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You may expect aboriginal art to be basic. But the works at the Robert Steele Gallery in Chelsea are anything but.

Local art lovers are getting a chance to see how tribal artists from Australia are reinventing their ancient art forms and applying them through new mediums.

Steele says these works are growing in popularity, drawing fans that have never seen anything like them before.

"If you look around at contemporary art, it's repetitive," said Steele. "When you look at Aboriginal art, there is very little influence you can see there. We're talking aboriginal people who have lived in the deserts and this is something natural for them to create – total contemporary work. It's amazing."

Art critic and author Benjamin Genocchio says Aboriginal people represent less than three percent of Australia's population, yet produce 70 percent of the country's art sales. He says the appeal lies in the uniqueness and spirituality of their work.

"Most represent ancestral designs, and come from body painting or rock engraving," said Genocchio. "Their colors reflect foliage in desert and Northern Australia. I think people are drawn to them visually, and when they learn more about them, they understand their spiritual depth and relation to country, and 'dream time,' which are the stories of the aboriginal people."

During his 10 years in New York, Steele says a crop of unexpected buyers has emerged.

"We thought we would be selling to collectors, but, in fact, we built up a whole new market of people looking for their clients and those clients come back to buy more work for their homes," he said. "It's amazing how it's taken off."