Our Artists
AJ Burns
AJ Burns painted prodigiously as a child but was “actively discouraged” by his teachers and family from taking art in high school. He swapped paint for a set square, ruler and pencil, focused on maths, and went on to study civil engineering.
After years as a successful entrepreneur in the UK and SA, he founded a vodka distillery and then Covid prohibition hit. At a loose end, AJ attended an art class with an old friend and a good 35 years after he’d laid down his brushes, he found himself “playing with acrylics” in a neighbour’s garage.
He was intrigued to see how the paint moved but there was no electricity in the garage to move the paint with a hair dryer or any other equipment. So out of frustration, he blew the paint with his mouth to see what would happen and loved the way one colour moved through another.
Three years on and AJ is still literally breathing his life into his large, expressionistic fish artworks: he lays down one paint colour, drops a second on top of it and then blows the second colour through the first, creating vibrant movement. The effect is a burst of energy, colour and texture that evoke a range of emotions.
“I love the unpredictability of it,” he enthuses. “The paint seems to come to life - it keeps moving even when I’ve finished. And the colours change during the drying process.” (This can take up to two weeks in winter as it’s often 3 or 4mm thick.) “It’s always exciting to go back the next day to see what’s happened to the painting.”
AJ’s work has been sold to clients around the world and is currently represented in selected South African and UK galleries.
View Artist
After years as a successful entrepreneur in the UK and SA, he founded a vodka distillery and then Covid prohibition hit. At a loose end, AJ attended an art class with an old friend and a good 35 years after he’d laid down his brushes, he found himself “playing with acrylics” in a neighbour’s garage.
He was intrigued to see how the paint moved but there was no electricity in the garage to move the paint with a hair dryer or any other equipment. So out of frustration, he blew the paint with his mouth to see what would happen and loved the way one colour moved through another.
Three years on and AJ is still literally breathing his life into his large, expressionistic fish artworks: he lays down one paint colour, drops a second on top of it and then blows the second colour through the first, creating vibrant movement. The effect is a burst of energy, colour and texture that evoke a range of emotions.
“I love the unpredictability of it,” he enthuses. “The paint seems to come to life - it keeps moving even when I’ve finished. And the colours change during the drying process.” (This can take up to two weeks in winter as it’s often 3 or 4mm thick.) “It’s always exciting to go back the next day to see what’s happened to the painting.”
AJ’s work has been sold to clients around the world and is currently represented in selected South African and UK galleries.
Angelina Pwerle Ngala
Angelina Pwerle Ngala (b. c.1947), an Anmatyerre/Alyawarr artist from the Utopia region in Australia's Northern Territory, has established herself as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary Aboriginal art. She is internationally recognised for her luminous interpretations of Bush Plum Dreaming (Arnwekety), rooted in her grandfather's country at Arlparra.
Her signature style lies in the exquisite subtlety of her dotting technique: layered applications of fine dots create shimmering, multi-dimensional surfaces that evoke depth, movement, and the shifting play of light across the desert landscape. These works possess a quiet intensity and refined elegance, often set against deep, resonant backgrounds that lend the dots an almost ethereal, floating quality. Her colour palettes are notably clear and harmonious—pure tones that resonate with sophistication rather than overt drama.
Alongside her celebrated Bush Plum canvases, Angelina has produced striking figurative pieces in bold yet assured colours, as well as whimsical sculptural forms depicting animals and spirit figures. These often feature bright-eyed, expressive creatures rendered with a delightful sense of character, adorned in soft greys, blues, greens, and traditional ochres.
A key figure in the pioneering Utopia women's art movement, she participated in the influential 1988 batik project and transitioned to acrylic on canvas during the landmark CAAMA 'First Works on Canvas' summer initiative of 1988–89. Her early works were included in significant collections, notably that of Robert Holmes à Court, which toured widely.
Her paintings are held in prestigious public institutions and discerning private collections worldwide, including major Australian galleries and international museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was a finalist in the 2006 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.
For the discerning South West London collector—appreciative of understated mastery, optical subtlety, and works that reward prolonged contemplation—Angelina Pwerle's canvases offer a refined bridge between ancient cultural narratives and contemporary abstraction. Their textured luminosity and tonal restraint sit beautifully in modern interiors, complementing minimalist spaces or more eclectic ensembles with quiet authority.
(Adapted and condensed from sources including The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, Kleinert & Neale, OUP 2000, with updated context from current gallery and institutional profiles.)
View Artist
Her signature style lies in the exquisite subtlety of her dotting technique: layered applications of fine dots create shimmering, multi-dimensional surfaces that evoke depth, movement, and the shifting play of light across the desert landscape. These works possess a quiet intensity and refined elegance, often set against deep, resonant backgrounds that lend the dots an almost ethereal, floating quality. Her colour palettes are notably clear and harmonious—pure tones that resonate with sophistication rather than overt drama.
Alongside her celebrated Bush Plum canvases, Angelina has produced striking figurative pieces in bold yet assured colours, as well as whimsical sculptural forms depicting animals and spirit figures. These often feature bright-eyed, expressive creatures rendered with a delightful sense of character, adorned in soft greys, blues, greens, and traditional ochres.
A key figure in the pioneering Utopia women's art movement, she participated in the influential 1988 batik project and transitioned to acrylic on canvas during the landmark CAAMA 'First Works on Canvas' summer initiative of 1988–89. Her early works were included in significant collections, notably that of Robert Holmes à Court, which toured widely.
Her paintings are held in prestigious public institutions and discerning private collections worldwide, including major Australian galleries and international museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was a finalist in the 2006 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.
For the discerning South West London collector—appreciative of understated mastery, optical subtlety, and works that reward prolonged contemplation—Angelina Pwerle's canvases offer a refined bridge between ancient cultural narratives and contemporary abstraction. Their textured luminosity and tonal restraint sit beautifully in modern interiors, complementing minimalist spaces or more eclectic ensembles with quiet authority.
(Adapted and condensed from sources including The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, Kleinert & Neale, OUP 2000, with updated context from current gallery and institutional profiles.)
Annie Pitjara Hunter
Born: 1964
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Atnwengerrp, central Australia, Northern Territory
Annie Pitjara Hunter, sister to artists Susan, Jessie and Sandy Pitjara Hunter is well known for the fine execution of her interpretation of Women’s Business. Like her sisters Annie is concerned with Awely and all it symbolises during the deeply spiritual women’s ceremonies. Over the last fifteen years she has participated in many group exhibitions throughout Australia.
Awely (or women’s business) is associated with women’s social structure and ritual knowledge. Awely describes the painted designs and images associated with women’s rituals. The detailed and delicate execution of her paintings are made with great care and respect for its intrinsic meaning. In her paintings Annie depicts ‘women’ and ‘ceremonial sites’ in which her community gathers for their rites. The women sit and sing songs handed down from their ancestors and pass on their ‘Dreamings’ to those younger to pay homage to their ancestors, the land and the food it produces. These Dreamings and ceremonies teach the community the rules and survival of life in their desert environment.
Pitjara Hunter’s have been collected since the beginning of the Utopia art movement when batik was first introduced to the women in 1977. Her batik was selected for Utopia- A Picture Story an exhibition from the Holmes à Court Collection which toured extensively nationally and overseas. Her paintings were also featured in the significant exhibition “Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project” (1988-89).
Born on MacDonald Downs in 1964 to Johnny Ngwarrai Hunter and Molly Bula Hunter, Annie now lives with her family on Atnwengerrp - Utopia region, central Australia.
Collections:
The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions:
1989 - Alcoota , Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1989 - A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art , Westpac Gallery, Melbourne Design Warehouse Sydney
1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings - the First Works on Canvas
1988-89 - A Summer Project , S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1990 - 'Utopia - A Picture Story,' an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland
2006 - Utopia , Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2007 - Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert , Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
2007 - Standing on Ceremony , Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2008 - Power of Place , Tandanya: National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
2010 - Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 - Desert Visions, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Aboriginal Artists UK Show , London
2014 - Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2021 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2022-24- Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
View Artist
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Atnwengerrp, central Australia, Northern Territory
Annie Pitjara Hunter, sister to artists Susan, Jessie and Sandy Pitjara Hunter is well known for the fine execution of her interpretation of Women’s Business. Like her sisters Annie is concerned with Awely and all it symbolises during the deeply spiritual women’s ceremonies. Over the last fifteen years she has participated in many group exhibitions throughout Australia.
Awely (or women’s business) is associated with women’s social structure and ritual knowledge. Awely describes the painted designs and images associated with women’s rituals. The detailed and delicate execution of her paintings are made with great care and respect for its intrinsic meaning. In her paintings Annie depicts ‘women’ and ‘ceremonial sites’ in which her community gathers for their rites. The women sit and sing songs handed down from their ancestors and pass on their ‘Dreamings’ to those younger to pay homage to their ancestors, the land and the food it produces. These Dreamings and ceremonies teach the community the rules and survival of life in their desert environment.
Pitjara Hunter’s have been collected since the beginning of the Utopia art movement when batik was first introduced to the women in 1977. Her batik was selected for Utopia- A Picture Story an exhibition from the Holmes à Court Collection which toured extensively nationally and overseas. Her paintings were also featured in the significant exhibition “Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project” (1988-89).
Born on MacDonald Downs in 1964 to Johnny Ngwarrai Hunter and Molly Bula Hunter, Annie now lives with her family on Atnwengerrp - Utopia region, central Australia.
Collections:
The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions:
1989 - Alcoota , Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1989 - A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art , Westpac Gallery, Melbourne Design Warehouse Sydney
1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings - the First Works on Canvas
1988-89 - A Summer Project , S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1990 - 'Utopia - A Picture Story,' an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland
2006 - Utopia , Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2007 - Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert , Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
2007 - Standing on Ceremony , Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2008 - Power of Place , Tandanya: National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
2010 - Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 - Desert Visions, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Aboriginal Artists UK Show , London
2014 - Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2021 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2022-24- Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
Bethany Perry
Bethany Perry is a contemporary artist whose work delves into themes of personal liberation and strength, often through the lens of women’s experiences. With a background deeply rooted in both creative expression and societal observation, Bethany’s work challenges conventional beauty standards and explores the duality of vulnerability and power. While her practice spans a range of media—from collage and resin to body impressions—each piece is aligned with her core values of empowerment and authenticity. Bethany’s passion for experimenting with materials allows her to continuously push creative boundaries, while the bold, vibrant colors and simplistic forms she uses consistently evoke a sense of raw energy and presence.
View Artist
Betty Club Mbitjana
Born: c. 1954
Died: 2023
Language Group: Anmatyerre
Region: Utopia, NT
Betty was born c.1954 and is the daughter of renowned artist, Minnie Pwerle and
sister to Barbara Weir, one of Australia’s most prominent artists. Betty’s bush plum and bush melon awelye (dreaming) paintings depict what Utopian women paint on their bodies and the dancing tracks made in the sand during women’s awelye ceremonies. Through these ceremonies the women pay respect to their ancestors, country and their responsibilities in their communities. For the awelye ceremonies the women paint their breasts and upper arms in red and white ochre. Betty’s work shows an aerial view of the ceremony with the waterholes, dancing
tracks, and pairs of breasts moving as a woman dances.
Betty was married to Paddy Club who died in 2012. She lived Utopia and sometimes Alice Springs.
View Artist
Died: 2023
Language Group: Anmatyerre
Region: Utopia, NT
Betty was born c.1954 and is the daughter of renowned artist, Minnie Pwerle and
sister to Barbara Weir, one of Australia’s most prominent artists. Betty’s bush plum and bush melon awelye (dreaming) paintings depict what Utopian women paint on their bodies and the dancing tracks made in the sand during women’s awelye ceremonies. Through these ceremonies the women pay respect to their ancestors, country and their responsibilities in their communities. For the awelye ceremonies the women paint their breasts and upper arms in red and white ochre. Betty’s work shows an aerial view of the ceremony with the waterholes, dancing
tracks, and pairs of breasts moving as a woman dances.
Betty was married to Paddy Club who died in 2012. She lived Utopia and sometimes Alice Springs.
Caitlin Thomas
With a background studying Theology, I am drawn to the relationship between light and mankind’s understanding of the spiritual. My practice centres on photography as a way of engaging with both the physical and symbolic qualities of light. I am fascinated by its dual nature as a wave and a particle, its intersection in science, technology and religion and how it has played a part in humanity’s ongoing search for meaning.
My work explores the tension between light and darkness as a metaphor for faith, and for the dissolution of ego. These themes reflect a personal journey; an attempt to translate internal states into external form. I often allow shapes and figures to dissolve or bleed into their surroundings, mirroring moments of transcendence or emotional release.
The common thread in my work is the presence of light and shadow, both literally and metaphorically. As Jun’ichirōTanizaki wrote, “Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.”
View Artist
My work explores the tension between light and darkness as a metaphor for faith, and for the dissolution of ego. These themes reflect a personal journey; an attempt to translate internal states into external form. I often allow shapes and figures to dissolve or bleed into their surroundings, mirroring moments of transcendence or emotional release.
The common thread in my work is the presence of light and shadow, both literally and metaphorically. As Jun’ichirōTanizaki wrote, “Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.”
Carlos Neto
Carlos Neto, born in 1956 and of Portuguese heritage, is a self-taught artist living in Johannesburg, South Africa. From a young age, he showed exceptional talent in the arts, particularly in painting and sculpture—disciplines that would become central to his life’s work.
Although entirely self-trained, Carlos’s dedication and natural ability led him to establish a bronze casting foundry, where he produced works for major auction houses. His skill in sculpture is widely respected, yet his true passion has always been painting—especially in oils, though he is equally comfortable working in a variety of mediums.
Carlos’s work is defined by both technical precision and emotional resonance. His paintings often reflect a deep connection to form, texture, and light, capturing subjects with a sense of presence and timelessness.
After decades of refining his craft largely out of the spotlight, Carlos Neto is now preparing to share his work with a wider audience. As he looks to introduce his art to the UK market, collectors and art lovers are invited to discover a remarkable South African talent whose work speaks for itself.
View Artist
Although entirely self-trained, Carlos’s dedication and natural ability led him to establish a bronze casting foundry, where he produced works for major auction houses. His skill in sculpture is widely respected, yet his true passion has always been painting—especially in oils, though he is equally comfortable working in a variety of mediums.
Carlos’s work is defined by both technical precision and emotional resonance. His paintings often reflect a deep connection to form, texture, and light, capturing subjects with a sense of presence and timelessness.
After decades of refining his craft largely out of the spotlight, Carlos Neto is now preparing to share his work with a wider audience. As he looks to introduce his art to the UK market, collectors and art lovers are invited to discover a remarkable South African talent whose work speaks for itself.
Carolina Pixel
As a passionate abstract artist, Carolina began her creative journey as a photographer and content creator. Fulfilling her dream of living abroad on an idyllic Portuguese island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, she channels her love for travel into bright, colorful compositions.
Using rich textures and a wide range of nuanced tones to complement the softness of the surrounding waters, Carolina’s playful spirit and eye for detail are evident in every element of her paintings.
View Artist
Using rich textures and a wide range of nuanced tones to complement the softness of the surrounding waters, Carolina’s playful spirit and eye for detail are evident in every element of her paintings.
Claire Miles
I grew up in New Zealand when homes had limited heating and water condensed on the inside in winter. I am told these windows were my first drawing surfaces. As a child I found colour fascinating and memorable, including varied plastic pegs and the gift of some wonderful coloured pencils with colours I had never seen before.
Art resurfaced as an attraction in the past several years, when I lived in Turkey and exhibited and sold my work modestly on the annual boat race, which lasted several days and included Greece! I love painting and drawing, and have done several portraits as well as abstracts, landscapes and anything which features water and light! I use mainly oil, and sometimes acrylic paint, or pastels and pencils.
View Artist
Art resurfaced as an attraction in the past several years, when I lived in Turkey and exhibited and sold my work modestly on the annual boat race, which lasted several days and included Greece! I love painting and drawing, and have done several portraits as well as abstracts, landscapes and anything which features water and light! I use mainly oil, and sometimes acrylic paint, or pastels and pencils.
Cowboy Louie Pwerle
Born: 1941
Died: 2022
Language Group: Anmetty
Region: Mulga Bore, Utopia
Cowboy Louie Pwerl was a highly respected Anmattyerr Elder of the Utopia community and a an important leader for his people. He was a close friend of the Chalmers family like his father who was especially close to Charles Chalmers who first settled among the Anmattyerr and Alyawarr people a century ago in 1926. Cowboy Louie was born in 1941 on Old McDonald Station in central Australia. Cowboy’s traditional country stretched from the Sandover River on Utopia through to the west on to Mt Skinner Station. He lived at Mosquito Bore, Utopia central Australia with both his partners Carol and Elizabeth Kngwarrey and extended family.
Cowboy was a fine painter and senior custodian of a series of dreaming sites many of which are depicted in his paintings. The Bush Turkey Ancestor was a major influence in his work as well as the Emu (Ankerr) and Lizard (Arlewatyerr).
His intricate work is characterised by his use of dark earthy colours and geometric shapes outlined in dots. These represent the tracks of the Bush Turkey roaming across the bushland as it searches for tucker. Viewed from a topographical point of view his works have a dark intensity and depth, recalling the relief and colours of his country. His works can be viewed as an Indigenous atlas mapping the route of the Bush Turkey, Lizard and Emu Ancestors as they travel over the land to their final resting place.
His work has been exhibited in galleries all over the world. He had the lead role in Utopia Generations , Sandover Films directed by Viviana Petyarre.
Collections
Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
National Gallery of Victoria
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
The Coventry Collection, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia
Benalla Art Gallery
Stichting Sint-Jan, Brugge, Netherlands
Major private collectors in Australia and internationally
Exhibitions
2017 The Golden Age of Utopia, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2016 Camel Camp & Beyond , Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2015 Aboriginal art , Wimbledon Fine Arts, London
2014 Dot Code: Desert Artists , Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2014 Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2012 Belongings, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2011 Aboriginal Art from Utopia , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2010 Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show, London
2010 Salon des Refuses, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2010 59th Blake Prize, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2010 The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Project, Singapore
2009 An Individual Perspective: From the Collection of Lauraine Diggins , Deakin University Art Gallery, Burwood, VIC
2009 Blake Prize, The Blake Society, National Art School Gallery, Sydney (finalist)
2008 Power of Place, Paintings and Sculpture from the Eastern Desert , Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc, Adelaide
2008 Annual Collectors’ Exhibition, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, VIC
2008 Sydney Art & Antiques Fair 2008, Sydney NSW
2008 Moscow World Fine Art Fair, Manege, Moscow, Russia
2008 Impulse to Paint: The Artists of Iylenty, Utopia, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne
2007 Eastern Desert Dreaming , Artists from Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert , Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
2007 ArtParis 2007, Grand Palais, Paris FRANCE
2007 Visions of Utopia, Cooee Aboriginal Art, Sydney NSW
2007 Memory As Landscape, Masterpiece @ IXL, Hobart TAS
2007 Utopia Today, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, VIC
2006 ArtParis 2006, Grand Palais, Paris FRANCE
1997 William Mora Gallery
1993 Aptos Cruz Gallery, Adelaide
1993 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
1992 Aptos Cruz Gallery, Adelaide
1992 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
1992 Aptoz Cruz Gallery, Adelaide
1991 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1991 Eastern Desert Art, Brisbane
1990 Deutscher Gallery, Melbourne
View Artist
Died: 2022
Language Group: Anmetty
Region: Mulga Bore, Utopia
Cowboy Louie Pwerl was a highly respected Anmattyerr Elder of the Utopia community and a an important leader for his people. He was a close friend of the Chalmers family like his father who was especially close to Charles Chalmers who first settled among the Anmattyerr and Alyawarr people a century ago in 1926. Cowboy Louie was born in 1941 on Old McDonald Station in central Australia. Cowboy’s traditional country stretched from the Sandover River on Utopia through to the west on to Mt Skinner Station. He lived at Mosquito Bore, Utopia central Australia with both his partners Carol and Elizabeth Kngwarrey and extended family.
Cowboy was a fine painter and senior custodian of a series of dreaming sites many of which are depicted in his paintings. The Bush Turkey Ancestor was a major influence in his work as well as the Emu (Ankerr) and Lizard (Arlewatyerr).
His intricate work is characterised by his use of dark earthy colours and geometric shapes outlined in dots. These represent the tracks of the Bush Turkey roaming across the bushland as it searches for tucker. Viewed from a topographical point of view his works have a dark intensity and depth, recalling the relief and colours of his country. His works can be viewed as an Indigenous atlas mapping the route of the Bush Turkey, Lizard and Emu Ancestors as they travel over the land to their final resting place.
His work has been exhibited in galleries all over the world. He had the lead role in Utopia Generations , Sandover Films directed by Viviana Petyarre.
