and an opportunity to visit remote Art Centres where some of the artists of these works still reside and paint. It was satisfying to feel we could physically and emotionally appreciate a little more about their life and the unique environment they live in. My mother Patricia Winnett, an inspiring watercolour artist, often described me as “A Colourist” purely from my descriptions of the scenery I described, the photographs of variations in bark markings and textures and animal tracks in orange, pink and ochre sand that we took during our travels, and of course, from my joy, clearly evident, in displaying each acquisition. Whether a Colourist or a Connoisseur I commend you to enjoy appreciating this Collection. Sincerely, Belinda Cipa The Antoni and Belinda Cipa Collection 2026