Collections
Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
National Gallery of Victoria
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
The Coventry Collection, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia
Benalla Art Gallery
Stichting Sint-Jan, Brugge, Netherlands
Major private collectors in Australia and internationally
Exhibitions
2017 The Golden Age of Utopia, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2016 Camel Camp & Beyond , Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2015 Aboriginal art , Wimbledon Fine Arts, London
2014 Dot Code: Desert Artists , Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2014 Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2012 Belongings, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2011 Aboriginal Art from Utopia , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2010 Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show, London
2010 Salon des Refuses, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2010 59th Blake Prize, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2010 The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Project, Singapore
2009 An Individual Perspective: From the Collection of Lauraine Diggins , Deakin University Art Gallery, Burwood, VIC
2009 Blake Prize, The Blake Society, National Art School Gallery, Sydney (finalist)
2008 Power of Place, Paintings and Sculpture from the Eastern Desert , Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc, Adelaide
2008 Annual Collectors’ Exhibition, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, VIC
2008 Sydney Art & Antiques Fair 2008, Sydney NSW
2008 Moscow World Fine Art Fair, Manege, Moscow, Russia
2008 Impulse to Paint: The Artists of Iylenty, Utopia, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne
2007 Eastern Desert Dreaming , Artists from Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert , Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
2007 ArtParis 2007, Grand Palais, Paris FRANCE
2007 Visions of Utopia, Cooee Aboriginal Art, Sydney NSW
2007 Memory As Landscape, Masterpiece @ IXL, Hobart TAS
2007 Utopia Today, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, VIC
2006 ArtParis 2006, Grand Palais, Paris FRANCE
1997 William Mora Gallery
1993 Aptos Cruz Gallery, Adelaide
1993 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
1992 Aptos Cruz Gallery, Adelaide
1992 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
1992 Aptoz Cruz Gallery, Adelaide
1991 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1991 Eastern Desert Art, Brisbane
1990 Deutscher Gallery, Melbourne
Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri
Born: 1955
Died: 2008
Language: Pintupi / Luritja
Region: Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory
Daisy, a Pintupi / Luritja speaker, was born on 11 October 1955 in Haasts Bluff and grew up there where her father, Timothy Jugadai Tjungurrayi was the head stockman and her mother, Narputta Nangala, a cook.
Daisy married Kelly Multa and they moved to the nearby outstation, Kungkayunti where their daughter, Agnes was born. When her husband died Daisy, her sister, Molly (Maluya) and Agnes moved to Kintore for a while.
They returned to Haasts Bluff where Daisy began painting at the Ikuntji Women’s Centre in 1992. Her mother, Narputta Nangala Jugadai, was by then its major artist. Her father began painting in the mid 1970’s by adapting the traditional styles of the initial Papunya Tula artists and depicting site mythologies for which he held responsibilities. He inspired Narputta and Daisy who, after his death, became renowned artists, both being represented in the National Gallery of Australia.
Daisy is well known for her unique depiction of the native plants, including bush tucker, around Haasts Bluff and her wonderful clouds. What can appear to be, to those not familiar with Daisy’s work, just a colourful painting is actually a detailed description of the land formation and vegetation of an identifiable area of the surrounding beautiful, lush desert.
Whilst most Central Australian artists paint with the Belgian linen canvas flat on the floor, Daisy painted with hers leaning against a wall or table leg. In Tingari Arts Daisy was always happy painting and chatting about the area and plants she was depicting and had great joy with her wonderful clouds which completed the story.
Daisy and Linx Macpherson, Director, Tingari Arts, were one day apart in age and shared their joint birthday celebrations whenever possible, always including their friend, the artist, Pansy Napangati.
In 2000 Daisy won the painting section of the Telstra National Indigenous and Torres Straits Art Awards.
Daisy died in 2008 and is buried in Haasts Bluff.
Collections:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria
Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Edith Cowan University
Artbank, Sydney
View Artist
Died: 2008
Language: Pintupi / Luritja
Region: Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory
Daisy, a Pintupi / Luritja speaker, was born on 11 October 1955 in Haasts Bluff and grew up there where her father, Timothy Jugadai Tjungurrayi was the head stockman and her mother, Narputta Nangala, a cook.
Daisy married Kelly Multa and they moved to the nearby outstation, Kungkayunti where their daughter, Agnes was born. When her husband died Daisy, her sister, Molly (Maluya) and Agnes moved to Kintore for a while.
They returned to Haasts Bluff where Daisy began painting at the Ikuntji Women’s Centre in 1992. Her mother, Narputta Nangala Jugadai, was by then its major artist. Her father began painting in the mid 1970’s by adapting the traditional styles of the initial Papunya Tula artists and depicting site mythologies for which he held responsibilities. He inspired Narputta and Daisy who, after his death, became renowned artists, both being represented in the National Gallery of Australia.
Daisy is well known for her unique depiction of the native plants, including bush tucker, around Haasts Bluff and her wonderful clouds. What can appear to be, to those not familiar with Daisy’s work, just a colourful painting is actually a detailed description of the land formation and vegetation of an identifiable area of the surrounding beautiful, lush desert.
Whilst most Central Australian artists paint with the Belgian linen canvas flat on the floor, Daisy painted with hers leaning against a wall or table leg. In Tingari Arts Daisy was always happy painting and chatting about the area and plants she was depicting and had great joy with her wonderful clouds which completed the story.
Daisy and Linx Macpherson, Director, Tingari Arts, were one day apart in age and shared their joint birthday celebrations whenever possible, always including their friend, the artist, Pansy Napangati.
In 2000 Daisy won the painting section of the Telstra National Indigenous and Torres Straits Art Awards.
Daisy died in 2008 and is buried in Haasts Bluff.
Collections:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria
Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Edith Cowan University
Artbank, Sydney
David Perry
BOLD. VIVID. INSTANTLY RECOGNISABLE.
David Perry’s work is a striking fusion of colour, culture, and creative instinct. A former printer turned full-time artist, he transforms reflective materials—glass, Perspex, vinyl, mirrors—into immersive, ever-shifting pieces that play with light, texture, and mood.
Drawing inspiration from music, street culture, and personal freedom, David’s one-of-a-kind creations have featured in major collaborations, large-scale commissions, and private collections around the world.
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David Perry’s work is a striking fusion of colour, culture, and creative instinct. A former printer turned full-time artist, he transforms reflective materials—glass, Perspex, vinyl, mirrors—into immersive, ever-shifting pieces that play with light, texture, and mood.
Drawing inspiration from music, street culture, and personal freedom, David’s one-of-a-kind creations have featured in major collaborations, large-scale commissions, and private collections around the world.
Debbie Tearle
Debbie is a self-taught artist working in the outstanding Surrey Hills area. Debbie creates expressive abstract and semi abstract paintings using acrylics and oil and cold wax paints.
"My work starts with careful observation, using photography and sketches. Through the expression of my visual language of lines and shapes I record what I see and feel. My paintings are initially planned with composition and medium considered, but then I work on the pieces intuitively, responding to the movement of paint and the expressive marks that I make as I'm creating. The colours, textures and patterns found in nature inform choices of palette and substrate. I combine materials that are most suitable for expressing the subject matter for a piece or series of paintings. My imagination and memory informing the development of the painting."
"I like to use standard and non-standard tools on both my paintings on canvas or wood panel and works on paper. Often, they can be stones, rocks, twigs, seed heads that I've collected whilst on walks or ones I'm experimenting with in the studio such as kitchen and diy tools, for example pastry brushes, skewers, bowl scrapers, plastering smoothing tools and screws. I use solvent and scratch between the layers of paint revealing what has been laid down earlier and the history of the work. Glazes of colour are applied to develop the surface and create complexity in the images."
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"My work starts with careful observation, using photography and sketches. Through the expression of my visual language of lines and shapes I record what I see and feel. My paintings are initially planned with composition and medium considered, but then I work on the pieces intuitively, responding to the movement of paint and the expressive marks that I make as I'm creating. The colours, textures and patterns found in nature inform choices of palette and substrate. I combine materials that are most suitable for expressing the subject matter for a piece or series of paintings. My imagination and memory informing the development of the painting."
"I like to use standard and non-standard tools on both my paintings on canvas or wood panel and works on paper. Often, they can be stones, rocks, twigs, seed heads that I've collected whilst on walks or ones I'm experimenting with in the studio such as kitchen and diy tools, for example pastry brushes, skewers, bowl scrapers, plastering smoothing tools and screws. I use solvent and scratch between the layers of paint revealing what has been laid down earlier and the history of the work. Glazes of colour are applied to develop the surface and create complexity in the images."
Emily Pwerle
Born: c. 1922
Language: Anmatyerre and Alyawarre
Country: Irrultja, Utopia
Emily Pwerle, sister to the renowned Minnie Pwerle, started painting in 2004. Her life has been led with very limited exposure to western culture. Emily's works are a depiction of the designs that women paint on their bodies during women’s ceremonies or Awelye.
In Aboriginal culture, ceremonies are focal points in the life of the community. They are held for different purposes, but each is integral to the continuation of Aboriginal culture and vital to the happiness and well being of the people and the land. Particular dances and song cycles accompany each. Women’s awelye ceremonies are acknowledgments of their responsibilities for the land and their relationship to it.
Exhibitions:
2005 Permanent exhibition and collection, DACOU Australia, Rosewater, SA.
2005 Group exhibition, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT.
2006 Group Exhibition, ‘The Pwerle Sisters,’ Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.
2006 Group exhibition, APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition, Rio Tinto Offices, Melbourne, VIC. 06/07 Group exhibition, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD.
2007 ‘Utopia in New York’ Robert Steele Gallery, New York. USA.2007 Group Exhibition, Australian Embassy, Washington, USA.
2007 “New Works from Utopia”, Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
2008 “Utopia Collection”, Japinka Gallery, Perth, WA2008 “Utopia Discoveries”, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.
2008 Group travelling exhibition to major cities in Australia, “EWB Elements”, presented by Dreamtime Art in conjunction with DACOU.
2009 “Utopia, Color’s of the Desert”, Gongpyeong Art Space in conjunction with DACOU, Australian Embassy in Korea & Crossbay Gallery, Seoul, Korea.
2009 Utopia group exhibition, DACOU Broome, Broome, WA.
2009 Group Exhibition, Gallery Savah, Sydney, NSW.
2009 “Body Markings”, solo exhibition, DACOU Gallery Melbourne, Middle Park, VIC.
2010 Solo Exhibition, Gallery Savah, Sydney, NSW.
2010 “The Pwerle Sisters” Group Exhibition DACOU Australia, Melbourne VIC.
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Language: Anmatyerre and Alyawarre
Country: Irrultja, Utopia
Emily Pwerle, sister to the renowned Minnie Pwerle, started painting in 2004. Her life has been led with very limited exposure to western culture. Emily's works are a depiction of the designs that women paint on their bodies during women’s ceremonies or Awelye.
In Aboriginal culture, ceremonies are focal points in the life of the community. They are held for different purposes, but each is integral to the continuation of Aboriginal culture and vital to the happiness and well being of the people and the land. Particular dances and song cycles accompany each. Women’s awelye ceremonies are acknowledgments of their responsibilities for the land and their relationship to it.
Exhibitions:
2005 Permanent exhibition and collection, DACOU Australia, Rosewater, SA.
2005 Group exhibition, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT.
2006 Group Exhibition, ‘The Pwerle Sisters,’ Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.
2006 Group exhibition, APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition, Rio Tinto Offices, Melbourne, VIC. 06/07 Group exhibition, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD.
2007 ‘Utopia in New York’ Robert Steele Gallery, New York. USA.2007 Group Exhibition, Australian Embassy, Washington, USA.
2007 “New Works from Utopia”, Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
2008 “Utopia Collection”, Japinka Gallery, Perth, WA2008 “Utopia Discoveries”, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.
2008 Group travelling exhibition to major cities in Australia, “EWB Elements”, presented by Dreamtime Art in conjunction with DACOU.
2009 “Utopia, Color’s of the Desert”, Gongpyeong Art Space in conjunction with DACOU, Australian Embassy in Korea & Crossbay Gallery, Seoul, Korea.
2009 Utopia group exhibition, DACOU Broome, Broome, WA.
2009 Group Exhibition, Gallery Savah, Sydney, NSW.
2009 “Body Markings”, solo exhibition, DACOU Gallery Melbourne, Middle Park, VIC.
2010 Solo Exhibition, Gallery Savah, Sydney, NSW.
2010 “The Pwerle Sisters” Group Exhibition DACOU Australia, Melbourne VIC.
Frank Punshon
Frank is a Colchester-born oil painter based in the Cotswolds and working from his small studio on the outskirts of the hilltop market town of Malmesbury. Working in oil and painting predominantly with a palette knife.
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George Ward Tjungurrayi
(Also known as Wakanintja Tjungurrayi)
Born: c. 1950's
Died: 2023
Language : Pintupi
Country: Warakurna, Western Australia
George Ward was born c. 1947 near Lararra (east of Tjukurla) Western Australia.
He shared his father, Pulpalpulpalnga Tjapaltjarri, with his older brothers Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi (a founding member of the Papunya Art movement in the early 1970’s) and Willy Tjungurrayi who became one of Papunya Tula’s prominent artists.
In 1963 George, as a youth, was taken from his homeland west of Lake Macdonald to Papunya as part of Jeremy Long’s Welfare Branch patrol. There he worked as a butcher in the community kitchen and a fencer. He married Nangawarre Ward Napurrula and they had two children, Grace and Adrian. They moved to various Western Australian communities before staying for a few years from 1981 in the newly established Pintupi community of Kintore just over the Northern Territory border. There George was encouraged by the art of his brothers Yala Yala and Willy Tjungurrayi, who were two of Papunya Tula’s leading artists.
George and family moved to Kiwirrkurra, also Pintupi country, over the Western Australian border from Kintore where, in 1984, he also began painting with Papunya Tula Artists.
George painted Tingari stories of his country including Kaakuratintja (the large salt lake, of Lake Macdonald). The Tingari is when the Dreamtime Ancestors travelled across the country, creating the landscape and all above and on it. George also painted Snake and Quoll Dreamings in the Waralunga area which were part of the Tingari stories.
George became one of Papunya Tula’s leading artists and in 2004 George won the prestigious Art Gallery of NSW’s Wynn Prize.
George and Nangawarre finally settled in Warakurna, WA, where their son, Adrian, and family live.
Collections include:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Exhibitions include:
1990 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1993 Chapman Gallery, Canberra ACT
1995 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1995 Groninger Museum, Groninger , Netherlands
1996 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne VIC
1998 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1999 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1997 Utopia Art, Sydney NSW
1997 Dreampower travelling exhibition, Gallerie Australis
2000 Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius , Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney NSW
2002 Meridian, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney NSW
2006 Luminaries of the Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2012 Heirs and Successors, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2013 Landmarks and Law Grounds: Men of the Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2015 Sixteen Artists – 16 x 2, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
View Artist
Born: c. 1950's
Died: 2023
Language : Pintupi
Country: Warakurna, Western Australia
George Ward was born c. 1947 near Lararra (east of Tjukurla) Western Australia.
He shared his father, Pulpalpulpalnga Tjapaltjarri, with his older brothers Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi (a founding member of the Papunya Art movement in the early 1970’s) and Willy Tjungurrayi who became one of Papunya Tula’s prominent artists.
In 1963 George, as a youth, was taken from his homeland west of Lake Macdonald to Papunya as part of Jeremy Long’s Welfare Branch patrol. There he worked as a butcher in the community kitchen and a fencer. He married Nangawarre Ward Napurrula and they had two children, Grace and Adrian. They moved to various Western Australian communities before staying for a few years from 1981 in the newly established Pintupi community of Kintore just over the Northern Territory border. There George was encouraged by the art of his brothers Yala Yala and Willy Tjungurrayi, who were two of Papunya Tula’s leading artists.
George and family moved to Kiwirrkurra, also Pintupi country, over the Western Australian border from Kintore where, in 1984, he also began painting with Papunya Tula Artists.
George painted Tingari stories of his country including Kaakuratintja (the large salt lake, of Lake Macdonald). The Tingari is when the Dreamtime Ancestors travelled across the country, creating the landscape and all above and on it. George also painted Snake and Quoll Dreamings in the Waralunga area which were part of the Tingari stories.
George became one of Papunya Tula’s leading artists and in 2004 George won the prestigious Art Gallery of NSW’s Wynn Prize.
George and Nangawarre finally settled in Warakurna, WA, where their son, Adrian, and family live.
Collections include:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Exhibitions include:
1990 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1993 Chapman Gallery, Canberra ACT
1995 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1995 Groninger Museum, Groninger , Netherlands
1996 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne VIC
1998 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1999 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1997 Utopia Art, Sydney NSW
1997 Dreampower travelling exhibition, Gallerie Australis
2000 Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius , Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney NSW
2002 Meridian, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney NSW
2006 Luminaries of the Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2012 Heirs and Successors, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2013 Landmarks and Law Grounds: Men of the Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2015 Sixteen Artists – 16 x 2, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
Georgia Herbig
Georgia Herbig is a London-based contemporary oil painter known for her unique characters in vibrant contemporary settings. Georgia’s art journey began after taking classes abroad with a wonderful teacher and an inspiring group of women, and she hasn't looked back since.
With a passion for capturing emotion and warmth, Georgia’s distinctive style portrays scenes that celebrate both peaceful moments of solitary reflection and shared moments of fun & joy. Her work has resonated with audiences globally.
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With a passion for capturing emotion and warmth, Georgia’s distinctive style portrays scenes that celebrate both peaceful moments of solitary reflection and shared moments of fun & joy. Her work has resonated with audiences globally.
Gerald Dougall
Gerald Dougall is a South African-born artist and painter, originally from Zimbabwe. Raised in Johannesburg, he was deeply influenced by the vibrant urban environment, which sparked his early interest in art. As a child, he gravitated toward sketching and painting, developing a passion for visual expression that would stay with him throughout his life.
In his youth, Dougall moved to various coastal towns, where the ocean became another major source of inspiration for his work. The natural beauty of the sea, with its ever-changing colours and forms, left a lasting imprint on his artistic style.
Later in life, Dougall traveled overseas, expanding his horizons and further immersing himself in the global art scene. His exposure to diverse cultures and artistic traditions enriched his approach to painting, blending both urban and natural elements.
Today, Dougall lives in Dublin, Ireland, where his work continues to reflect his diverse influences-from the dynamic landscapes of Johannesburg and the serenity of coastal living to his international artistic experiences.
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In his youth, Dougall moved to various coastal towns, where the ocean became another major source of inspiration for his work. The natural beauty of the sea, with its ever-changing colours and forms, left a lasting imprint on his artistic style.
Later in life, Dougall traveled overseas, expanding his horizons and further immersing himself in the global art scene. His exposure to diverse cultures and artistic traditions enriched his approach to painting, blending both urban and natural elements.
Today, Dougall lives in Dublin, Ireland, where his work continues to reflect his diverse influences-from the dynamic landscapes of Johannesburg and the serenity of coastal living to his international artistic experiences.
Gloria Petyarre
Born: c. 1945
Died: 8 June 2021
Language: Anmatyerr
Region: Utopia, Northern Territory
History of Gloria’s country:
About 250 kms north-east of Alice Springs in the Sandover area of Central Australia is the land known as Utopia. From the 1930’s the vast 1,800 square kilometres was a pastoral cattle station settled by German settlers.
In 1965, the Chalmers family, who owned neighbouring MacDonald Downs since 1923, purchased the lease. In 1979 they sold the lease to the Aboriginal Land Fund Commission which handed it back to the Anmatyerr and Alyawarr people as Aboriginal freehold land.
There are different theories as to how the area was named Utopia. One is the German settlers chose it in anticipation of a plentiful life on the land. Another is it is a distortion of ‘Uturupa’ , which, in Anmatyerre and Alyawarr, means ‘big sand hill’.
Utopia is not one single community, it comprises sixteen homelands including; Iylenty (Mosquito Bore), Arawerr (Soapy Bore), Ngkwelay (Kurrajong Bore), Aharlper Store, Ankerrapw (Utopia homestead), Artekerr (Three Bores), Anelthyey (Boundary Bore) and Akay (Mulga Bore).
Gloria, who is largely recognised as the most renowned of all female Aboriginal artists, was born c. 1945 near Boundary Bore on Utopia and was the second youngest daughter of seven girls. Her other sisters who also became leading artists were Kathleen, Ada, Nancy and Violet.
Utopia women, including Gloria and her sisters, began working with batik and fabric in 1977 and by the 1980’s were exhibiting their works on silk. Often depicted were free flowing images of berries, yams, grasses, flowers and seeds all important to women’s ceremonies. In 1988 eighty-eight women each provided a batik panel for a large work called A Picture Story. It was acquired by the Robert Holmes a Court Collection. In 1990 this large work was exhibited in Scotland, Ireland, Harvard University, Massachusetts, other US states and the Art Gallery of NSW.
By late 1988 Gloria, her aunt, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, sister, Kathleen and others changed to painting their stories on canvas. Gloria’s first exhibition of paintings on canvas was the 1989 Summer Project at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney organised by Rodney Gooch of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association. Rodney had worked with the Utopian artists for many years and continued to do so for many more.
Gloria’s fame was further enhanced by the 1989 successful Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi Utopia exhibition.
In 1999 Gloria became the first Aboriginal artist to win the prestigious Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW with her huge Leaves Blowing in the Wind – Medicine Leaves painting. This story and technique would become identifiable throughout Australia and internationally as ‘Gloria’. It can look like mesmerising swirling leaves being blown by a restless wind or ocean seagrasses swaying gently in coastal shallows.
Gloria’s Awelye (Women’s Dreaming) stories include; Arnkerrth (Thorny Mountain Devil Lizard), the journey of two Apetyarr and two Kngwarrey’s travelling in Anungra country sharing its Dreamings, Ceremonies and Law, Body Stripes, Pencil Yam, Small Brown Grass and Grass Seed.
In 1994 a ‘Mountain Devil Lizard’ painting was acquired by Le Louvre’s Musee du quai Branly for its permanent collection.
Gloria has been present at many of her international exhibitions including designing and creating the mural at the Kansas City Zoo, USA. She is one of Australia’s most esteemed and collectable artists. Even Hermes, the French fashion house, has produced a scarf from a Gloria design.
Collections include:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Queensland
Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Musee du quai Branly, Paris
British Museum, London
Singapore Art Museum
Artbank, Sydney
View Artist
Died: 8 June 2021
Language: Anmatyerr
Region: Utopia, Northern Territory
History of Gloria’s country:
About 250 kms north-east of Alice Springs in the Sandover area of Central Australia is the land known as Utopia. From the 1930’s the vast 1,800 square kilometres was a pastoral cattle station settled by German settlers.
In 1965, the Chalmers family, who owned neighbouring MacDonald Downs since 1923, purchased the lease. In 1979 they sold the lease to the Aboriginal Land Fund Commission which handed it back to the Anmatyerr and Alyawarr people as Aboriginal freehold land.
There are different theories as to how the area was named Utopia. One is the German settlers chose it in anticipation of a plentiful life on the land. Another is it is a distortion of ‘Uturupa’ , which, in Anmatyerre and Alyawarr, means ‘big sand hill’.
Utopia is not one single community, it comprises sixteen homelands including; Iylenty (Mosquito Bore), Arawerr (Soapy Bore), Ngkwelay (Kurrajong Bore), Aharlper Store, Ankerrapw (Utopia homestead), Artekerr (Three Bores), Anelthyey (Boundary Bore) and Akay (Mulga Bore).
Gloria, who is largely recognised as the most renowned of all female Aboriginal artists, was born c. 1945 near Boundary Bore on Utopia and was the second youngest daughter of seven girls. Her other sisters who also became leading artists were Kathleen, Ada, Nancy and Violet.
Utopia women, including Gloria and her sisters, began working with batik and fabric in 1977 and by the 1980’s were exhibiting their works on silk. Often depicted were free flowing images of berries, yams, grasses, flowers and seeds all important to women’s ceremonies. In 1988 eighty-eight women each provided a batik panel for a large work called A Picture Story. It was acquired by the Robert Holmes a Court Collection. In 1990 this large work was exhibited in Scotland, Ireland, Harvard University, Massachusetts, other US states and the Art Gallery of NSW.
By late 1988 Gloria, her aunt, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, sister, Kathleen and others changed to painting their stories on canvas. Gloria’s first exhibition of paintings on canvas was the 1989 Summer Project at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney organised by Rodney Gooch of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association. Rodney had worked with the Utopian artists for many years and continued to do so for many more.
Gloria’s fame was further enhanced by the 1989 successful Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi Utopia exhibition.
In 1999 Gloria became the first Aboriginal artist to win the prestigious Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW with her huge Leaves Blowing in the Wind – Medicine Leaves painting. This story and technique would become identifiable throughout Australia and internationally as ‘Gloria’. It can look like mesmerising swirling leaves being blown by a restless wind or ocean seagrasses swaying gently in coastal shallows.
Gloria’s Awelye (Women’s Dreaming) stories include; Arnkerrth (Thorny Mountain Devil Lizard), the journey of two Apetyarr and two Kngwarrey’s travelling in Anungra country sharing its Dreamings, Ceremonies and Law, Body Stripes, Pencil Yam, Small Brown Grass and Grass Seed.
In 1994 a ‘Mountain Devil Lizard’ painting was acquired by Le Louvre’s Musee du quai Branly for its permanent collection.
Gloria has been present at many of her international exhibitions including designing and creating the mural at the Kansas City Zoo, USA. She is one of Australia’s most esteemed and collectable artists. Even Hermes, the French fashion house, has produced a scarf from a Gloria design.
Collections include:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Queensland
Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Musee du quai Branly, Paris
British Museum, London
Singapore Art Museum
Artbank, Sydney
Gregory Williams Tjapanardi
Born: 1966
Region: Mulga Bore, Utopia
Language: Warlpiri, English, Pintupi, Luritja and Pitjantatjara
Country: Yuendumu, Northern Territory
Gregory was born in Alice Springs on 4 September 1966 and spent his youth in Yuendumu. He was married to Maureen Walker Nakamarra.
Gregory painted Minna Minna, his country. He also painted the story of women travelling the country with dancing sticks and where they set up camp.
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Region: Mulga Bore, Utopia
Language: Warlpiri, English, Pintupi, Luritja and Pitjantatjara
Country: Yuendumu, Northern Territory
Gregory was born in Alice Springs on 4 September 1966 and spent his youth in Yuendumu. He was married to Maureen Walker Nakamarra.
Gregory painted Minna Minna, his country. He also painted the story of women travelling the country with dancing sticks and where they set up camp.
Heather Bailey
Heather Bailey grew up in Zimbabwe and South Africa, where a “can-do” attitude was simply part of life. From a young age, she learned to sew, make, and bake just about anything. She went on to study fashion and art, but the journey to fully valuing her creativity - and calling herself an artist - has been hard-won, both mentally and socially. For Heather, being creative is not a pastime; it is essential to living.
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Hilda Nakamarra Rogers
Born: 1969
Language: Pintupi
Country: Kintore & Yuendumu
Hilda Nakamarra Rogers was born in Papunya, an Aboriginal community
located 240 km northwest of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. She
attended her local school in Papunya before going to Yirara College in
Alice Springs. After college she returned to Papunya and worked at the
school teaching language.
Hilda married a man from Yuendumu in 1987 and
moved to Yuendumu, a neighbouring community to Papunya where many of the
same families live. Later she moved to Nyirripi, a remote Aboriginal
community approximately 160 km west of Yuendumu where she still lives.
She is married to Desmond Williams and they have two sons, Micah and
Eliezer. She also has a granddaughter who Hilda enjoys looking after.
Both her parents are deceased and were artists at Papunya. As a child
she watched her parents paint and listened to their stories.
Hilda started painting in 1988 and since 2003 has begun painting consistently
with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned
and governed art centre in Yuendumu. Hilda paints Bush tucker stories,
in particular Ngurlu Jukurrpa (Native Seed Dreaming). Occasionally she
paints her husband’s dreaming, Yurrumpi Jukurrpa (Honey Ant Dreaming)
and her father’s dreaming, Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming), Dreamings
which have been passed down through the generations for millennia.
She likes sport and sometimes goes hunting for goanna and kangaroo and
looking for bush tucker. She also enjoys visiting her husband’s family
who live in Yuendumu.
View Artist
Language: Pintupi
Country: Kintore & Yuendumu
Hilda Nakamarra Rogers was born in Papunya, an Aboriginal community
located 240 km northwest of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. She
attended her local school in Papunya before going to Yirara College in
Alice Springs. After college she returned to Papunya and worked at the
school teaching language.
Hilda married a man from Yuendumu in 1987 and
moved to Yuendumu, a neighbouring community to Papunya where many of the
same families live. Later she moved to Nyirripi, a remote Aboriginal
community approximately 160 km west of Yuendumu where she still lives.
She is married to Desmond Williams and they have two sons, Micah and
Eliezer. She also has a granddaughter who Hilda enjoys looking after.
Both her parents are deceased and were artists at Papunya. As a child
she watched her parents paint and listened to their stories.
Hilda started painting in 1988 and since 2003 has begun painting consistently
with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned
and governed art centre in Yuendumu. Hilda paints Bush tucker stories,
in particular Ngurlu Jukurrpa (Native Seed Dreaming). Occasionally she
paints her husband’s dreaming, Yurrumpi Jukurrpa (Honey Ant Dreaming)
and her father’s dreaming, Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming), Dreamings
which have been passed down through the generations for millennia.
She likes sport and sometimes goes hunting for goanna and kangaroo and
looking for bush tucker. She also enjoys visiting her husband’s family
who live in Yuendumu.
Janelle Stockman Napaltjarri
Born: 1976
Deceased: 2009
Language Group: Western Arrernte (Aranda)
Region: Mt. Denison, North West of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Janelle Stockman Napaltjarri was a very talented and established aboriginal artist whose paintings are in demand for their unique contemporary style. Janelle began painting in 2001 - she had always wanted to paint but had been busy raising a family. Being surrounded by the very habitual painting life of her husbands extended family in Utopia in Central Australia, Janelle received much encouragement from other artists when she began, including baby sitting by many of the women.
Janelle divided her time between Utopia with her husband's family (Mary Morton, Lucky Morton and Sarah Morton to name a few) and her traditional home land at both Hermannsburg and Papunya in Central Australia. Billy Stockman, who is famed for being one of the original members of the early Papunya Tula aboriginal artists is Janelle's grandfather, which drew an obvious pride in Janelle at the mention of his name.
Janelle's paintings have always been very contemporary in style because she wanted to do something totally different to everyone else. Janelle drew inspiration from a number of places including the surrounding landscapes.
Collections
Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
Exhibitions
2002 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions
2004 Artitja Fine Art, Fremantle, WA
2005 Janelle Stockman, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2005 Small Wonders, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2006 Janelle Stockman and Kylie Kemarre, Addison Road Gallery, Marrickville, NSW
2006 Janelle Stockman - Recent Paintings, Helen Gory Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
2006 The Stockman's Grand Daughter, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2007 Thirsty Lands, launched by Susan McCulloch, Mbantua Gallery, Darwin, NT
2010 Untitled. Unfinished. A Collection of Works by the late Janelle Stockman, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs NT
View Artist
Deceased: 2009
Language Group: Western Arrernte (Aranda)
Region: Mt. Denison, North West of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Janelle Stockman Napaltjarri was a very talented and established aboriginal artist whose paintings are in demand for their unique contemporary style. Janelle began painting in 2001 - she had always wanted to paint but had been busy raising a family. Being surrounded by the very habitual painting life of her husbands extended family in Utopia in Central Australia, Janelle received much encouragement from other artists when she began, including baby sitting by many of the women.
Janelle divided her time between Utopia with her husband's family (Mary Morton, Lucky Morton and Sarah Morton to name a few) and her traditional home land at both Hermannsburg and Papunya in Central Australia. Billy Stockman, who is famed for being one of the original members of the early Papunya Tula aboriginal artists is Janelle's grandfather, which drew an obvious pride in Janelle at the mention of his name.
Janelle's paintings have always been very contemporary in style because she wanted to do something totally different to everyone else. Janelle drew inspiration from a number of places including the surrounding landscapes.
Collections
Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
Exhibitions
2002 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions
2004 Artitja Fine Art, Fremantle, WA
2005 Janelle Stockman, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2005 Small Wonders, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2006 Janelle Stockman and Kylie Kemarre, Addison Road Gallery, Marrickville, NSW
2006 Janelle Stockman - Recent Paintings, Helen Gory Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
2006 The Stockman's Grand Daughter, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2007 Thirsty Lands, launched by Susan McCulloch, Mbantua Gallery, Darwin, NT
2010 Untitled. Unfinished. A Collection of Works by the late Janelle Stockman, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs NT
Jean Fletcher
Jean Fletcher is a London based professional artist known for her vibrant colour palette and expressive mark making. Jean places a particular emphasis on the continuing study of the human form, reflected in her love of painting figures on the beaches of St Tropez and beyond.
Exhibiting widely including in London, Manchester and France, Jean has been represented by some well-known galleries throughout her career, including the Francis Kyle Gallery founded in 1978 by Francis Kyle and located in the heart of Mayfair, as well as galleries in South West London including the Hicks Gallery in Wimbledon.
Jean studied painting at the Regional College of Art, Manchester and at Hornsey College of Art, London. As well as teaching art in London. Manchester and Cape Town, Jean has always travelled a great deal not only in Europe, but further afield to India, Mexico, Costa Rica and elsewhere. This love of travel has influenced and inspired her work, always taking her paints and paint brushes along with her on her travel adventures. Jean has also regularly painted from life, setting up her paints on the beach, in the countryside in Cheshire and along the banks of the River Thames.
Jean's exhibitions include shows at Francis Kyle Gallery, London W1, Mall Galleries, London W1, Hicks Gallery, Wimbledon, Karen Contemporary Art, Richmond, The Landmark, Twickenham and Thibaud Gallery, St. Maxime. Solo Shows include Ad Lib Gallery, Wimbledon, Salford Art Gallery, Pitcairn Art Gallery, Knutsford, Octagon Theatre Gallery, Bolton, Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport, Royal Exchange Theatre Gallery, Manchester, Bury Art Gallery, Bury and The Gallery, Richmond Hill, Richmond upon Thames.
Jean’s paintings can be found in private collections in the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA, purchased and owned by a wide variety of clients ranging from corporations to private individuals, and even a Hollywood actor. She has also regularly undertaken commissions including paintings for clients such as Fenwick and Cheshire Life Magazine, drawn by her expressive brushwork and vibrant, unique style.
View Artist
Exhibiting widely including in London, Manchester and France, Jean has been represented by some well-known galleries throughout her career, including the Francis Kyle Gallery founded in 1978 by Francis Kyle and located in the heart of Mayfair, as well as galleries in South West London including the Hicks Gallery in Wimbledon.
Jean studied painting at the Regional College of Art, Manchester and at Hornsey College of Art, London. As well as teaching art in London. Manchester and Cape Town, Jean has always travelled a great deal not only in Europe, but further afield to India, Mexico, Costa Rica and elsewhere. This love of travel has influenced and inspired her work, always taking her paints and paint brushes along with her on her travel adventures. Jean has also regularly painted from life, setting up her paints on the beach, in the countryside in Cheshire and along the banks of the River Thames.
Jean's exhibitions include shows at Francis Kyle Gallery, London W1, Mall Galleries, London W1, Hicks Gallery, Wimbledon, Karen Contemporary Art, Richmond, The Landmark, Twickenham and Thibaud Gallery, St. Maxime. Solo Shows include Ad Lib Gallery, Wimbledon, Salford Art Gallery, Pitcairn Art Gallery, Knutsford, Octagon Theatre Gallery, Bolton, Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport, Royal Exchange Theatre Gallery, Manchester, Bury Art Gallery, Bury and The Gallery, Richmond Hill, Richmond upon Thames.
Jean’s paintings can be found in private collections in the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA, purchased and owned by a wide variety of clients ranging from corporations to private individuals, and even a Hollywood actor. She has also regularly undertaken commissions including paintings for clients such as Fenwick and Cheshire Life Magazine, drawn by her expressive brushwork and vibrant, unique style.
Jonathan Luke
Jonathan Luke is a full-time multimedia artist based in Wimbledon. His work draws on regular visits to the far north of Scotland (and previously Russia), often incorporating this into abstract and geometric themes. He also uses digital imagery to capitalise on work investigating texture and tone deliverable with coarse canvases, oil paint (often sanded back) and painting mediums.
He exhibits widely across the UK. In 2013 a major solo exhibition of 54 artworks was held at the Russian Academy of Arts (in conjunction with the Moscow Museum of Modern Art) entitled Blue Silence. The title came from a definition by Professor Colum Kenny who said “..it is the silence that is found out of doors, sometimes during simple services on shipboard, faraway at sea…For this deep blue is the creative silence in the world of thought”.
This spirit continues in Jonathan’s work with cool blues still often prominent.
View Artist
He exhibits widely across the UK. In 2013 a major solo exhibition of 54 artworks was held at the Russian Academy of Arts (in conjunction with the Moscow Museum of Modern Art) entitled Blue Silence. The title came from a definition by Professor Colum Kenny who said “..it is the silence that is found out of doors, sometimes during simple services on shipboard, faraway at sea…For this deep blue is the creative silence in the world of thought”.
This spirit continues in Jonathan’s work with cool blues still often prominent.
Josepha Petrick Kemarre
Born: c. 1945
Language: Arrente
Country: Utopia, Northern Territory
Josie was born around c. 1945 (some organisations have her birth as between 1945 – 1954) at the Santa Teresa Mission, approximately 80kms south-east of Alice Springs. Josie was an Arrente speaker
At 16 she married Robin Petyarre (Gloria Petyarre and Kathleen Petyarre’s brother) and moved to his country, MacDonald Downs in Utopia where they had seven children. She had learnt his Anmatyerre language.
After watching Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria, Josie and Kathleen Petyarre began to paint in 1990. Her main story to paint is the ‘Bush Plum’ which is a basis of bodily and spiritual nourishment. The Bush Plum Creation or Dreaming Story is winds distributing bush plum seeds throughout the ancestral lands, and the recurring fruiting and seeding that follows.
Josie layers the paint colour by colour. In Tingari Arts she will use five colours to create a bright or very pale painting. Often Josie starts with a red, then overpaints much of the linen with a dark pink, then tangerine, orange and finishing with a shade of yellow.
Robin died in 2008 and now Josie divides her time with family at Number 5 Bore in Utopia (not far from Harts Range) and Alice Springs.
Collections include:
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Charles Sturt University
United Nations, New York
Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs,
Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia Artbank, Sydney, NSW
Exhibitions
1996 Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
1997 Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne, VIC
1999 Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne, VIC
2000 Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne, VIC
2001 Embassy Australia, Washington, USA
2003 Chapel off Chapel Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2005 Wellington Gallery, Hong Kong
2006 Aboriginal Artists from the Western and Central Desert, Without Pier Gallery, Chelthenham, VIC
2006 Women's Show, Boscia Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2008 Josie Petrick: Bush Berry Dreaming, Aranda Art, Melbourne, VIC
View Artist
Language: Arrente
Country: Utopia, Northern Territory
Josie was born around c. 1945 (some organisations have her birth as between 1945 – 1954) at the Santa Teresa Mission, approximately 80kms south-east of Alice Springs. Josie was an Arrente speaker
At 16 she married Robin Petyarre (Gloria Petyarre and Kathleen Petyarre’s brother) and moved to his country, MacDonald Downs in Utopia where they had seven children. She had learnt his Anmatyerre language.
After watching Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria, Josie and Kathleen Petyarre began to paint in 1990. Her main story to paint is the ‘Bush Plum’ which is a basis of bodily and spiritual nourishment. The Bush Plum Creation or Dreaming Story is winds distributing bush plum seeds throughout the ancestral lands, and the recurring fruiting and seeding that follows.
Josie layers the paint colour by colour. In Tingari Arts she will use five colours to create a bright or very pale painting. Often Josie starts with a red, then overpaints much of the linen with a dark pink, then tangerine, orange and finishing with a shade of yellow.
Robin died in 2008 and now Josie divides her time with family at Number 5 Bore in Utopia (not far from Harts Range) and Alice Springs.
Collections include:
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Charles Sturt University
United Nations, New York
Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs,
Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia Artbank, Sydney, NSW
Exhibitions
1996 Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
1997 Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne, VIC
1999 Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne, VIC
2000 Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne, VIC
2001 Embassy Australia, Washington, USA
2003 Chapel off Chapel Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2005 Wellington Gallery, Hong Kong
2006 Aboriginal Artists from the Western and Central Desert, Without Pier Gallery, Chelthenham, VIC
2006 Women's Show, Boscia Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2008 Josie Petrick: Bush Berry Dreaming, Aranda Art, Melbourne, VIC
Joy Kngwarreye Jones
Born: 1959
Language: Alyawarr
Region: Utopia, Northern Territory
Joy Kngwarrey Jones’ inspiration for her paintings is derived from her knowledge of Awely or women’s business. Awely describes everything associated with women’s ceremonies or rituals including the painted designs adorning the women’s bodies.
In preparation for the ceremonies, the women paint designs on the top half of their body using a variety of powders, ground from charcoal and yellow and red ochre. The body paint designs vary from ceremony to ceremony and depend on the subject and the time of year the ceremony is held. Different symbols are painted on the body and may vary from person to person depending on the seniority of each member.
Women’s ceremonies are focal points in the life of the community and are integral to the happiness and well being of the community. The ceremonies are led by the most senior women of the clan who lead the singing and dancing. At these ceremonies the younger women are taught the tribal dreamings or rules of life that are sacred to their clan. Joy Kngwarrey Jones’s paintings represent her interpretation of these designs which she views from an aerial perspective.
Collections:
Aboriginal Art Museum, The Netherlands
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions:
1989, Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project , 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1990, Utopia - A Picture Story , an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland
2006 - Senior Women of Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 - Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert , Simmer on the Bay, Sydney.
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 - Eastern Desert Song - Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna
2008 - Power of Place, Paintings and Sculpture from the Eastern Desert , Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc.
2008 - From the Desert to the Sea , Yurlunggar Art, Brisbane
2009 - East-West-Brush With Art, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2009 - Aboriginal art in Korea, Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2010 - The Utopia Story, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010 - Western and Eastern Desert Art, Blaxlands Inn, Hunter Valley, NSW
2010 - Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 - Desert Visions, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2012 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Aboriginal Artists UK Show , London
2014 -Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2014 - Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2020 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2021 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
View Artist
Language: Alyawarr
Region: Utopia, Northern Territory
Joy Kngwarrey Jones’ inspiration for her paintings is derived from her knowledge of Awely or women’s business. Awely describes everything associated with women’s ceremonies or rituals including the painted designs adorning the women’s bodies.
In preparation for the ceremonies, the women paint designs on the top half of their body using a variety of powders, ground from charcoal and yellow and red ochre. The body paint designs vary from ceremony to ceremony and depend on the subject and the time of year the ceremony is held. Different symbols are painted on the body and may vary from person to person depending on the seniority of each member.
Women’s ceremonies are focal points in the life of the community and are integral to the happiness and well being of the community. The ceremonies are led by the most senior women of the clan who lead the singing and dancing. At these ceremonies the younger women are taught the tribal dreamings or rules of life that are sacred to their clan. Joy Kngwarrey Jones’s paintings represent her interpretation of these designs which she views from an aerial perspective.
Collections:
Aboriginal Art Museum, The Netherlands
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions:
1989, Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project , 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1990, Utopia - A Picture Story , an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland
2006 - Senior Women of Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 - Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert , Simmer on the Bay, Sydney.
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 - Eastern Desert Song - Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna
2008 - Power of Place, Paintings and Sculpture from the Eastern Desert , Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc.
2008 - From the Desert to the Sea , Yurlunggar Art, Brisbane
2009 - East-West-Brush With Art, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2009 - Aboriginal art in Korea, Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2010 - The Utopia Story, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010 - Western and Eastern Desert Art, Blaxlands Inn, Hunter Valley, NSW
2010 - Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 - Desert Visions, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2012 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Aboriginal Artists UK Show , London
2014 -Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2014 - Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2020 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2021 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
Judith Fisher
"My work often starts with something I've seen, and sometimes something I think I've seen. Influenced always by my surroundings. Even though I may begin with a flower, a vessel and colours I've seen in a book or on a poster, or in the landscape that is where it ends. The next thing that happens is unexpected and is purely my imagination. So I think still life paintings should always be on the move... Thus my flying flowers, flat vessels with no front or back, colours that aren't flowers and shapes that aren't vessels and so on!
My work aims to have a playful and dynamic feel, making paintings that are instantly approachable.
I work primarily in oils on canvas and use palette knives to give texture.
I am a founder member of the Unstill Life Movement – well, the only member thus far!"
View Artist
My work aims to have a playful and dynamic feel, making paintings that are instantly approachable.
I work primarily in oils on canvas and use palette knives to give texture.
I am a founder member of the Unstill Life Movement – well, the only member thus far!"
Kathleen Ngala
Born: 1933
Died: 2021
Language: Anmatyerr
Region: Camel Camp, Utopia
Over the last two decades Kathleen has been painting her Dreamings and she has become a popular artist with a new generation of art lovers. Kathleen began experimenting with modern art forms like many of the women from Utopia during the community project involving silk batiks in 1979. In the late 1980’s another community project was launched in Utopia whereby the women were introduced to canvas and acrylic paints. For many of the artists this allowed them to become even more creative and abstract with their artworks.
Kathleen, a custodian of the Arlparra country is responsible for the Anwekety Dreaming (Bush Plum). This is the primary feature of her paintings. The story of the Bush Plum told through Kathleen’s paintings reveals the geography of the bush plum as well as her knowledge of the significant places; clay pans, soakages and spinifex mounds. Anwekety is a food source for Aboriginal people living in Utopia and the Eastern Desert. The women will often pay homage to the spirit of the bush plum through body paint, song lines and dance cycles during ceremonies.
In 2000 and 2008 Kathleen was a finalist in Australia’s most prestigious art prize, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award.
Collections The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth,
WAM bantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
Exhibitions 1990 Utopia - A Picture Story, an Exhibition of 88 works on Silk by Utopian artists, Holmes à Court Collection, toured Eire and Scotland
2005 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions
2006 Colours of Utopia, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2008 Emily and Her Legacy, Hillside Gallery with Coo-ee Art Sydney, Tokyo, Japan
2008 Dreamings - the Land, Outback Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, VIC
View Artist
Died: 2021
Language: Anmatyerr
Region: Camel Camp, Utopia
Over the last two decades Kathleen has been painting her Dreamings and she has become a popular artist with a new generation of art lovers. Kathleen began experimenting with modern art forms like many of the women from Utopia during the community project involving silk batiks in 1979. In the late 1980’s another community project was launched in Utopia whereby the women were introduced to canvas and acrylic paints. For many of the artists this allowed them to become even more creative and abstract with their artworks.
Kathleen, a custodian of the Arlparra country is responsible for the Anwekety Dreaming (Bush Plum). This is the primary feature of her paintings. The story of the Bush Plum told through Kathleen’s paintings reveals the geography of the bush plum as well as her knowledge of the significant places; clay pans, soakages and spinifex mounds. Anwekety is a food source for Aboriginal people living in Utopia and the Eastern Desert. The women will often pay homage to the spirit of the bush plum through body paint, song lines and dance cycles during ceremonies.
In 2000 and 2008 Kathleen was a finalist in Australia’s most prestigious art prize, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award.
Collections The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth,
WAM bantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
Exhibitions 1990 Utopia - A Picture Story, an Exhibition of 88 works on Silk by Utopian artists, Holmes à Court Collection, toured Eire and Scotland
2005 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions
2006 Colours of Utopia, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2008 Emily and Her Legacy, Hillside Gallery with Coo-ee Art Sydney, Tokyo, Japan
2008 Dreamings - the Land, Outback Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, VIC
Keith Bell
Keith Bell trained at the Royal College of Art as a textile designer before he became a painter.
Keith is now retired.
All painting featured here are inspired by views in the south of France near to Carcassone.
View Artist
Keith is now retired.
All painting featured here are inspired by views in the south of France near to Carcassone.
Lily Kelly Napangardi
Born: 1948
Language: Luritja
Region: Haasts Bluff
(also cited as Lily Napangati and known as Karitari, Mawitji)
Lilly Kelly Napangati, daughter of Sandy Opal Tjapanangka, one of the original Papunya Tula shareholders, was born at Dashwood Creek in 1948. As a child Lilly’s family lived at Haasts Bluff before moving to the newly government settled Papunya around 1958. She married Norman Kelly Tjampitjinpa and assisted him and others with painting for Papunya Tula until they moved to Mt Liebig.
In the mid 1980’s Lilly began painting, in her own right, with Papunya Tula Artists. Norman Kelly moved to Lajamanu and started a second family while Lilly brought up their three children in Mt Liebig. She became a Senior Law Woman and a custodian of the Women’s Dreaming stories of Kunatjarri, in Luritja and Warlpiri country from Conniston, Kintore, Haasts Bluff and Mt Liebig. Since 2000 Lilly’s Kunatjarri Dreaming stories paintings have a spontaneous and free structure reflecting the energy of the wind and rain drenched sandhill country from an ariel perspective. Lilly’s work mainly highlights contrasts in using varying intensity of small and tiny white dotting on a black or other dark colour background, demonstrating the everchanging structure of the shimmering desert country.
Watching Lilly begin a painting it can seem she doesn’t have a plan but what quickly
emerges is perfectly balanced shimmering movement across the linen which, appears to come from deep inside. In 2003, Lilly Kelly Napangardi won the General Painting category at the 20th Telstra Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Art Awards.
In 2006 Australian Art Collector included
Lilly Kelly Napangardi as one of
Australia’s most 50 collectable artists.
Collections include:
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Queensland Art Gallery
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica USA
Holmes à Court Collection
Thomas Vroom Collection, Amsterdam
Artbank, Sydney
View Artist
Language: Luritja
Region: Haasts Bluff
(also cited as Lily Napangati and known as Karitari, Mawitji)
Lilly Kelly Napangati, daughter of Sandy Opal Tjapanangka, one of the original Papunya Tula shareholders, was born at Dashwood Creek in 1948. As a child Lilly’s family lived at Haasts Bluff before moving to the newly government settled Papunya around 1958. She married Norman Kelly Tjampitjinpa and assisted him and others with painting for Papunya Tula until they moved to Mt Liebig.
In the mid 1980’s Lilly began painting, in her own right, with Papunya Tula Artists. Norman Kelly moved to Lajamanu and started a second family while Lilly brought up their three children in Mt Liebig. She became a Senior Law Woman and a custodian of the Women’s Dreaming stories of Kunatjarri, in Luritja and Warlpiri country from Conniston, Kintore, Haasts Bluff and Mt Liebig. Since 2000 Lilly’s Kunatjarri Dreaming stories paintings have a spontaneous and free structure reflecting the energy of the wind and rain drenched sandhill country from an ariel perspective. Lilly’s work mainly highlights contrasts in using varying intensity of small and tiny white dotting on a black or other dark colour background, demonstrating the everchanging structure of the shimmering desert country.
Watching Lilly begin a painting it can seem she doesn’t have a plan but what quickly
emerges is perfectly balanced shimmering movement across the linen which, appears to come from deep inside. In 2003, Lilly Kelly Napangardi won the General Painting category at the 20th Telstra Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Art Awards.
In 2006 Australian Art Collector included
Lilly Kelly Napangardi as one of
Australia’s most 50 collectable artists.
Collections include:
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Queensland Art Gallery
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica USA
Holmes à Court Collection
Thomas Vroom Collection, Amsterdam
Artbank, Sydney
Lizzie Moss Pwerle
Born: c. 1940s
Language: Alyawarr
Region: Atnwengerrp, central Australia
Lizzie Pwerle Moss born in 1955 at New MacDonald Downs is an Alyawarr woman from Atnwengerrp, in the Utopia region of Central Australia, northeast of Alice Springs. Lizzie is a first cousin to the late, great Minnie Pwerle. She lives there with her large extended family including her cousins the other Pwerle sisters – Molly, Emily and Gayla.
Lizzie Pwerle began her artistic career in the eighties with the batik program at Utopia. She was involved in the ‘Utopia: A Picture Story’ exhibition, a collection of 88 silk batiks that is now part of the Holmes à Court Collection. Like many of the women involved in that project Lizzie then began experimenting with paint on canvas and is still working in this medium today.
In 2008 Lizzie began panting ‘Bush Orange Dreaming’ which is depicted by many
lines of fine dots painted in a linear design representing the branches of the Bush
Orange plant and the country that sustains this important source of bush tucker.
The Bush Orange Lizzie paints is a particular fruit that grows in Atnwengerrp. Once
very abundant but now scarce due to over grazing, this species was a stable source
of bush tucker for Aboriginals. The fruit grows on a thin long stalk and is larger than a
passionfruit. It is green when unripe turning yellow in maturity. It is soft inside and is often compared to the flavour of custard apple. The fruit is consumed raw with the
tough outer skin discarded or laid out to dry to consumed during months when bush
tucker is scarce.
Both styles are meticulously performed and demonstrate Lizzie’s great skill as an
artist, as well as her love for her country. The physical creation of the Dreamings are
an important part of the bush tucker ceremonies conducted by Utopia women.
Artworks such as ‘Bush Orange’ & ‘Women’s Ceremony’ ensures the continuation of
an ancient and rich cultural heritage while acknowledging the close bond still
retained by the artist to her country.
Exhibitions: 2022-3: Prairie Hotel Gallery, Parachilna, Flinders Ranges South Australia
2019: Summer Show and Art Parade, Slat, Queenscliffe, Victoria, Australia
2016-19: Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2009: Utopia and Papunya Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Bay Gallery, London
2009: Gallery Savah, Sydney, Australia
2009: Utopia, colours of the Desert, Gongpyeong Art Space in collaboration with Dacou, Australian Embassy in Korea and Crossbay Gallery, Seoul
2008: Utopia Discoveries, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2007: Standing on Ceremony, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide, Australia
1990: Utopia – A picture story, an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes A Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Ireland and Scotland
1989-91 Utopia – a picture story, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide, Australia
View Artist
Language: Alyawarr
Region: Atnwengerrp, central Australia
Lizzie Pwerle Moss born in 1955 at New MacDonald Downs is an Alyawarr woman from Atnwengerrp, in the Utopia region of Central Australia, northeast of Alice Springs. Lizzie is a first cousin to the late, great Minnie Pwerle. She lives there with her large extended family including her cousins the other Pwerle sisters – Molly, Emily and Gayla.
Lizzie Pwerle began her artistic career in the eighties with the batik program at Utopia. She was involved in the ‘Utopia: A Picture Story’ exhibition, a collection of 88 silk batiks that is now part of the Holmes à Court Collection. Like many of the women involved in that project Lizzie then began experimenting with paint on canvas and is still working in this medium today.
In 2008 Lizzie began panting ‘Bush Orange Dreaming’ which is depicted by many
lines of fine dots painted in a linear design representing the branches of the Bush
Orange plant and the country that sustains this important source of bush tucker.
The Bush Orange Lizzie paints is a particular fruit that grows in Atnwengerrp. Once
very abundant but now scarce due to over grazing, this species was a stable source
of bush tucker for Aboriginals. The fruit grows on a thin long stalk and is larger than a
passionfruit. It is green when unripe turning yellow in maturity. It is soft inside and is often compared to the flavour of custard apple. The fruit is consumed raw with the
tough outer skin discarded or laid out to dry to consumed during months when bush
tucker is scarce.
Both styles are meticulously performed and demonstrate Lizzie’s great skill as an
artist, as well as her love for her country. The physical creation of the Dreamings are
an important part of the bush tucker ceremonies conducted by Utopia women.
Artworks such as ‘Bush Orange’ & ‘Women’s Ceremony’ ensures the continuation of
an ancient and rich cultural heritage while acknowledging the close bond still
retained by the artist to her country.
Exhibitions: 2022-3: Prairie Hotel Gallery, Parachilna, Flinders Ranges South Australia
2019: Summer Show and Art Parade, Slat, Queenscliffe, Victoria, Australia
2016-19: Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2009: Utopia and Papunya Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Bay Gallery, London
2009: Gallery Savah, Sydney, Australia
2009: Utopia, colours of the Desert, Gongpyeong Art Space in collaboration with Dacou, Australian Embassy in Korea and Crossbay Gallery, Seoul
2008: Utopia Discoveries, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2007: Standing on Ceremony, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide, Australia
1990: Utopia – A picture story, an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes A Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Ireland and Scotland
1989-91 Utopia – a picture story, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide, Australia
Louisa Kngwarreye Long
Louisa Kngwarreye Long was born on August 31, 1972 in Alice Springs, NT and she was raised on her homelands of Utopia. Her art grows directly out of her deep connection to her country.
She paints aerial views that trace the paths of the mountain devil lizard, also known as the thorny devil. Her style is known for intricate patterns created with fine, precise dots. These build up fields of colour that seem to pulse with life. The careful process feels meditative, drawing on the look of ceremonial body paint and the patterns the desert sand makes. The result is work that feels both like a map and a spiritual presence, inviting you to see the land as something alive.
Louisa Long started painting in the early 2000s and was quickly recognized for her skill and unique style. She became a steady presence in the Utopia region’s thriving art scene, working alongside and learning from other well-known artists there.
Her work has been shown in many exhibitions across Australia, in respected commercial galleries and public institutions. This year she is also exhibiting in London and in Switzerland. Her paintings can be found in private and corporate collections around the world—proof of how widely her vision speaks to people.
As a custodian of Alyawarr knowledge, her art is more than beautiful; it’s a way of preserving culture. Through her paintings, she shows that her culture is a living, strong presence, and she shares its stories with the wider world. Her work builds a vital bridge, helping people understand and appreciate the depth of the world’s oldest living culture.
View Artist
She paints aerial views that trace the paths of the mountain devil lizard, also known as the thorny devil. Her style is known for intricate patterns created with fine, precise dots. These build up fields of colour that seem to pulse with life. The careful process feels meditative, drawing on the look of ceremonial body paint and the patterns the desert sand makes. The result is work that feels both like a map and a spiritual presence, inviting you to see the land as something alive.
Louisa Long started painting in the early 2000s and was quickly recognized for her skill and unique style. She became a steady presence in the Utopia region’s thriving art scene, working alongside and learning from other well-known artists there.
Her work has been shown in many exhibitions across Australia, in respected commercial galleries and public institutions. This year she is also exhibiting in London and in Switzerland. Her paintings can be found in private and corporate collections around the world—proof of how widely her vision speaks to people.
As a custodian of Alyawarr knowledge, her art is more than beautiful; it’s a way of preserving culture. Through her paintings, she shows that her culture is a living, strong presence, and she shares its stories with the wider world. Her work builds a vital bridge, helping people understand and appreciate the depth of the world’s oldest living culture.
Maluya (Molly) Napaltjarri Jugadai
Born: 1954
Died: 2011
Language: Pintupi and Luritja,
Region: Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory
Molly was born on 5 March 1954 under a Ngalta (birthing) tree west of Haasts Bluff in the Northern Territory. She was the eldest daughter of the renowned artist, Narputta Nangala and Timothy Tjungurrayi Jugadai’s eight children.
Molly painted the story of the ‘Napaltjarri Sisters’ who came in spaceships during the Dreamtime and represent the first people on earth. They walked the country collecting dew, bush tucker and mungari amongst the desert vegetation. Molly often titled her paintings ‘ Kutjarra Kungka walking Country’ (Two women/girls walking country).
Late in Narputta’s career she allowed Molly to paint her signature story of Narputta’s father’s sacred country ‘Kaarkurutintya”, the large salt lake (Lake MacDonald) and the surrounding sandhills. Sometimes Molly would paint this as a dry, white lake and sometimes as blue after heavy rains.
Whilst Molly’s paintings may have a naive, natural and unaffected appearance they tell very important stories.
Over many years Narputta, Molly and her younger sister, the prominent artist, Daisy Napaltjarri Jugadai, painted together with Tingari Arts in Alice Springs and there were always lively, fun conversations, picnics and the relating of wonderful handed down ‘family’ stories.
Narputta and Daisy are represented in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
Molly died in Alice Springs in 2011 and is buried in Haasts Bluff with Narputta, Daisy and other family members.
Collections include: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Art Collection, Canberra
View Artist
Died: 2011
Language: Pintupi and Luritja,
Region: Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory
Molly was born on 5 March 1954 under a Ngalta (birthing) tree west of Haasts Bluff in the Northern Territory. She was the eldest daughter of the renowned artist, Narputta Nangala and Timothy Tjungurrayi Jugadai’s eight children.
Molly painted the story of the ‘Napaltjarri Sisters’ who came in spaceships during the Dreamtime and represent the first people on earth. They walked the country collecting dew, bush tucker and mungari amongst the desert vegetation. Molly often titled her paintings ‘ Kutjarra Kungka walking Country’ (Two women/girls walking country).
Late in Narputta’s career she allowed Molly to paint her signature story of Narputta’s father’s sacred country ‘Kaarkurutintya”, the large salt lake (Lake MacDonald) and the surrounding sandhills. Sometimes Molly would paint this as a dry, white lake and sometimes as blue after heavy rains.
Whilst Molly’s paintings may have a naive, natural and unaffected appearance they tell very important stories.
Over many years Narputta, Molly and her younger sister, the prominent artist, Daisy Napaltjarri Jugadai, painted together with Tingari Arts in Alice Springs and there were always lively, fun conversations, picnics and the relating of wonderful handed down ‘family’ stories.
Narputta and Daisy are represented in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
Molly died in Alice Springs in 2011 and is buried in Haasts Bluff with Narputta, Daisy and other family members.
Collections include: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Art Collection, Canberra
Mani Azhar
Mani, a contemporary realist painter from Lahore, Pakistan, is known for their captivating cityscapes, beaches, and still life's. After earning a Bachelor's in Fine Art from the National College of Arts, Lahore, they furthered their studies with a Post Graduation in Illustration and Communication Design from Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.
Their work, showcased in galleries across Germany and the UK, blends natural beauty and urban life. Using oils and acrylics, Mani transforms ordinary scenes into extraordinary visual narratives, pushing the boundaries of contemporary realism.
View Artist
Their work, showcased in galleries across Germany and the UK, blends natural beauty and urban life. Using oils and acrylics, Mani transforms ordinary scenes into extraordinary visual narratives, pushing the boundaries of contemporary realism.
Mark George
Mark is from Whitehaven in West Cumbria, where he recently moved back to after a few years working in Wiltshire. Having more time these days to draw and paint, he takes inspiration from the local scenery.
"We're on the Cumbrian coast and the westerly edge of the Lake District, so there's no shortage of subject matter."
He likes to vary his subjects and media, with his favourite "probably being pen and watercolour".
View Artist
"We're on the Cumbrian coast and the westerly edge of the Lake District, so there's no shortage of subject matter."
He likes to vary his subjects and media, with his favourite "probably being pen and watercolour".
Mark Munroe-Preston
Background
I was born in Yorkshire and studied photography at Wolverhampton Polytechnic before moving to London in 1991. I initially worked as a photographer before focusing more on illustration and computer design. Since then I have worked in many sections of the design and publishing industry. I live and work in Sussex with my wonderful family and our two crazy Scottish Terriers (Fergus and Rufus). I am still inspired by the incredible landscapes around me and discovering amazing new places to photograph in Sussex, and beyond.
You can read an interview with me in Sussex Every Day and a small article about my work in Seaford Scene.
Inspiration
I have always enjoyed landscape photography and when I moved to Sussex in 2001 I began to explore the local countryside, and particularly the Ashdown Forest and the South Downs, with my dogs and my camera. It is from this ever-expanding collection of images that I draw the inspiration for my artworks.
These photographs are digitally merged with other photographs, paintings, drawings, textures, and found objects to create the final pieces. Some of the pictures are more literal interpretations of the places I have photographed, while others are more conceptual or graphic in their approach, but all seek to evoke the beauty, drama, and atmosphere of the landscapes around me.
Trees?
One question I am often asked is “why trees?”. For me landscapes without trees feel like they are missing something, trees are such an integral part of our perception of the world about us. I feel drawn to these incredible organisms, which can be diminutive, delicate, monumental or sculptural and being in the forest at dawn their serene beauty is so atmospheric. They provide so much for us, food, shade, air, materials and have played a huge part in human evolution and history. Recent scientific discoveries about how they communicate and help one another or their symbiotic relationship with Mycorrhizal fungi reveal another level of complexity and harmony in their ecosystems. Living such long lives it seems as though they become extensions of the land itself and that is why they have become the focus of my art.
GPS coordinates & Map
The names of the artworks often refer to the GPS coordinates where the original photograph was taken and so that the locations can be found on my Interactive Map and visited in person.The designs are available as Giclee Fine Art prints or as Brushed Aluminium Di-Bond Prints, both in various sizes.
View Artist
I was born in Yorkshire and studied photography at Wolverhampton Polytechnic before moving to London in 1991. I initially worked as a photographer before focusing more on illustration and computer design. Since then I have worked in many sections of the design and publishing industry. I live and work in Sussex with my wonderful family and our two crazy Scottish Terriers (Fergus and Rufus). I am still inspired by the incredible landscapes around me and discovering amazing new places to photograph in Sussex, and beyond.
You can read an interview with me in Sussex Every Day and a small article about my work in Seaford Scene.
Inspiration
I have always enjoyed landscape photography and when I moved to Sussex in 2001 I began to explore the local countryside, and particularly the Ashdown Forest and the South Downs, with my dogs and my camera. It is from this ever-expanding collection of images that I draw the inspiration for my artworks.
These photographs are digitally merged with other photographs, paintings, drawings, textures, and found objects to create the final pieces. Some of the pictures are more literal interpretations of the places I have photographed, while others are more conceptual or graphic in their approach, but all seek to evoke the beauty, drama, and atmosphere of the landscapes around me.
Trees?
One question I am often asked is “why trees?”. For me landscapes without trees feel like they are missing something, trees are such an integral part of our perception of the world about us. I feel drawn to these incredible organisms, which can be diminutive, delicate, monumental or sculptural and being in the forest at dawn their serene beauty is so atmospheric. They provide so much for us, food, shade, air, materials and have played a huge part in human evolution and history. Recent scientific discoveries about how they communicate and help one another or their symbiotic relationship with Mycorrhizal fungi reveal another level of complexity and harmony in their ecosystems. Living such long lives it seems as though they become extensions of the land itself and that is why they have become the focus of my art.
GPS coordinates & Map
The names of the artworks often refer to the GPS coordinates where the original photograph was taken and so that the locations can be found on my Interactive Map and visited in person.The designs are available as Giclee Fine Art prints or as Brushed Aluminium Di-Bond Prints, both in various sizes.
Mark Sloper
The London based artist Illuminati draws on his punk roots and lifelong passion for rock music, its attitude, articulation and cultural dynamism. Using vintage and historic flags, clothing and distressed materials which he crowns with neon and in doing so brings new life to these lost materials and phrases.
Every neon art piece is hand blown to the highest standard and created in Illuminati's west London studio.
Illuminati Neon can be found in many galleries and establishments, burning brightly on the walls of collections worldwide.
View Artist
Every neon art piece is hand blown to the highest standard and created in Illuminati's west London studio.
Illuminati Neon can be found in many galleries and establishments, burning brightly on the walls of collections worldwide.
Mary Morton Kemarre
Born: 1922
Died: 2016
Language: Anmatyerre & Alyawarre
Region: Utopia
Mary was a much loved member of Utopia's art community, having been one of the original group of batik artists which formed in the 1980's.
Mary's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions over the past three decades and her work was featured in publications as early as 1989 in Utopia Women’s Paintings: the First Work on Canvas by Anne Marie Brody.
Many of her works during the boom of the 1990's represented the Kurrajong Dreaming. Common elements found in these pieces were green leaves of the Kurrajong tree which had medicinal qualities, a small lizard found in the Kurrajong tree and the red ochre and white body paint designs of her country.
Some of Mary's most popular pieces were her series of 'dump dots' in warm neutrals or colourful pairings, which demanded more work from her; and she was happy to greet this recognition with busy painting-filled days. These popular artworks represented her country Antarrengeny or the Wild Orange called Amern Altwerr .
Country paintings were often sectioned with diagonal lines cutting through from the corners, creating what appeared to be a birds-eye perspective of the outback desert she called home.
Mary was the first wife of a man named Old Billy Morton and together they had seven children. Many of them continue to live on their traditional country just south of Mary's original home.
Mary, along with her sister Katie Kemarre and other Antarrengeny women, regularly made the trip north to perform ceremony as required. The colours that belong to Antarrengeny for ceremony are red ochre and white, and this is what the women would paint on their bodies in a deliberate pattern of lines. These are the same designs you can see in Mary's paintings whenever she chose to depict body paint.
Collections The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth, WA
Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
Exhibitions 1989 Utopia Women's Paintings, the first Works on Canvas, A Summer Project,
1988-1989, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW1990Utopia - A Picture Story, an
Exhibition of 88 works on Silk by Utopian artists, Holmes à Court Collection, toured Eire and Scotland
1990 Stanislawsk-Birnberg, Margo, Journeylines ©
1991 The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
1991 Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
1993 The Tenth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
1994 Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
2002-2004 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions
2004-2006 Evolution of Utopia - opened by the Honorable Robert Hill, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2005 Small Wonders, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
View Artist
Died: 2016
Language: Anmatyerre & Alyawarre
Region: Utopia
Mary was a much loved member of Utopia's art community, having been one of the original group of batik artists which formed in the 1980's.
Mary's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions over the past three decades and her work was featured in publications as early as 1989 in Utopia Women’s Paintings: the First Work on Canvas by Anne Marie Brody.
Many of her works during the boom of the 1990's represented the Kurrajong Dreaming. Common elements found in these pieces were green leaves of the Kurrajong tree which had medicinal qualities, a small lizard found in the Kurrajong tree and the red ochre and white body paint designs of her country.
Some of Mary's most popular pieces were her series of 'dump dots' in warm neutrals or colourful pairings, which demanded more work from her; and she was happy to greet this recognition with busy painting-filled days. These popular artworks represented her country Antarrengeny or the Wild Orange called Amern Altwerr .
Country paintings were often sectioned with diagonal lines cutting through from the corners, creating what appeared to be a birds-eye perspective of the outback desert she called home.
Mary was the first wife of a man named Old Billy Morton and together they had seven children. Many of them continue to live on their traditional country just south of Mary's original home.
Mary, along with her sister Katie Kemarre and other Antarrengeny women, regularly made the trip north to perform ceremony as required. The colours that belong to Antarrengeny for ceremony are red ochre and white, and this is what the women would paint on their bodies in a deliberate pattern of lines. These are the same designs you can see in Mary's paintings whenever she chose to depict body paint.
Collections The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth, WA
Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
Exhibitions 1989 Utopia Women's Paintings, the first Works on Canvas, A Summer Project,
1988-1989, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW1990Utopia - A Picture Story, an
Exhibition of 88 works on Silk by Utopian artists, Holmes à Court Collection, toured Eire and Scotland
1990 Stanislawsk-Birnberg, Margo, Journeylines ©
1991 The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
1991 Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
1993 The Tenth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
1994 Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
2002-2004 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions
2004-2006 Evolution of Utopia - opened by the Honorable Robert Hill, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2005 Small Wonders, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
Melody Reynolds
My paintings explore the transient choreography of public life—those fleeting moments suspended between movement and memory. Whether capturing the vibrant energy of a European street café, the grandeur of a stage performance, or the serene ambiance of Polzeath Beach, I am drawn to spaces where people converge, perform, and observe, each immersed in their own quiet narrative.
Rather than mere documentation, I aim to evoke these scenes. Through loose, expressive brushstrokes and layered colours, I blur the lines between figures and their surroundings. Individuals emerge and recede within the texture, mirroring the way memories fade in and out of focus. I prioritise atmosphere over detail—suggesting mood, light, and rhythm.
The city street becomes a stage; the theatre, a mirror of life. In At the Theatre, I position myself within the audience—not observing the stage, but turning outward to make eye contact with the viewer. This reversal disrupts the usual direction of attention, inviting the viewer into the work and implicating them in the act of observation. It reflects my ongoing exploration of presence, perspective, and the subtle tensions between seeing and being seen.
Even in a painting like Polzeath Beach, where figures are strategically placed across the sand or enveloped in the shimmering sea light, the emphasis remains on transient presence—moments poised between reality and memory. My work invites viewers to pause and linger in these spaces: familiar, ephemeral, and just beyond reach. Painting, for me, is a way of holding time still—if only for a moment.
View Artist
Rather than mere documentation, I aim to evoke these scenes. Through loose, expressive brushstrokes and layered colours, I blur the lines between figures and their surroundings. Individuals emerge and recede within the texture, mirroring the way memories fade in and out of focus. I prioritise atmosphere over detail—suggesting mood, light, and rhythm.
The city street becomes a stage; the theatre, a mirror of life. In At the Theatre, I position myself within the audience—not observing the stage, but turning outward to make eye contact with the viewer. This reversal disrupts the usual direction of attention, inviting the viewer into the work and implicating them in the act of observation. It reflects my ongoing exploration of presence, perspective, and the subtle tensions between seeing and being seen.
Even in a painting like Polzeath Beach, where figures are strategically placed across the sand or enveloped in the shimmering sea light, the emphasis remains on transient presence—moments poised between reality and memory. My work invites viewers to pause and linger in these spaces: familiar, ephemeral, and just beyond reach. Painting, for me, is a way of holding time still—if only for a moment.
Mitjili Napurrula
Born: 1945
Died: 2019
Language: Pintupi
Region: Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory
Mitjili Napurrula was born in 1945 at Papunya, 200 kilometres West of Alice Springs. She is the daughter of Tupa Tjakamarra (now deceased) and Tjunkiya Napatljarri. Her mother, Tjunkayi Napaltjarri, was a Pintupi/Luritja woman from Yumari who also became an artist of public repute. Her mother ‘came in’ from the drought-stricken Pintupi/Lurjita country seeking refuge and rations in the remote community of Haasts Bluff (Ikuntji). Along with her extended family, she was settled at Papunya, where Mitjili was born.
Dispossession and drought were only two of the factors that led to a series of migrations from the desert to mission or government settlements in the mid-twentieth century. Following the outstation movement of the late 1970's and early 1980's, Aboriginal communities sprang up throughout the region, each home to a distinctive art movement.
Like many of her generation, Mitjili witnessed the genesis of the Papunya Tula art movement and the artistic contribution made by members of her immediate family. Mitjili's brother, Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula, was one of the founding members of the Papunya Tula Artists cooperative.
Mitjili grew up in Papunya and moved to Haasts Bluff with her late husband Long Tom Tjapanangka in the late 1980’s during the outstation movement. The couple started painting at Ikuntji in 1992 with the opening of Ikuntji Women’s Centre, both contributing significantly to the emerging art movement there. She gained an international following after winning the Alice Springs Art Prize in 1999.
In Mitjili's winning painting, Untitled (1999), coagulated white pigment eddies around abstract forms that refer to the Watiya Tjuta (desert oak/spearwood trees) used to make kulatas (spears). The tightly structured patterning of the key motifs and bold use of colour demonstrates the artist’s confidence in her individual artistic vision within a family of superlative artists – and the cultural heritage that continues to inform the myriad expressions of Western Desert artists.
The Watiya Tjuta in Mitjili's paintings is her father’s Tjukurrpa (dreaming) in Ilyingaungau country (Gibson Desert). This was passed down to her by her mother; she remembers “…After I got married, my mother taught me my father’s Tjukurrpa in the sand, that’s what I’m painting on the canvas”, a women’s interpretation.
Mitjili and her brother, Tjupurrula had the same father, Tupa Tjakamarra, from whom they both inherited the right to paint works related to Ilyingaungau. This site, south of Walungurru (Kintore), some 520 kilometres west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs), is where the artist’s Mutikatjirri ancestors assembled their kulata (spears) for a conflict with the Tjukula men. Allusive works that refer to the straightening of kulata by Tjupurrula are among the landmark paintings of the movement’s history.
Mitjili lived at an outstation close to Papunya where she continued to paint in her later years, along side her family and fellow artists such as Ann Lane nee Dixon. Mitjili passed away in April 2019.
Collections: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Artbank
Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
Edith Cowan University Art Collection, Perth
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne
Kaplan and Levi Collection, Seattle
Fondation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Moitiers, Switzerland
Awards & Recognition 1999 Alice Prize (Central Australian Art Award), Alice Springs
1997 14th NATSIAA, Darwin – Finalist
1996 Heritage Award, Canberra
1995 12th NATSIAA, Darwin – Finalist
1994 Northern Territory Art Award, Alice Springs
1994 Heritage Art Award, Canberra
1993 The Australian Heritage Award, Canberra ACT
Exhibitions: 1994 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1994 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne VIC
1993 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1994 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1994 Hotel Shangri-la and Australian High Commission, Singapore
1994 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide SA
1994 Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney NSW
1995 Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin NT
1995 Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne VIC
1995 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney NSW
1995 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1996 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1996 Gallerie Australis, Adelaide SA
1996 The Meeting Place- touring Exhibition- Australia
1996 Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin NT
1996 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne VIC
1997 Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer, Germany
1997 Goteborgs Konforening, Goteborg, Sweden
1997 Arnhem, The Netherlands
1997 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1997 Alliance Fiancaise, Canberra ACT
1997 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney NSW
1997 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1998 Art Gallery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1998 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide SA
1998 Spazio Pitti Arte Florence, Italy
1998 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne VIC
1998 Framed Gallery, Darwin NT
1998 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1998 Museum of Art, Uni of Melbourne VIC
1998 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne VIC
1998 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1999 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1999 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney NSW
1999 Flinders Art Museum Flinders Uni, Adelaide SA
1999 Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer, Germany
2000 Solo – Niagara Galleries, Melbourne VIC
2000 Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer, Germany
2001 Galerie Knud Grothe, Charlottenlund Denmark
2002 Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer, Germany
2004 Minnie Pwerle and Mitjili Napurrula, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2005 Across Skin – Women Artists of the Western Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2006 Towards Black & White -Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2007 Mitjili Napurrula, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2008 Black & White: Inspired by Landscapes, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2009 A decade of Australia’s indigenous fine art 1999-2009, Salt Gallery, Queenscliff, VIC
2010 Desert Country, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
2011 In Black and White, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2020 Colours of Spring, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2021 Country in Mind, University of the Sunshine Coast, QLD
View Artist
Died: 2019
Language: Pintupi
Region: Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory
Mitjili Napurrula was born in 1945 at Papunya, 200 kilometres West of Alice Springs. She is the daughter of Tupa Tjakamarra (now deceased) and Tjunkiya Napatljarri. Her mother, Tjunkayi Napaltjarri, was a Pintupi/Luritja woman from Yumari who also became an artist of public repute. Her mother ‘came in’ from the drought-stricken Pintupi/Lurjita country seeking refuge and rations in the remote community of Haasts Bluff (Ikuntji). Along with her extended family, she was settled at Papunya, where Mitjili was born.
Dispossession and drought were only two of the factors that led to a series of migrations from the desert to mission or government settlements in the mid-twentieth century. Following the outstation movement of the late 1970's and early 1980's, Aboriginal communities sprang up throughout the region, each home to a distinctive art movement.
Like many of her generation, Mitjili witnessed the genesis of the Papunya Tula art movement and the artistic contribution made by members of her immediate family. Mitjili's brother, Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula, was one of the founding members of the Papunya Tula Artists cooperative.
Mitjili grew up in Papunya and moved to Haasts Bluff with her late husband Long Tom Tjapanangka in the late 1980’s during the outstation movement. The couple started painting at Ikuntji in 1992 with the opening of Ikuntji Women’s Centre, both contributing significantly to the emerging art movement there. She gained an international following after winning the Alice Springs Art Prize in 1999.
In Mitjili's winning painting, Untitled (1999), coagulated white pigment eddies around abstract forms that refer to the Watiya Tjuta (desert oak/spearwood trees) used to make kulatas (spears). The tightly structured patterning of the key motifs and bold use of colour demonstrates the artist’s confidence in her individual artistic vision within a family of superlative artists – and the cultural heritage that continues to inform the myriad expressions of Western Desert artists.
The Watiya Tjuta in Mitjili's paintings is her father’s Tjukurrpa (dreaming) in Ilyingaungau country (Gibson Desert). This was passed down to her by her mother; she remembers “…After I got married, my mother taught me my father’s Tjukurrpa in the sand, that’s what I’m painting on the canvas”, a women’s interpretation.
Mitjili and her brother, Tjupurrula had the same father, Tupa Tjakamarra, from whom they both inherited the right to paint works related to Ilyingaungau. This site, south of Walungurru (Kintore), some 520 kilometres west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs), is where the artist’s Mutikatjirri ancestors assembled their kulata (spears) for a conflict with the Tjukula men. Allusive works that refer to the straightening of kulata by Tjupurrula are among the landmark paintings of the movement’s history.
Mitjili lived at an outstation close to Papunya where she continued to paint in her later years, along side her family and fellow artists such as Ann Lane nee Dixon. Mitjili passed away in April 2019.
Collections: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Artbank
Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
Edith Cowan University Art Collection, Perth
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne
Kaplan and Levi Collection, Seattle
Fondation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Moitiers, Switzerland
Awards & Recognition 1999 Alice Prize (Central Australian Art Award), Alice Springs
1997 14th NATSIAA, Darwin – Finalist
1996 Heritage Award, Canberra
1995 12th NATSIAA, Darwin – Finalist
1994 Northern Territory Art Award, Alice Springs
1994 Heritage Art Award, Canberra
1993 The Australian Heritage Award, Canberra ACT
Exhibitions: 1994 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1994 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne VIC
1993 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1994 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1994 Hotel Shangri-la and Australian High Commission, Singapore
1994 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide SA
1994 Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney NSW
1995 Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin NT
1995 Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne VIC
1995 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney NSW
1995 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1996 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1996 Gallerie Australis, Adelaide SA
1996 The Meeting Place- touring Exhibition- Australia
1996 Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin NT
1996 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne VIC
1997 Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer, Germany
1997 Goteborgs Konforening, Goteborg, Sweden
1997 Arnhem, The Netherlands
1997 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1997 Alliance Fiancaise, Canberra ACT
1997 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney NSW
1997 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1998 Art Gallery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1998 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide SA
1998 Spazio Pitti Arte Florence, Italy
1998 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne VIC
1998 Framed Gallery, Darwin NT
1998 Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra ACT
1998 Museum of Art, Uni of Melbourne VIC
1998 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne VIC
1998 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1999 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs NT
1999 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney NSW
1999 Flinders Art Museum Flinders Uni, Adelaide SA
1999 Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer, Germany
2000 Solo – Niagara Galleries, Melbourne VIC
2000 Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer, Germany
2001 Galerie Knud Grothe, Charlottenlund Denmark
2002 Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer, Germany
2004 Minnie Pwerle and Mitjili Napurrula, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2005 Across Skin – Women Artists of the Western Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2006 Towards Black & White -Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2007 Mitjili Napurrula, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2008 Black & White: Inspired by Landscapes, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2009 A decade of Australia’s indigenous fine art 1999-2009, Salt Gallery, Queenscliff, VIC
2010 Desert Country, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
2011 In Black and White, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2020 Colours of Spring, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2021 Country in Mind, University of the Sunshine Coast, QLD
Narpula Scobie Napurrula
Born: 1964
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Atnwengerrp, central Australia, Northern Territory
Annie Pitjara Hunter, sister to artists Susan, Jessie and Sandy Pitjara Hunter is well known for the fine execution of her interpretation of Women’s Business. Like her sisters Annie is concerned with Awely and all it symbolises during the deeply spiritual women’s ceremonies. Over the last fifteen years she has participated in many group exhibitions throughout Australia.
Awely (or women’s business) is associated with women’s social structure and ritual knowledge. Awely describes the painted designs and images associated with women’s rituals. The detailed and delicate execution of her paintings are made with great care and respect for its intrinsic meaning. In her paintings Annie depicts ‘women’ and ‘ceremonial sites’ in which her community gathers for their rites. The women sit and sing songs handed down from their ancestors and pass on their ‘Dreamings’ to those younger to pay homage to their ancestors, the land and the food it produces. These Dreamings and ceremonies teach the community the rules and survival of life in their desert environment.
Pitjara Hunter’s have been collected since the beginning of the Utopia art movement when batik was first introduced to the women in 1977. Her batik was selected for Utopia- A Picture Story an exhibition from the Holmes à Court Collection which toured extensively nationally and overseas. Her paintings were also featured in the significant exhibition “Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project” (1988-89).
Born on MacDonald Downs in 1964 to Johnny Ngwarrai Hunter and Molly Bula Hunter, Annie now lives with her family on Atnwengerrp - Utopia region, central Australia.
Collections:
The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions:
1989 - Alcoota , Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1989 - A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art , Westpac Gallery, Melbourne Design Warehouse Sydney
1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings - the First Works on Canvas
1988-89 - A Summer Project , S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1990 - 'Utopia - A Picture Story,' an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland
2006 - Utopia , Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2007 - Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert , Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
2007 - Standing on Ceremony , Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2008 - Power of Place , Tandanya: National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
2010 - Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 - Desert Visions, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Aboriginal Artists UK Show , London
2014 - Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2021 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2022-24- Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
View Artist
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Atnwengerrp, central Australia, Northern Territory
Annie Pitjara Hunter, sister to artists Susan, Jessie and Sandy Pitjara Hunter is well known for the fine execution of her interpretation of Women’s Business. Like her sisters Annie is concerned with Awely and all it symbolises during the deeply spiritual women’s ceremonies. Over the last fifteen years she has participated in many group exhibitions throughout Australia.
Awely (or women’s business) is associated with women’s social structure and ritual knowledge. Awely describes the painted designs and images associated with women’s rituals. The detailed and delicate execution of her paintings are made with great care and respect for its intrinsic meaning. In her paintings Annie depicts ‘women’ and ‘ceremonial sites’ in which her community gathers for their rites. The women sit and sing songs handed down from their ancestors and pass on their ‘Dreamings’ to those younger to pay homage to their ancestors, the land and the food it produces. These Dreamings and ceremonies teach the community the rules and survival of life in their desert environment.
Pitjara Hunter’s have been collected since the beginning of the Utopia art movement when batik was first introduced to the women in 1977. Her batik was selected for Utopia- A Picture Story an exhibition from the Holmes à Court Collection which toured extensively nationally and overseas. Her paintings were also featured in the significant exhibition “Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project” (1988-89).
Born on MacDonald Downs in 1964 to Johnny Ngwarrai Hunter and Molly Bula Hunter, Annie now lives with her family on Atnwengerrp - Utopia region, central Australia.
Collections:
The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions:
1989 - Alcoota , Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1989 - A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art , Westpac Gallery, Melbourne Design Warehouse Sydney
1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings - the First Works on Canvas
1988-89 - A Summer Project , S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1990 - 'Utopia - A Picture Story,' an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland
2006 - Utopia , Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2007 - Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert , Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
2007 - Standing on Ceremony , Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2008 - Power of Place , Tandanya: National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
2010 - Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 - Desert Visions, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Aboriginal Artists UK Show , London
2014 - Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2021 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2022-24- Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
Narputta Nangala
Born: c. 1933
Died: 2010
Language: Pintupi / Luritja
Country: Kaakurutinytja (Lake MacDonald), Western Australia
Narputta was born c. 1933 at Kaakurutinytja and, as a child, walked
hundreds of kilometres east with her father, Tjalakuny Tjampitjinpa and
her brother, Riley Major, to Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory. Haasts
Bluff was a cattle station, then a mission settlement until it became
the community of today. Tjalakuny returned to the desert and was killed
by another tribe near Muruntji and buried there.
Whilst still very young Narputta looked after the goats and camels
around Haasts Bluff and Jay Creek. When slightly older she began cooking
in the community, including for the local Aboriginal stockmen and the
many Pintupi groups arriving from the desert weak and sick.
Narputta married Timothy Jugadai Tjungurrayi who was the head
stockman until he began painting in the mid 1970’s by adapting the
traditional styles of the initial Papunya Tula artists and depicting
site mythologies for which he held responsibilities. They had eight
children including the renowned artist, Daisy Napaltjarri Jugadai, and
artist Molly Napaltjarri Jugadai.
Narputta began painting by assisting her husband until she began solo
work and becoming one of the founding artists of the Ikuntji Art Centre
at Haasts Bluff.
Narputta became one of the most important Western Desert women
artists and her stories are Lampintja, Kaakurutinytja, Muruntji and the
Tjukurrpa of two women ancestors travelling huge distances gathering
food and digging goannas from holes. Kaarkurutinytja and Lampintja are
significant areas in the Creation time for being formed by a woman
digging for sand goannas and are a large salt pan and large mounds and
deep dips. Muruntji is an important story as it’s where Narputta’s
father was buried.
Narputta won the 1997 National Aboriginal Art Award in Darwin.
Whilst in Tingari Arts Narputta would often say to Linx Macpherson
that the two of them must travel to Muruntji to build a camel fence
around the area where her father was buried.
Narputta Nangala was a special woman, warm, fun and generous and she loved her family.
Collections include:
National Art Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria
Queensland Art Gallery
Art Gallery of South Australia
Darwin Museum & Art Galleries
View Artist
Died: 2010
Language: Pintupi / Luritja
Country: Kaakurutinytja (Lake MacDonald), Western Australia
Narputta was born c. 1933 at Kaakurutinytja and, as a child, walked
hundreds of kilometres east with her father, Tjalakuny Tjampitjinpa and
her brother, Riley Major, to Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory. Haasts
Bluff was a cattle station, then a mission settlement until it became
the community of today. Tjalakuny returned to the desert and was killed
by another tribe near Muruntji and buried there.
Whilst still very young Narputta looked after the goats and camels
around Haasts Bluff and Jay Creek. When slightly older she began cooking
in the community, including for the local Aboriginal stockmen and the
many Pintupi groups arriving from the desert weak and sick.
Narputta married Timothy Jugadai Tjungurrayi who was the head
stockman until he began painting in the mid 1970’s by adapting the
traditional styles of the initial Papunya Tula artists and depicting
site mythologies for which he held responsibilities. They had eight
children including the renowned artist, Daisy Napaltjarri Jugadai, and
artist Molly Napaltjarri Jugadai.
Narputta began painting by assisting her husband until she began solo
work and becoming one of the founding artists of the Ikuntji Art Centre
at Haasts Bluff.
Narputta became one of the most important Western Desert women
artists and her stories are Lampintja, Kaakurutinytja, Muruntji and the
Tjukurrpa of two women ancestors travelling huge distances gathering
food and digging goannas from holes. Kaarkurutinytja and Lampintja are
significant areas in the Creation time for being formed by a woman
digging for sand goannas and are a large salt pan and large mounds and
deep dips. Muruntji is an important story as it’s where Narputta’s
father was buried.
Narputta won the 1997 National Aboriginal Art Award in Darwin.
Whilst in Tingari Arts Narputta would often say to Linx Macpherson
that the two of them must travel to Muruntji to build a camel fence
around the area where her father was buried.
Narputta Nangala was a special woman, warm, fun and generous and she loved her family.
Collections include:
National Art Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria
Queensland Art Gallery
Art Gallery of South Australia
Darwin Museum & Art Galleries
Natalie Pula Holmes
Born: 1985
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: MacDonald Downs, Northern Territory
Natalie Pula Holmes has been painting for Eastern Desert Art (partnering gallery for this December exhibition) for the last seven years. Natalie spent her childhood in Tennant Creek with her mother, the artist Marilyn Brown. Once her mother discovered how fascinated Natalie was with her paints and different colours she encouraged her to paint. In her teens, Natalie met her husband, Neville, the son of Dudley Petrick, the Traditional Owner of this area and moved to Irriliree on MacDonald Downs, 285kms NE of Alice Springs. She and Neville now have five children – Leslie, Brennan, Dakota, Tyson and Jed. Leslie makes intricate bush toys from recycled materials at his camp.
Natalie Pula Holmes’ work is shaped by the nature and landscape of her country here in Central Australia. The shimmering multi-coloured desert landscape and birdlife is her primary source of inspiration. Her paintings are representations of land and home. She applies exuberant bursts of colour on a dark background and veils them in a lace of white.
Exhibitions 2010: The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010: Western and Eastern Desert Art , Blaxlands Inn, Hunter Valley, NSW
2010: Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011: Utopian Aboriginal Art, Without Pier Gallery, Melbourne
2012: Belongings, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2013: Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013: Landscape of our Dreaming, Red Poles gallery, McLaren Vale, SA
2014: Aboriginal Artists in London, London, UK
2014: Aboriginal Art – Group Show, Without Pier, Melbourne, Victoria
View Artist
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: MacDonald Downs, Northern Territory
Natalie Pula Holmes has been painting for Eastern Desert Art (partnering gallery for this December exhibition) for the last seven years. Natalie spent her childhood in Tennant Creek with her mother, the artist Marilyn Brown. Once her mother discovered how fascinated Natalie was with her paints and different colours she encouraged her to paint. In her teens, Natalie met her husband, Neville, the son of Dudley Petrick, the Traditional Owner of this area and moved to Irriliree on MacDonald Downs, 285kms NE of Alice Springs. She and Neville now have five children – Leslie, Brennan, Dakota, Tyson and Jed. Leslie makes intricate bush toys from recycled materials at his camp.
Natalie Pula Holmes’ work is shaped by the nature and landscape of her country here in Central Australia. The shimmering multi-coloured desert landscape and birdlife is her primary source of inspiration. Her paintings are representations of land and home. She applies exuberant bursts of colour on a dark background and veils them in a lace of white.
Exhibitions 2010: The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010: Western and Eastern Desert Art , Blaxlands Inn, Hunter Valley, NSW
2010: Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011: Utopian Aboriginal Art, Without Pier Gallery, Melbourne
2012: Belongings, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2013: Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013: Landscape of our Dreaming, Red Poles gallery, McLaren Vale, SA
2014: Aboriginal Artists in London, London, UK
2014: Aboriginal Art – Group Show, Without Pier, Melbourne, Victoria
Pansy Napangardi
Born: late 1940's
Language: Warlpiri/Luritja
Region: Haasts Bluff
Pansy was born at Haasts Bluff in the early to mid 1940’s. Her Warlpiri father,
Pinpinga Tjapanangka, was born at Pikilyi, northwest of Yuendumu and her Luritja mother, Larria Napurula, west of Ilpili. Pansy would paint their dreamings with many titled ‘Willy Wagtail Dreaming at Pikilyi’ and ‘Hail Dreaming at Ilpili’.
Pansy moved to Papunya in 1960 and from the beginning of the Western Desert Art Movement and the 1971 creation of Papunya Tula Artists she observed the wonderful painting by older male artists such as Johnny Warangkula and Kaapa Tjampitjinpa. Pansy remembered her grandmother and grandfather telling her stories of her Dreamings and drawing them in the sand. In addition to the Willy Wagtail Dreaming at Pikilyi, Pansy could also paint her father’s Dreamings of Bush Banana, Cockatoo, Water Snake, Bush Mangoes and Marlu (Kangaroo). As well as Hail Dreaming at Ilpili, from her mother, Pansy could paint Desert Raisin, Seven Sisters, Kungka Kutjarra (Two Women).
Unlike many other women artists associated with Papunya Tula Artists assisting a male relative, Pansy began painting in her own right in the late 1970’s and selling her work independently in Alice Springs. In the mid 1980’s Pansy returned to Papunya and became Papunya Tula Artists most prominent female artist winning the 1989 National Aboriginal Art Award and having a solo exhibition at the Sydney Opera House in 1990.
Pansy raised five children and returned to Alice Springs where she continued her love of painting and talking her Dreaming Stories. For many paintings she would put several paint colours in a container, dipping her painting stick directly where the separate colours met to create a colliderscope of colours in the one dot.
Pansy was associated with Tingari Arts for many years and was always keen to paint, chat and laugh. She was fun, a pleasure to be with and it was an honour for Linx Macpherson (Director of Tingari Arts) to listen to Pansy relating her Dreaming Stories whilst she painted, especially the Willy Wagtail and Hail Stories.
Awards:
1989: 6th National Aboriginal Art Award
1993: Northern Territory Art Award
Collections Include:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
Donald Kahn Collection, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
View Artist
Language: Warlpiri/Luritja
Region: Haasts Bluff
Pansy was born at Haasts Bluff in the early to mid 1940’s. Her Warlpiri father,
Pinpinga Tjapanangka, was born at Pikilyi, northwest of Yuendumu and her Luritja mother, Larria Napurula, west of Ilpili. Pansy would paint their dreamings with many titled ‘Willy Wagtail Dreaming at Pikilyi’ and ‘Hail Dreaming at Ilpili’.
Pansy moved to Papunya in 1960 and from the beginning of the Western Desert Art Movement and the 1971 creation of Papunya Tula Artists she observed the wonderful painting by older male artists such as Johnny Warangkula and Kaapa Tjampitjinpa. Pansy remembered her grandmother and grandfather telling her stories of her Dreamings and drawing them in the sand. In addition to the Willy Wagtail Dreaming at Pikilyi, Pansy could also paint her father’s Dreamings of Bush Banana, Cockatoo, Water Snake, Bush Mangoes and Marlu (Kangaroo). As well as Hail Dreaming at Ilpili, from her mother, Pansy could paint Desert Raisin, Seven Sisters, Kungka Kutjarra (Two Women).
Unlike many other women artists associated with Papunya Tula Artists assisting a male relative, Pansy began painting in her own right in the late 1970’s and selling her work independently in Alice Springs. In the mid 1980’s Pansy returned to Papunya and became Papunya Tula Artists most prominent female artist winning the 1989 National Aboriginal Art Award and having a solo exhibition at the Sydney Opera House in 1990.
Pansy raised five children and returned to Alice Springs where she continued her love of painting and talking her Dreaming Stories. For many paintings she would put several paint colours in a container, dipping her painting stick directly where the separate colours met to create a colliderscope of colours in the one dot.
Pansy was associated with Tingari Arts for many years and was always keen to paint, chat and laugh. She was fun, a pleasure to be with and it was an honour for Linx Macpherson (Director of Tingari Arts) to listen to Pansy relating her Dreaming Stories whilst she painted, especially the Willy Wagtail and Hail Stories.
Awards:
1989: 6th National Aboriginal Art Award
1993: Northern Territory Art Award
Collections Include:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
Donald Kahn Collection, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Polly Ngala
Born: 1940
Died: 2022
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Camel Camp, Utopia
Polly Ngala (deceased) was born in 1936 into the Anmatyarr tribe. She was married to Ray Yeramba (deceased) and lived at Camel Camp on Utopia with her family and sisters, Kathleen Ngala (deceased), Maisy Ngala and Angeline Pwerle Ngala.
Polly began her artistic career in batik before venturing into painting with acrylic paints on canvas. She often assisted her sister Kathleen and also the late Emily Kngwarreye Kame with whom she shared the same country. Together with her sisters Kathleen and Angeline Polly was a senior custodian of the Bush Plum (Arnwekety) Dreaming.
Polly Ngala’s paintings portray the topography of Utopia in shades of reds, oranges and yellows reflecting the varying seasonal palette. Like her sister Kathleen she builds up layer upon layer of colour creating a multi-dimensional effect to reveal the Bush Plum (Ankwekety) and her country of Alparra in all its glory.Polly Ngala is considered one of the finest contemporary painters from Utopia.
Her subject matter is drawn from acute observation and memory, intimate knowledge of her country and the journey of her Ancestors. Polly’s work has been increasingly exhibited since 1999.
Her work has appeared in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award since 2003. Her honourable mention as a 2004 finalist was followed by representation at the Contemporary Art Fair in Paris at the Grand Palais Champs Elysees. Polly was also represented in the exhibition Emily Kngwarreye and her Legacy at the Hillside Forum Daikanyama Tokyo in 2008.
Collections The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth;
1988 Aboriginal "Dot" Painting, Melbourne;
1992 Modern Art - Ancient Icon , The World Bank, Washington, USA.
Selected Exhibitions 2014 - Senior Women From Camel Camp, London, UK
2014 – Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2013 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Australasian Arts Projects Gallery, Singapore
2012 - Belongings , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2011 - Aboriginal Art from Utopia, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2010 - Desert Icons , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2009 - Aboriginal art in Korea , Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul
2008 - Power of Place , Paintings and Sculpture from the Eastern Desert , Tandanya:
2005 - The National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2003 - 20th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award , Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2000 - Arts d'Australie, Stephane Jacob / Espace Mezzo - Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris
1990 - Utopia - A Picture Story , an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland.
1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.
View Artist
Died: 2022
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Camel Camp, Utopia
Polly Ngala (deceased) was born in 1936 into the Anmatyarr tribe. She was married to Ray Yeramba (deceased) and lived at Camel Camp on Utopia with her family and sisters, Kathleen Ngala (deceased), Maisy Ngala and Angeline Pwerle Ngala.
Polly began her artistic career in batik before venturing into painting with acrylic paints on canvas. She often assisted her sister Kathleen and also the late Emily Kngwarreye Kame with whom she shared the same country. Together with her sisters Kathleen and Angeline Polly was a senior custodian of the Bush Plum (Arnwekety) Dreaming.
Polly Ngala’s paintings portray the topography of Utopia in shades of reds, oranges and yellows reflecting the varying seasonal palette. Like her sister Kathleen she builds up layer upon layer of colour creating a multi-dimensional effect to reveal the Bush Plum (Ankwekety) and her country of Alparra in all its glory.Polly Ngala is considered one of the finest contemporary painters from Utopia.
Her subject matter is drawn from acute observation and memory, intimate knowledge of her country and the journey of her Ancestors. Polly’s work has been increasingly exhibited since 1999.
Her work has appeared in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award since 2003. Her honourable mention as a 2004 finalist was followed by representation at the Contemporary Art Fair in Paris at the Grand Palais Champs Elysees. Polly was also represented in the exhibition Emily Kngwarreye and her Legacy at the Hillside Forum Daikanyama Tokyo in 2008.
Collections The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth;
1988 Aboriginal "Dot" Painting, Melbourne;
1992 Modern Art - Ancient Icon , The World Bank, Washington, USA.
Selected Exhibitions 2014 - Senior Women From Camel Camp, London, UK
2014 – Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2013 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Australasian Arts Projects Gallery, Singapore
2012 - Belongings , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2011 - Aboriginal Art from Utopia, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2010 - Desert Icons , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2009 - Aboriginal art in Korea , Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul
2008 - Power of Place , Paintings and Sculpture from the Eastern Desert , Tandanya:
2005 - The National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2003 - 20th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award , Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2000 - Arts d'Australie, Stephane Jacob / Espace Mezzo - Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris
1990 - Utopia - A Picture Story , an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland.
1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.
Rick Donoghue
‘In 2021 I moved back to West Sussex where I had spent my childhood growing up in Worthing. Only then did I realise how much I had missed the downs and the sea.’
‘The sea is currently a major source of inspiration and I love to go to the coast to see it in all weather conditions and at all times of the day. When I am not painting the sea or coastal scene I concern myself with depicting the human body as it falls through the air. I am fascinated by the way light and shadow interacts with the human form, creating interesting shapes and textures.
I believe art should evoke an emotional response from the viewer. Whether it's joy, nostalgia, or contemplation, I hope people will connect with my work on some level.’
View Artist
‘The sea is currently a major source of inspiration and I love to go to the coast to see it in all weather conditions and at all times of the day. When I am not painting the sea or coastal scene I concern myself with depicting the human body as it falls through the air. I am fascinated by the way light and shadow interacts with the human form, creating interesting shapes and textures.
I believe art should evoke an emotional response from the viewer. Whether it's joy, nostalgia, or contemplation, I hope people will connect with my work on some level.’
Ronnie Tjampitjinpa
(also known as Yuntjantji)
Born: c. 1943
Died: 2023
Language: Pintupi
Country: Muyinnga, Western Australia
Ronnie was born circa 1943 around Muyin west of the Kintore Ranges and near the Western Australian border.
As a youth Ronnie, with his family, travelled around Pintupi country including Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackey). In 1956 Jeremy Long (Welfare Branch patrol) recorded them among a large group of Pintupi who walked into Papunya, a harsh government experiment where different tribes were placed together in the one settlement. On first seeing white people Ronnie and his family thought they were ‘devils from the grave’.
Initially in Papunya Ronnie worked as a labourer with airstrip fencing at Papunya and Haasts Bluff. Although he began painting in earnest in the early 1980’s Ronnie painted intermittently from 1971 and was one of the original Papunya Tula Artists’ shareholders.
With the establishment of Kintore in 1981 Ronnie moved back there to his homelands with his family and created the Ininti outstation. Over the next decade he became one of Papunya Tula Artists leading artists, initiating the geometric shapes and bold linear style that became synonymous with many Kintore artists. Ronnie painted his dreamings including Water at Kalipinypa, Echidna, Bushfire and Tingari cycle (the celestial ancestors of the Pintupi people who travelled the desert country creating the landscape and all on it which became sacred or sacred sites and teaching law). Ronnie’s brother, Smithy Zimran Tjampitjinpa and his ‘brother’ Kenny Williams Tjampitjinpa also became prominent Papunya Tula artists.
In 2001 and 2009 Top 50 Collectable Artists in Australian Art Collector Magazine included Ronnie. He currently is, and has been for many years, acknowledged as a highly collectable Aboriginal artist. Highest Auction Price is £ 79,812.
Collections include:
National Gallery Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Art Gallery of SA, Adelaide
Art Gallery of WA, Perth,
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Museum and Art Galleries of the NT, Darwin
Parliament House Collection, Canberra
British Museum, London
Musee du Quai Branly, Paris
Groninger Museum, The Netherlands
Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo
Museo Sa Bassa Blanca, Spain
Donald Kahn Collection, Lowe Art Museum, Miami
Luciano Benetton Collection, Venice
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
Kluge Ruhe Collection, University of Virginia
Kaplan and Levi Collection, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle
View Artist
Born: c. 1943
Died: 2023
Language: Pintupi
Country: Muyinnga, Western Australia
Ronnie was born circa 1943 around Muyin west of the Kintore Ranges and near the Western Australian border.
As a youth Ronnie, with his family, travelled around Pintupi country including Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackey). In 1956 Jeremy Long (Welfare Branch patrol) recorded them among a large group of Pintupi who walked into Papunya, a harsh government experiment where different tribes were placed together in the one settlement. On first seeing white people Ronnie and his family thought they were ‘devils from the grave’.
Initially in Papunya Ronnie worked as a labourer with airstrip fencing at Papunya and Haasts Bluff. Although he began painting in earnest in the early 1980’s Ronnie painted intermittently from 1971 and was one of the original Papunya Tula Artists’ shareholders.
With the establishment of Kintore in 1981 Ronnie moved back there to his homelands with his family and created the Ininti outstation. Over the next decade he became one of Papunya Tula Artists leading artists, initiating the geometric shapes and bold linear style that became synonymous with many Kintore artists. Ronnie painted his dreamings including Water at Kalipinypa, Echidna, Bushfire and Tingari cycle (the celestial ancestors of the Pintupi people who travelled the desert country creating the landscape and all on it which became sacred or sacred sites and teaching law). Ronnie’s brother, Smithy Zimran Tjampitjinpa and his ‘brother’ Kenny Williams Tjampitjinpa also became prominent Papunya Tula artists.
In 2001 and 2009 Top 50 Collectable Artists in Australian Art Collector Magazine included Ronnie. He currently is, and has been for many years, acknowledged as a highly collectable Aboriginal artist. Highest Auction Price is £ 79,812.
Collections include:
National Gallery Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Art Gallery of SA, Adelaide
Art Gallery of WA, Perth,
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Museum and Art Galleries of the NT, Darwin
Parliament House Collection, Canberra
British Museum, London
Musee du Quai Branly, Paris
Groninger Museum, The Netherlands
Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo
Museo Sa Bassa Blanca, Spain
Donald Kahn Collection, Lowe Art Museum, Miami
Luciano Benetton Collection, Venice
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
Kluge Ruhe Collection, University of Virginia
Kaplan and Levi Collection, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle
Rosie Taylor
Based in Wimbledon, Rosie Taylor is a 21-year-old oil painter with six years of dedicated studio practice. Having trained at the London Fine Art Studios, Rosie grounds her work in traditional Old Master techniques, bringing those classical methods into a modern light.
Working almost entirely from life, she captures an immediate, vibrant energy on canvas. Rosie is particularly drawn to botanical studies, using her oil paints to celebrate the quiet fragility and intricate delicacy of flowers - creating pieces that balance rich, classical technique with a fresh and lively presence.
View Artist
Working almost entirely from life, she captures an immediate, vibrant energy on canvas. Rosie is particularly drawn to botanical studies, using her oil paints to celebrate the quiet fragility and intricate delicacy of flowers - creating pieces that balance rich, classical technique with a fresh and lively presence.
Samuel Mugerwa
Samuel Mugerwa (Ugandan, b. 2005) is a young emerging artist whose practice is a direct response to the visual poetry of contemporary life experiences. He translates fleeting interactions, community dynamics and observed moments into compelling narratives. Mugerwa works primarily in painting and drawing, utilizing the raw contrast and immediacy of graphite and charcoal to capture the world around him. His work is characterized by motion-filled strokes that instil his subjects with vibrant energy. His process seeks to uncover the profound within the immediate life experiences, elevating the lived experience through a lens of expressive detail.
A central tenet of Mugerwa's art is the conscious encouragement of the viewer, creating a positive connection, prompting reflections and affirmations with the audience. His art acts as a mirror, elevating the ordinary to inspire a deeper engagement with life's subtle truths.
View Artist
A central tenet of Mugerwa's art is the conscious encouragement of the viewer, creating a positive connection, prompting reflections and affirmations with the audience. His art acts as a mirror, elevating the ordinary to inspire a deeper engagement with life's subtle truths.
Sandy Pitjara Hunter
(Also known as Sandy Petyarre Hunter)
Born: c.1953
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Irrultja, Utopia
Born in 1953 on MacDonald Downs into the Alyawarr tribe, Sandy Pitjara Hunter lived in the Utopia region with his extended family all his life until his death this year in July 2025. He has often been greatly admired for his fine and precise dotwork and masterful use of colour. His Dreaming is Caterpillar (Atlerlayt) which was passed down to him from his father and his paintings depict an aerial view of his country as created by the Caterpillar Ancestor. He maintained the classical men’s tradition of meticulously laid out geometric lines and circles representing the tracks and marks of the Ancestral journeys. His distinctive work consists of hundreds of thousands of carefully executed minute dots in a broad harmony of colour.
Sandy was also a fine sculptor and carves animals such as echidna, birds, iguanas from the wood of the native Bean Tree.
These beautifully detailed works which stand on their own black pedestals have been hand-carved from the wood of the local native Bean Tree (erythrina vespertilio). Sandy Pitjara Hunter worked from a large section of the tree-trunk and used various chisels to shape it. He then applied feathery strokes to the head and dotting to the torso in various shades of polymer acrylic paint.
Collections National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions 2007 - Patterns of Power - Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming , GalleryG, Brisbane
2008 - Power of Place , Tandanya, National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
2009: East-West, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2009: Aboriginal art in Korea, Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2010: The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010: Desert Icons, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010: Aboriginal Artists in London June 11 - 13, London, UK
2012: Belongings , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2013: Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2014: Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2015 – Wimbledon Fine Art Exhibition , Wimbledon Village, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018/19 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
View Artist
Born: c.1953
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Irrultja, Utopia
Born in 1953 on MacDonald Downs into the Alyawarr tribe, Sandy Pitjara Hunter lived in the Utopia region with his extended family all his life until his death this year in July 2025. He has often been greatly admired for his fine and precise dotwork and masterful use of colour. His Dreaming is Caterpillar (Atlerlayt) which was passed down to him from his father and his paintings depict an aerial view of his country as created by the Caterpillar Ancestor. He maintained the classical men’s tradition of meticulously laid out geometric lines and circles representing the tracks and marks of the Ancestral journeys. His distinctive work consists of hundreds of thousands of carefully executed minute dots in a broad harmony of colour.
Sandy was also a fine sculptor and carves animals such as echidna, birds, iguanas from the wood of the native Bean Tree.
These beautifully detailed works which stand on their own black pedestals have been hand-carved from the wood of the local native Bean Tree (erythrina vespertilio). Sandy Pitjara Hunter worked from a large section of the tree-trunk and used various chisels to shape it. He then applied feathery strokes to the head and dotting to the torso in various shades of polymer acrylic paint.
Collections National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions 2007 - Patterns of Power - Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming , GalleryG, Brisbane
2008 - Power of Place , Tandanya, National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
2009: East-West, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2009: Aboriginal art in Korea, Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2010: The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010: Desert Icons, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010: Aboriginal Artists in London June 11 - 13, London, UK
2012: Belongings , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2013: Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2014: Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2015 – Wimbledon Fine Art Exhibition , Wimbledon Village, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018/19 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
Sharon Goodenough
Sharon Goodenough is a British contemporary artist whose atmospheric seascapes explore the relationship between nature, emotion, and the restorative power of open spaces. Working predominantly in oils, she is inspired by the ever-changing coastline of the U.K. and her travels, creating expressive paintings that evoke a sense of calm, freedom, and connection.
A distinctive feature of Sharon's practice is her layered painting process, Sharon begins each work by writing hidden words directly onto the canvas before building successive layers of paint. These concealed messages remain embedded within the finished artwork, becoming an integral part of each piece and reflecting the stories, emotions, and experiences that shape us.
After early careers in photography and special effects make-up artistry, Sharon returned to painting, bringing with her a lifelong passion for visual storytelling. She has since established herself as a contemporary artist, exhibiting across the UK and Europe, with work held in private collections both nationally and internationally. Sharon was also the selected artist in 2024 for the London launch of the new Mangusta Yacht.
Her work has been featured twice in Artist & Illustrator magazine, as well as House & Garden, CanvasRebel, Bold Journey, and Premier Magazine UK's Women to Watch. In 2026, she was selected for Art & Women Vol 3, a coffee table book celebrating 100 emerging female artists from around the world. Sharon is also a co-author of the #1 bestselling books Radical Self-Love and Radical Freedom.
View Artist
A distinctive feature of Sharon's practice is her layered painting process, Sharon begins each work by writing hidden words directly onto the canvas before building successive layers of paint. These concealed messages remain embedded within the finished artwork, becoming an integral part of each piece and reflecting the stories, emotions, and experiences that shape us.
After early careers in photography and special effects make-up artistry, Sharon returned to painting, bringing with her a lifelong passion for visual storytelling. She has since established herself as a contemporary artist, exhibiting across the UK and Europe, with work held in private collections both nationally and internationally. Sharon was also the selected artist in 2024 for the London launch of the new Mangusta Yacht.
Her work has been featured twice in Artist & Illustrator magazine, as well as House & Garden, CanvasRebel, Bold Journey, and Premier Magazine UK's Women to Watch. In 2026, she was selected for Art & Women Vol 3, a coffee table book celebrating 100 emerging female artists from around the world. Sharon is also a co-author of the #1 bestselling books Radical Self-Love and Radical Freedom.
Sheena Burton
Arty Corner holds Sheena’s ‘Floral Linguistics’ collection. ‘Floral Linguistics’ is a powerful collection of oil paintings created by Sheena Burton during her journey with stage 4 cancer. Both the artist and her works will be travelling from New Zealand for this special Arty Corner exhibition in Wimbledon.
Burton’s work is held in private collections across several countries including New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, England, Ireland, and South Africa. She has recently been offered an artist residency in France in 2026.
Burton initially pursued a career in corporate banking in London & New York to then find art later in her life. Burton studied at the National Art School in Sydney where she received mentorship under Lewellyn Skye, an acclaimed Australian abstract artist.
"I danced around the arts and design circle at all points of my life from textiles to product design eventually realising that all roads led me back to painting”.
View Artist
Burton’s work is held in private collections across several countries including New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, England, Ireland, and South Africa. She has recently been offered an artist residency in France in 2026.
Burton initially pursued a career in corporate banking in London & New York to then find art later in her life. Burton studied at the National Art School in Sydney where she received mentorship under Lewellyn Skye, an acclaimed Australian abstract artist.
"I danced around the arts and design circle at all points of my life from textiles to product design eventually realising that all roads led me back to painting”.
Susan Petyarre Hunter
(Also known as Susan Pitjara Hunter)
Born: 1966
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Atnwengerrpe
Born in 1966 into the Alyawarr community, Susan Pitjara Hunter is the younger sister of artists Annie, Jessie and Sandy. Susan lives at the outstation of Atnwengerrp, in the Utopia region north east of Alice Springs.
Susan Pitjara Hunter is one of the most gifted artists of this region. She has always had a deep sense of belonging to her country and has remained steadfastly a bush woman.
Her meticulous execution of her dreamings and awelye is rendered with extreme care and respect for her subject matter.
Collections National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Robert Holmes à Court Collection, Perth
National Gallery of Victoria
Exhibitions 1989 - A Myriad of Dreaming. Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art , Westpac Gallery, Melbourne
1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project , 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.
1989-91 - Utopia - A Picture Story , Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
1990 - Utopia - A Picture Story , an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland.
1991, 92,93,94,96 - Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs,NT
1997 - Geschichtenbilder, Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer, Germany
1999 - Aboriginal Art - Australien heute, Deutsche Welle, Koln, Germany (in co-operation with the Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer)
1999 - Australie – Art, Arts d'Australie • Stephane Jacob / J.L. Amsler - Bastille, Paris.
2004 - Bilderwelten in Utopia. Holzschnitte und Gemaelde vom Aborigines, Staedtisches Kunstmuseum Spendhaus Reutlingen, Kunstmuseum Bayreuth, Deutschland (in Kooperation mit Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer)
2006 - Senior Women of Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2006 - Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2007 - Standing on Ceremony , Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2007 - Patterns of Power , Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay Gallery, Sydney
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming - Artists from Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 – Eastern Desert Song , Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2008 - Power of Place, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
2008 – Yurlunggurr Art, From the Desert to the Sea, Brisbane
2009 - Aboriginal art in Korea , Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2009 – Brush With Art , Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2010 – May The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010 – Aboriginal Artists in London June 11 - 13, London, UK
2010 - Western and Eastern Desert Art, Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Longreach, Queensland
2010 – The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2011 – Desert Icons , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 – Desert Visions , Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2012 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2012 - Belongings - Australasian Arts Projects Gallery, 303 Tanglin Road Singapore
2014 – Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2014: Senior Women From Camel Camp, London, UK
2015 – Wimbledon Fine Art Exhibition , Wimbledon Village, London, UK
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2020 - 2024 Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
View Artist
Born: 1966
Language Group: Alyawarr
Region: Atnwengerrpe
Born in 1966 into the Alyawarr community, Susan Pitjara Hunter is the younger sister of artists Annie, Jessie and Sandy. Susan lives at the outstation of Atnwengerrp, in the Utopia region north east of Alice Springs.
Susan Pitjara Hunter is one of the most gifted artists of this region. She has always had a deep sense of belonging to her country and has remained steadfastly a bush woman.
Her meticulous execution of her dreamings and awelye is rendered with extreme care and respect for her subject matter.
Collections National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Robert Holmes à Court Collection, Perth
National Gallery of Victoria
Exhibitions 1989 - A Myriad of Dreaming. Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art , Westpac Gallery, Melbourne
1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project , 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.
1989-91 - Utopia - A Picture Story , Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
1990 - Utopia - A Picture Story , an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland.
1991, 92,93,94,96 - Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs,NT
1997 - Geschichtenbilder, Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer, Germany
1999 - Aboriginal Art - Australien heute, Deutsche Welle, Koln, Germany (in co-operation with the Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer)
1999 - Australie – Art, Arts d'Australie • Stephane Jacob / J.L. Amsler - Bastille, Paris.
2004 - Bilderwelten in Utopia. Holzschnitte und Gemaelde vom Aborigines, Staedtisches Kunstmuseum Spendhaus Reutlingen, Kunstmuseum Bayreuth, Deutschland (in Kooperation mit Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer)
2006 - Senior Women of Utopia , GalleryG, Brisbane
2006 - Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2007 - Standing on Ceremony , Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2007 - Patterns of Power , Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay Gallery, Sydney
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming - Artists from Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 – Eastern Desert Song , Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2008 - Power of Place, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
2008 – Yurlunggurr Art, From the Desert to the Sea, Brisbane
2009 - Aboriginal art in Korea , Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2009 – Brush With Art , Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2010 – May The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010 – Aboriginal Artists in London June 11 - 13, London, UK
2010 - Western and Eastern Desert Art, Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Longreach, Queensland
2010 – The Utopia Story , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2011 – Desert Icons , Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 – Desert Visions , Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2012 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2012 - Belongings - Australasian Arts Projects Gallery, 303 Tanglin Road Singapore
2014 – Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2014: Senior Women From Camel Camp, London, UK
2015 – Wimbledon Fine Art Exhibition , Wimbledon Village, London, UK
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show , Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2020 - 2024 Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
Suzanne Smith
Suzanne Smith was born in Brixham , South Devon. Throughout her career , as a Specialist Oncology Nurse , she sought relaxation in painting and drawing which had given her huge satisfaction and distraction away from the routines of everyday life , allowing her to focus on more enjoyable moments. Painting has become an increasingly important part of her life.
Whilst bringing up a family , Suzanne sought more stimulus and attained a university degree in History of Art , Kingston University. She continued to pursue her fine art studies under the tutelage of Aris Raissis , Portrait and Figurative Artist.
Suzanne’s method of work comes in two styles. Her lively , expressive , spontaneous and figurative works are created in acrylics , whilst her tonal paintings , that record images of everyday life are in oils.
View Artist
Whilst bringing up a family , Suzanne sought more stimulus and attained a university degree in History of Art , Kingston University. She continued to pursue her fine art studies under the tutelage of Aris Raissis , Portrait and Figurative Artist.
Suzanne’s method of work comes in two styles. Her lively , expressive , spontaneous and figurative works are created in acrylics , whilst her tonal paintings , that record images of everyday life are in oils.
Ted Dimond
His love for sports and art became the building blocks of his creative expression, uniting to create a unique mix of sports and artistic style. This blend has been the driving force shaping Ted’s creative journey.
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Thomas Tjapaltjarri
Born: c. 1970s
Died: 2024
Language Group: Pintupi
Region: WIlkinkarra (including the sites of Marawa, Tarkurrnga, Njami, Ungarta and Yarrawangu) Gibson Desert, Western Australia
Thomas Tjapaltjarri and his family group were amongst the last
nomadic desert dwellers to leave the desert to join their kinsmen in the
small settlements that had grown around the periphery of their
homelands. They were named “the Last Nomads” and “the Group of Nine”
when they appeared in the tiny community of Kiwirrkura in Western
Australia in 1984.
When the family came in from the desert it was a momentous event.
Until then they had remained isolated from their relatives who had
chosen to leave their desert homelands twenty years earlier. The family
group had roamed between waterholes around Lake Mackay, along the
border country between Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Their diet was dominated by goanna and rabbit and bush-foods harvested
from native plants.
The family group consisted of four brothers (Warlimpirrnga, Walala,
Tamlik, and Yari Yari), three sisters (Yardi, Yikultji and Tjakaraia)
and two mothers (Nanyanu and Papalanyanu). The boys and girls were all
in their early-to-late teens, although their exact ages were not known;
the mothers were in their late 30s.
The father had died, possibly from eating spoiled canned food that he
found at an old mining camp. After this, the group travelled south to
where they thought their relatives might be, as they had seen signs of
smoke in that direction. They met up with a man from Kiwirrkura, but
there was confusion, and the group fled north again while he returned to
the community to alert others of their meeting. The community members
came looking for the group, and quickly realised that they were nine
relatives who had been left behind in the desert twenty years earlier.
Finally the community members travelled by vehicle to where the group
was last seen, and tracked them for some time before finding them.
After making contact and establishing their relationships, the Pintupi
nine were invited to come and live at Kiwirrkura, where most of them
still reside. Both Thomas Tjapaltjarri and Walala Tjapaltjarri took an
interest in the painting movement that was happening around them, and
established their names as artists painting the Tingari stories of their
ancestral country. Aboriginal art status – Highly regarded artist.
Exhibitions 2025 At The Gallery, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
2025 The Pintupi Nine: Tradition and Legacy, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2024 Small is beautiful, Japingka Gallery, Freemantle
2024 Pintupi Nine, Art Mob, Hobart
2024 ICONIC, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2024 Tingari - Desert Men, Japingka Gallery, Freemantle
2023 Central Desert Showcase, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2023 Survey, Works from the Dalrymple Community Cultural Centre Trust
Collection, Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, Townsville QLD
2022 Nations 2022, Art Mob, at the Henry Jones Art Hotel Packing Room, Hobart
2022 Connection, National Museum of Australia, Canberra
2022 Sandhill Country | Paintings of Inland Australia, Japingka Gallery, Freemantle
2022 Art Mob's 20th Birthday Exhibition, Art Mob, Hobart
2021 Private Collection | Private View: One Collector's Passion & Soul, Cooee Art, Redfern
2021 50 Years of Papunya Tula Artists, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2021 Voyage across Aboriginal Australia - Founders' Favourites, Fondation
Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Moitiers, Switzerland
2020 Central Focus, Art Mob, Hobart
2019 An Exhibition on TJAPALTJARRI Brothers from the Indigenous Lost Tribe, Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery, Melbourne
2019 Defining Tradition: the first wave & its disciples, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2019 Pintupi Artists of the Western Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2019 Warlimpirrnga, Walala and Thomas Tjaplajarri Exhibitions, Mitchell Fine Art Gallery, Brisbane
2018 Three Brothers, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2012 Meeting Cultures: Australian Contemporary Aboriginal Art - ARTECLASICA (Argentina Art Fair)
2010 Lost Tribe, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
Awards and Recognition 2022 Connection | Songlines from Australia's First Peoples in a spectacular
immersive experience, National Museum of Australia, Canberra
Collections Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne
The Henderson Family Collection, Sydney
Pat Corrigan Collection, Sydney
Luciano Benetton Collection, Venice
Fondation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Motiers, Switzerland
Dalrymple Community Cultural Centre Trust Collection, Charters Towers QLD
View Artist
Died: 2024
Language Group: Pintupi
Region: WIlkinkarra (including the sites of Marawa, Tarkurrnga, Njami, Ungarta and Yarrawangu) Gibson Desert, Western Australia
Thomas Tjapaltjarri and his family group were amongst the last
nomadic desert dwellers to leave the desert to join their kinsmen in the
small settlements that had grown around the periphery of their
homelands. They were named “the Last Nomads” and “the Group of Nine”
when they appeared in the tiny community of Kiwirrkura in Western
Australia in 1984.
When the family came in from the desert it was a momentous event.
Until then they had remained isolated from their relatives who had
chosen to leave their desert homelands twenty years earlier. The family
group had roamed between waterholes around Lake Mackay, along the
border country between Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Their diet was dominated by goanna and rabbit and bush-foods harvested
from native plants.
The family group consisted of four brothers (Warlimpirrnga, Walala,
Tamlik, and Yari Yari), three sisters (Yardi, Yikultji and Tjakaraia)
and two mothers (Nanyanu and Papalanyanu). The boys and girls were all
in their early-to-late teens, although their exact ages were not known;
the mothers were in their late 30s.
The father had died, possibly from eating spoiled canned food that he
found at an old mining camp. After this, the group travelled south to
where they thought their relatives might be, as they had seen signs of
smoke in that direction. They met up with a man from Kiwirrkura, but
there was confusion, and the group fled north again while he returned to
the community to alert others of their meeting. The community members
came looking for the group, and quickly realised that they were nine
relatives who had been left behind in the desert twenty years earlier.
Finally the community members travelled by vehicle to where the group
was last seen, and tracked them for some time before finding them.
After making contact and establishing their relationships, the Pintupi
nine were invited to come and live at Kiwirrkura, where most of them
still reside. Both Thomas Tjapaltjarri and Walala Tjapaltjarri took an
interest in the painting movement that was happening around them, and
established their names as artists painting the Tingari stories of their
ancestral country. Aboriginal art status – Highly regarded artist.
Exhibitions 2025 At The Gallery, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
2025 The Pintupi Nine: Tradition and Legacy, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2024 Small is beautiful, Japingka Gallery, Freemantle
2024 Pintupi Nine, Art Mob, Hobart
2024 ICONIC, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2024 Tingari - Desert Men, Japingka Gallery, Freemantle
2023 Central Desert Showcase, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2023 Survey, Works from the Dalrymple Community Cultural Centre Trust
Collection, Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, Townsville QLD
2022 Nations 2022, Art Mob, at the Henry Jones Art Hotel Packing Room, Hobart
2022 Connection, National Museum of Australia, Canberra
2022 Sandhill Country | Paintings of Inland Australia, Japingka Gallery, Freemantle
2022 Art Mob's 20th Birthday Exhibition, Art Mob, Hobart
2021 Private Collection | Private View: One Collector's Passion & Soul, Cooee Art, Redfern
2021 50 Years of Papunya Tula Artists, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2021 Voyage across Aboriginal Australia - Founders' Favourites, Fondation
Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Moitiers, Switzerland
2020 Central Focus, Art Mob, Hobart
2019 An Exhibition on TJAPALTJARRI Brothers from the Indigenous Lost Tribe, Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery, Melbourne
2019 Defining Tradition: the first wave & its disciples, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2019 Pintupi Artists of the Western Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2019 Warlimpirrnga, Walala and Thomas Tjaplajarri Exhibitions, Mitchell Fine Art Gallery, Brisbane
2018 Three Brothers, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2012 Meeting Cultures: Australian Contemporary Aboriginal Art - ARTECLASICA (Argentina Art Fair)
2010 Lost Tribe, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
Awards and Recognition 2022 Connection | Songlines from Australia's First Peoples in a spectacular
immersive experience, National Museum of Australia, Canberra
Collections Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne
The Henderson Family Collection, Sydney
Pat Corrigan Collection, Sydney
Luciano Benetton Collection, Venice
Fondation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Motiers, Switzerland
Dalrymple Community Cultural Centre Trust Collection, Charters Towers QLD
Walala Tjapangardi
Born: Early 1960’s
Language: Pintupi
Country: WIlkinkarra (including the sites of Marawa, Tarkurrnga, Njami, Ungarta and Yarrawangu) around Lake Mackay, Gibson Desert, Western Australia.
Walala with his extended family of nine, including his brothers Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri and Tamayinya (Thomas) Tjapaltjarri, lived a nomadic and traditional hunter-gathering life in the great Gibson Desert. With their understanding of the land, bush, wildlife and waterholes they survived as their ancestors had for centuries and living in the desert without any knowledge of the colonial settlers who inhabited other parts of the country.
The family is a good example of the complex and strict structure of marriage that existed at the time and still exists today. Walala’s brother, Warlimpirrnga, was born around 1955 at Tjuulnga east of Kiwirrkurra in Pintupi country. His mother, Papalya Nangala, and father, Waku Tjungurrayi, then had a daughter, Takariya. Waku also took three of Papalya’s sisters as his wives. Wati and Watjunka (one of the sisters) already had a son called Piyirti (also spelt Payirti and Piyiti).
After Waku died in about 1964, Lanti, or Old Joshua, arrived from Balgo where, according to Jeremy Long, he had been burnt in a fire, but as he was the ‘right skin’ or Tjungurrayi for the sisters, he took them as his wives, with Nanu as his primary one. Joshua and Nanu’s children were Tamayinya (Thomas), Yalti and Yulkulti. Lanti and Watjunka had a son called Walala who was the youngest of the extended family.
In October 1984, with no male elder now part of the group and the knowledge all nine were related and that inbreeding could be a possibility, the twice widowed Papalya and Nanu sent Warlimpirrnga and his half-brother Piyirti, to search for relatives they hadn’t seen for many years. They had been told about colonial settlers by Lanti but were scared. Lanti died around 1981/1982. It was thought he had been poisoned by non-Aboriginal mining people who believed he had been entering their camp stealing tinned meat.
Correspondingly, seven Aboriginal men from Kiwirrkura, including Freddy West (who knew the family before he had contact with colonial settlers, went searching for the group. Fearing they would be scared seeing clothed Aboriginals the seven stripped naked and convinced the group to return to Kiwirrkura with them. The group comprised of Papalya and Nanu (the widows), in their mid 50’s, Piyiti about 26, Warlimpirrnga about 25, Takariya about 24, Tamayinya about 15, Yalti about 14, Yukultji about 12 or 13 and Walala about 12. Up until this time they had had no personal contact with Europeans.
On their journey they came across Pinta Pinta Tjapanangka and his son, Matthew, fixing a flat tyre not far from Kiwirrkura. Their arrival in Kiwirrkura made international headlines and they became known as ‘The Lost Tribe’ or ‘The Pintupi Nine’ (These first contact experiences were the focus of one episode of Robert Hughes’ Beyond the Fatal Shore 2000 documentary for the BBC and ABC).
After a few months Piyiti crept away from Kiwirrkura and walked back to the desert. Warlimpirrnga has said he is the only one who knows where Piyiti is and has often seen him.
Walala followed Warlimpirrnga painting with Papunya Tula Artists in 1987 in the classical Tingari style favoured by Pintupi artists. He then developed his own individualistic, strong, minimal style painting the Tingari Cycle of the ancestors travels during the Tjukurrpa, creation time, of his country, performing ceremonies that create the diversity of the land. For example; water holes, sand dunes, mountains, plants and animals and associated sacred sites. These stories and ceremonies are recognised in the ‘songlines’ and teachings today.
Walala has painted as an independent artist for many years and has been involved with Tingari Arts (the collaborating gallery for this Wimbledon exhibition) since 2001. He, Warlimpirrnga and Thomas are very close and often like to paint together. Apart from being one of Australia’s prominent artists Walala is a kind, generous man with a great sense of humour. Tingari Arts, and indirectly Arty Corner, are honoured to be associated with him.
Collections include:
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Flinders University, Adelaide
The Kelton Foundation, USA
Kaplan & Levi Collection, USA
Quai de Branly, Paris
Artbank
View Artist
Language: Pintupi
Country: WIlkinkarra (including the sites of Marawa, Tarkurrnga, Njami, Ungarta and Yarrawangu) around Lake Mackay, Gibson Desert, Western Australia.
Walala with his extended family of nine, including his brothers Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri and Tamayinya (Thomas) Tjapaltjarri, lived a nomadic and traditional hunter-gathering life in the great Gibson Desert. With their understanding of the land, bush, wildlife and waterholes they survived as their ancestors had for centuries and living in the desert without any knowledge of the colonial settlers who inhabited other parts of the country.
The family is a good example of the complex and strict structure of marriage that existed at the time and still exists today. Walala’s brother, Warlimpirrnga, was born around 1955 at Tjuulnga east of Kiwirrkurra in Pintupi country. His mother, Papalya Nangala, and father, Waku Tjungurrayi, then had a daughter, Takariya. Waku also took three of Papalya’s sisters as his wives. Wati and Watjunka (one of the sisters) already had a son called Piyirti (also spelt Payirti and Piyiti).
After Waku died in about 1964, Lanti, or Old Joshua, arrived from Balgo where, according to Jeremy Long, he had been burnt in a fire, but as he was the ‘right skin’ or Tjungurrayi for the sisters, he took them as his wives, with Nanu as his primary one. Joshua and Nanu’s children were Tamayinya (Thomas), Yalti and Yulkulti. Lanti and Watjunka had a son called Walala who was the youngest of the extended family.
In October 1984, with no male elder now part of the group and the knowledge all nine were related and that inbreeding could be a possibility, the twice widowed Papalya and Nanu sent Warlimpirrnga and his half-brother Piyirti, to search for relatives they hadn’t seen for many years. They had been told about colonial settlers by Lanti but were scared. Lanti died around 1981/1982. It was thought he had been poisoned by non-Aboriginal mining people who believed he had been entering their camp stealing tinned meat.
Correspondingly, seven Aboriginal men from Kiwirrkura, including Freddy West (who knew the family before he had contact with colonial settlers, went searching for the group. Fearing they would be scared seeing clothed Aboriginals the seven stripped naked and convinced the group to return to Kiwirrkura with them. The group comprised of Papalya and Nanu (the widows), in their mid 50’s, Piyiti about 26, Warlimpirrnga about 25, Takariya about 24, Tamayinya about 15, Yalti about 14, Yukultji about 12 or 13 and Walala about 12. Up until this time they had had no personal contact with Europeans.
On their journey they came across Pinta Pinta Tjapanangka and his son, Matthew, fixing a flat tyre not far from Kiwirrkura. Their arrival in Kiwirrkura made international headlines and they became known as ‘The Lost Tribe’ or ‘The Pintupi Nine’ (These first contact experiences were the focus of one episode of Robert Hughes’ Beyond the Fatal Shore 2000 documentary for the BBC and ABC).
After a few months Piyiti crept away from Kiwirrkura and walked back to the desert. Warlimpirrnga has said he is the only one who knows where Piyiti is and has often seen him.
Walala followed Warlimpirrnga painting with Papunya Tula Artists in 1987 in the classical Tingari style favoured by Pintupi artists. He then developed his own individualistic, strong, minimal style painting the Tingari Cycle of the ancestors travels during the Tjukurrpa, creation time, of his country, performing ceremonies that create the diversity of the land. For example; water holes, sand dunes, mountains, plants and animals and associated sacred sites. These stories and ceremonies are recognised in the ‘songlines’ and teachings today.
Walala has painted as an independent artist for many years and has been involved with Tingari Arts (the collaborating gallery for this Wimbledon exhibition) since 2001. He, Warlimpirrnga and Thomas are very close and often like to paint together. Apart from being one of Australia’s prominent artists Walala is a kind, generous man with a great sense of humour. Tingari Arts, and indirectly Arty Corner, are honoured to be associated with him.
Collections include:
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Flinders University, Adelaide
The Kelton Foundation, USA
Kaplan & Levi Collection, USA
Quai de Branly, Paris
Artbank
Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri
Born: c. 1955
Language: Pintupi
Country: Gibson Desert
Warlimpirrnga was born around 1955 at Tjuulnga in Pintupi country, near where the community of Kiwirrkurra was later established. His mother, Papalya Nangala and father, Waku Tjungurrayi then had a daughter, Takariya. Waku also took three of Papalya’s sisters as his wives and they all lived in the desert without any knowledge of colonial settlers. Watu and Watjunka (one of the sisters) already had a son called Piyirti (also spelt Payirti and Piyiti).
After Watu died around 1964 Lanti (also known as Old Joshua) arrived from Balgo (where, according to Jeremy Long he had been burnt in a fire) and, as he was the ‘right skin’ Tjungurrayi for the sisters, he took them as his wives with Nanu as his primary one. Joshua and Nanu’s children were Tamayinya (Thomas), Yalti and Yulkulti. Lanti and Watjunka had a son called Walala who was the youngest of the extended family.
When Lanti died around 1981/1982 it was thought he had been poisoned by non-Aboriginal mining people who believed he had been entering their camp stealing tinned meat. The twice widowed Papalya and Nanu, who had been told about colonial settlers by Lanti and were scared sent Warlimpirrnga and his half-brother, Piyirti, to search for relatives they hadn’t seen for many years. They came across Pinta Pinta Tjapanangka and his son, Matthew, fixing a flat tyre not far from Kiwirrkura.
In October 1984, with no male elder now part of the group and the knowledge all nine were related and that inbreeding could be a possibility, seven Aboriginal men from Kiwirrkura, including Freddy West (who knew the family before he had contact with colonial settlers), went searching for the group.
Fearing they would be scared seeing clothed Aboriginals the seven stripped naked and convinced the group to return to Kiwirrkura with them. The group comprised of Papalya and Nanu (the widows), in their mid 50’s, Piyiti about 26, Warlimpirrnga about 25, Takariya about 24, Tamayinya about 15, Yalti about 14, Yukultji about 12 or 13 and Walala about 12. Up until this time they had had no personal contact with Europeans.
Their arrival in Kiwirrkura made international headlines and they became known as ‘The Lost Tribe’ and ‘The Pintupi Nine’ (These first contact experiences were the focus of one episode of Robert Hughes’ Beyond the Fatal Shore 2000 documentary for the BBC and ABC).
After a few months Piyiti crept away from Kiwirrkura and walked back to the desert. Warlimpirrnga has said he is the only one who knows where Piyiti is and has often seen him.
In 1987 Warlimpirrnga began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in Kiwirrkura and in 1988 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi exhibited his first 11 works which were purchased by Ron and Nellie Castan and donated to the National Gallery of Victoria.
Warlimpirringa encouraged his brothers, Tamayinya (Thomas) and Walala, to paint and by the late 1990’s all three, along with Dr George Tjapaltjarri, were painting for Gallery Gondwana in Alice Springs.
Warlimpirrnga’s first wife was Yalti Napangati, the oldest daughter of Lanti and Nanu Nangala, his mother’s younger sister and they shared two sons and two daughters.
Warlimpirrnga paints his Dreamings which includes Snake, and Tingari Cycle (the celestial ancestors of the Pintupi people who travelled the desert country teaching Lore (law), creating Songlines and the landscape and all on it which became sacred or sacred sites, including the sites of Marawa, Kanapilya, Kalparti, Minatapinya.
Warlimpirrnga’s work was included in the Art Gallery of NSW’s 2000 Papunya Tula – genesis and genius exhibition and he and three other artists travelled to Sydney to make a large sand painting for the opening of the exhibition. The astonishing art in the exhibition by Papunya Tula’s renowned Western Desert artists can still be seen in the exhibition’s book ‘Papunya Tula – genesis and genius’ (ISBN 0 7347 6306 9 (pbk.) and ISBN 0 7347 6310 7).
In 2015 Warlimpirrnga travelled to New York for his first international solo exhibition which was held in Salon 94. It was a sell-out with some of Warlimpirrnga’s paintings selling for over $80,000. One of the purchasers was the actor, comic, writer and avid art collector, Steve Martin. Mr Martin now has many Aboriginal paintings and part of what fascinates him about Aboriginal art is what he calls its ‘lack of irony’. Unlike a lot of contemporary art, ‘there is no question of it being either safe or daring. The work is directly proportionate to the emotions of the artist’. (Smee, Sebastian, Steve Martin, the unexpected advocate for Aboriginal art, Washington Post, 21 May 2019).
Warlimpirrnga has been recognised as one of the most collectable Aboriginal artists for many years. He now lives in Kiwirrkura and travels to Alice Springs from time to time.
Collections include:
Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney
Musée du Quai Branly in Paris
Toledo Art Museum in Ohio
Harvard Art Museum in Massachusetts
View Artist
Language: Pintupi
Country: Gibson Desert
Warlimpirrnga was born around 1955 at Tjuulnga in Pintupi country, near where the community of Kiwirrkurra was later established. His mother, Papalya Nangala and father, Waku Tjungurrayi then had a daughter, Takariya. Waku also took three of Papalya’s sisters as his wives and they all lived in the desert without any knowledge of colonial settlers. Watu and Watjunka (one of the sisters) already had a son called Piyirti (also spelt Payirti and Piyiti).
After Watu died around 1964 Lanti (also known as Old Joshua) arrived from Balgo (where, according to Jeremy Long he had been burnt in a fire) and, as he was the ‘right skin’ Tjungurrayi for the sisters, he took them as his wives with Nanu as his primary one. Joshua and Nanu’s children were Tamayinya (Thomas), Yalti and Yulkulti. Lanti and Watjunka had a son called Walala who was the youngest of the extended family.
When Lanti died around 1981/1982 it was thought he had been poisoned by non-Aboriginal mining people who believed he had been entering their camp stealing tinned meat. The twice widowed Papalya and Nanu, who had been told about colonial settlers by Lanti and were scared sent Warlimpirrnga and his half-brother, Piyirti, to search for relatives they hadn’t seen for many years. They came across Pinta Pinta Tjapanangka and his son, Matthew, fixing a flat tyre not far from Kiwirrkura.
In October 1984, with no male elder now part of the group and the knowledge all nine were related and that inbreeding could be a possibility, seven Aboriginal men from Kiwirrkura, including Freddy West (who knew the family before he had contact with colonial settlers), went searching for the group.
Fearing they would be scared seeing clothed Aboriginals the seven stripped naked and convinced the group to return to Kiwirrkura with them. The group comprised of Papalya and Nanu (the widows), in their mid 50’s, Piyiti about 26, Warlimpirrnga about 25, Takariya about 24, Tamayinya about 15, Yalti about 14, Yukultji about 12 or 13 and Walala about 12. Up until this time they had had no personal contact with Europeans.
Their arrival in Kiwirrkura made international headlines and they became known as ‘The Lost Tribe’ and ‘The Pintupi Nine’ (These first contact experiences were the focus of one episode of Robert Hughes’ Beyond the Fatal Shore 2000 documentary for the BBC and ABC).
After a few months Piyiti crept away from Kiwirrkura and walked back to the desert. Warlimpirrnga has said he is the only one who knows where Piyiti is and has often seen him.
In 1987 Warlimpirrnga began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in Kiwirrkura and in 1988 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi exhibited his first 11 works which were purchased by Ron and Nellie Castan and donated to the National Gallery of Victoria.
Warlimpirringa encouraged his brothers, Tamayinya (Thomas) and Walala, to paint and by the late 1990’s all three, along with Dr George Tjapaltjarri, were painting for Gallery Gondwana in Alice Springs.
Warlimpirrnga’s first wife was Yalti Napangati, the oldest daughter of Lanti and Nanu Nangala, his mother’s younger sister and they shared two sons and two daughters.
Warlimpirrnga paints his Dreamings which includes Snake, and Tingari Cycle (the celestial ancestors of the Pintupi people who travelled the desert country teaching Lore (law), creating Songlines and the landscape and all on it which became sacred or sacred sites, including the sites of Marawa, Kanapilya, Kalparti, Minatapinya.
Warlimpirrnga’s work was included in the Art Gallery of NSW’s 2000 Papunya Tula – genesis and genius exhibition and he and three other artists travelled to Sydney to make a large sand painting for the opening of the exhibition. The astonishing art in the exhibition by Papunya Tula’s renowned Western Desert artists can still be seen in the exhibition’s book ‘Papunya Tula – genesis and genius’ (ISBN 0 7347 6306 9 (pbk.) and ISBN 0 7347 6310 7).
In 2015 Warlimpirrnga travelled to New York for his first international solo exhibition which was held in Salon 94. It was a sell-out with some of Warlimpirrnga’s paintings selling for over $80,000. One of the purchasers was the actor, comic, writer and avid art collector, Steve Martin. Mr Martin now has many Aboriginal paintings and part of what fascinates him about Aboriginal art is what he calls its ‘lack of irony’. Unlike a lot of contemporary art, ‘there is no question of it being either safe or daring. The work is directly proportionate to the emotions of the artist’. (Smee, Sebastian, Steve Martin, the unexpected advocate for Aboriginal art, Washington Post, 21 May 2019).
Warlimpirrnga has been recognised as one of the most collectable Aboriginal artists for many years. He now lives in Kiwirrkura and travels to Alice Springs from time to time.
Collections include:
Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney
Musée du Quai Branly in Paris
Toledo Art Museum in Ohio
Harvard Art Museum in Massachusetts
Willy Tjungarrayi
Born: c. 1958
Language: Pintupi
Region: Haast Bluff & Papunya
Narpula Scobie Napurrula was born near Haasts Bluff in 1950. The family moved to
around Papunya and then later to Kintore. Narpula’s parents were Toba Tjakamarra
and Nganyima Napaltjarri, and her brother was the late great artist Turkey Tolson
Tjupurrula and her half-sister, the late great Mitjili Napurrula. Both are represented
in the National Gallery of Australia and many other public institutions.
Initially Narpula assisted with the background painting for her husband, Johnny
Scobie Tjapanangka, a founding Papunya Tula artist, in the early 1970s before she
began painting independently in 1982. Until the mid-1990s Narpula was the only
female Papunya Tula artist working in the Pintupi communities of Papunya, Kintore
and Kiwirrkura.
When Johnny Scobie Tjapanangka died in 2000, Narpula moved to Mt Liebig with
her son and daughter-in-law, Fabrianne Peterson, who had also begun painting in
the late 1980s.
Narpula paints stories associated with the Dreaming of her brother Turkey Tolson
Tjupurrula and Women’s Ceremonies including ceremonial body painting motifs. One story is the ancestral women travelling from Mitukatjirra in the south to Ngutjul.
Narpula lives in Mt Liebig and continues to tell the ancient stories through ceremonial
sand painting and on canvas.
Collections include:
Australian Museum, Sydney NSW
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
South Australian Museum, Adelaide
Robert Holmes à Court Collections, WA
Flinders Art Museum, Adelaide SA
Richard Kelton Art Collection, Santa Monica, USA
Thomas Vroom Collection
Artbank NSW
View Artist
Language: Pintupi
Region: Haast Bluff & Papunya
Narpula Scobie Napurrula was born near Haasts Bluff in 1950. The family moved to
around Papunya and then later to Kintore. Narpula’s parents were Toba Tjakamarra
and Nganyima Napaltjarri, and her brother was the late great artist Turkey Tolson
Tjupurrula and her half-sister, the late great Mitjili Napurrula. Both are represented
in the National Gallery of Australia and many other public institutions.
Initially Narpula assisted with the background painting for her husband, Johnny
Scobie Tjapanangka, a founding Papunya Tula artist, in the early 1970s before she
began painting independently in 1982. Until the mid-1990s Narpula was the only
female Papunya Tula artist working in the Pintupi communities of Papunya, Kintore
and Kiwirrkura.
When Johnny Scobie Tjapanangka died in 2000, Narpula moved to Mt Liebig with
her son and daughter-in-law, Fabrianne Peterson, who had also begun painting in
the late 1980s.
Narpula paints stories associated with the Dreaming of her brother Turkey Tolson
Tjupurrula and Women’s Ceremonies including ceremonial body painting motifs. One story is the ancestral women travelling from Mitukatjirra in the south to Ngutjul.
Narpula lives in Mt Liebig and continues to tell the ancient stories through ceremonial
sand painting and on canvas.
Collections include:
Australian Museum, Sydney NSW
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
South Australian Museum, Adelaide
Robert Holmes à Court Collections, WA
Flinders Art Museum, Adelaide SA
Richard Kelton Art Collection, Santa Monica, USA
Thomas Vroom Collection
Artbank NSW
