Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri Alternative Spelling: Warlimpirr, Wallmpirrn Born: c1958 State: WA Region: Western Desert, Gibson Desert Community: Kintore, Kiwirrkura Art centre: Warlayirti Artists; Papunya Tula Language: Pintupi Social Affiliation: Tjapaltjarri subsection Subjects: Tingari, Mulpu Collections: National Gallery of Victoria, Aus. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Aus. University of Sydney Union, Aus. Musee National Des Arts Africains et Oceaniens, France The Kelton Foundation Collection, USA. Macquarie Bank Collection. Artbank. Griffith University Art Collection. Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge, MA Toledo Musuem of Art, Toledo, OH Solo Exhibitions: 2015 Maparntjarra, Salon 94 Bowery, New York, NY 2014 George Tjungurrayi - Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2009 Warlimpirrnga Tjaplatjarri - Patrick Tjungurrayi, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 1988 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Aus. Group Exhibitions: 2017 On View, Olsen Gruin Gallery, New York, NY 2016 From the Western Desert, James Makin Gallery, Victoria, Aus. 2015 No Boundaries: Aboriginal Australian Contemporary Abstract Painting, Perez Art Museum Miami, FL 2014 The 38th Alice Prize, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2014 Abstraction, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2014 RETICULATION, A Multi Authored Survey Of The USU Art Collection, Verge Gallery, Sydney, NSW, 2014 Parcours des Mondes, Arts d Australie, Stephane Jacob, Paris, France 2013 Travelling Through Country, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2013 Painting Now, Papunya Tula Artists, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2013 Salon des refuses, Darwin, Northern Territory, Aus. 2013 Desert Mob 2013, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2013 George Tjungurrayi, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa & Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, ReDot Fine Art Gallery, Singapore Recent Works, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2013 Community V, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 2013 Papunya Tula Artists, Masters of The Western Desert Of Australia, Harvey Art Projects USA, Sun Valley, 2012 Classic Works from Papunya Tula Artists, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. documenta Kassel, Germany 2012 Visual Rhythm, Cross Cultural Art Exchange, Darwin, Northern Territory, Aus. 2012 Desert Mob 2012, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2012 Tjukurrpa Ngaatjanya Maru Kamu Tjulkura - Dreaming In Black And White, ReDot Gallery, Singapore. 40th Anniversary Show, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2012 Unique Perspectives, Papunya Tula Artists and The Alice Springs Community, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT, Aus. 2012 Community IV, Celebrating Forty Years of Papunya Tula Artists, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, 2012 Papunya Tula: Works on Paper, Art Gallery Of New South Wales, Sydney, Aus. 2011 Art Karlsruhe 2011, Karlsruhe, Germany. 2011 Revival in Small, Artkelch, Freiburg, Germany. 2011 40 Years of Paunya Tula Artists, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. Aboriginal Art 2011, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2011 Pintupi Trails 2011, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2011 Australia in Two Colours, Artkelch Collectors Lounge, Schorndorf, Germany 2011 Recent Pintupi Works, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2010 Aboriginal Art 2010, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2010 Art Bodensee 2010, Dornbirn, Austria 2010 Papunya Tula Artists: Art of the Western Desert, Harvey Art Projects USA, Sun Valley, ID Wilkinkarralakutu - Journeys To Lake Mackay, Cross Cultural Art Exchange, Darwin, Northern Territory, Aus. 2010 Ngurra Kutju Ngurrara, Belonging To One Country, ReDot Gallery, Singapore 2009 Papunya Tula Classics, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2009 Papunya 2009, Senior Pintupi Artists, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2009 Pro Community, Papunya Tula Artists, Kunstwerk, Ebergingen-Nussdorf, Germany 2009 Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, The Chan Building, Bennett Park Darwin, Aus. 2009 26th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin, Northern Territory, Aus. 2009 Painting the Country, Cross Cultural Art Exchange, Darwin, Northern Territory, Aus. 2009 Nganana Tjungurringanyi Tjukurrpa Nintintjakitja - We Are Here Sharing Our Dreaming, 80 Washington Square East Galleries, New York, NY 2009 Pintupi 2009, Tony Bond Aboriginal Art Dealer, Adelaide, South Australia, Aus. 2009 Pro Community, Papunya Tula Artists, ArtBar71, Berlin, Germany 2009 Pro Community, Papunya Tula Artists, VDMA, Frankfurt, Germany 2009 Pro Community, Papunya Tula Artists, Artkelch, Freiburg, Germany 2009 Community - The Heart Of Papunya Tula Artists, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales. All Our Paintings, All Our Stories, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2009 Same Stories, A New Way, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2008 David Larwill and the Western Desert Artists, Stephan Wiess Studio, New York, NY 2008 Handle With Care, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 2008 New Paintings from Papunya Tula Artists, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Aus. 2008 Aboriginal Art 2008, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus 2008 2007 Group Show, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland, Aus. 2008 Big Paintings, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2008 Aboriginal Art 2007, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2008 Master Works from Papunya Tula, Birrung Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Aus. The Black and White Show, Red Dot Gallery, Singapore 2008 Elysees de l Art, Galerie Arts dAustralie - Stephane Jacob, Paris 2008 Pintupi, Mixed Exhibition Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2006 Group Show, John Gordon Gallery, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Aus. Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland, Aus. 2006 Papunya Tula Artists 2006, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. Land Marks, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. Aboriginal Art 2006, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2006 PTA, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2006 Pintupi, Hamiltons Gallery, London, UK 2006 Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2006 Pintupi Art 2006, Tony Bond Aboriginal Art Dealer, Adelaide, South Australia, Aus. Well Represented, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2006 A Particular Collection, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2006 Pintupi Dreamtime, Red Dot Gallery, Singapore. 2005 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Riddoch Art Gallery, Mount Gambier, South Aus. 2005 Papunya Tula Artists, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2005 22nd Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin, Northern Territory Aus. 2005 Aboriginal Art 2005, Scott Livesey Art Dealer, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2005 Papunya Tula - New Paintings From The Kintore Kiwirrkura Region’, John Gordon Gallery, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Aus. 2005 Pintupi Art 2005, Tony Bond Aboriginal Art Dealer, Adelaide, South Australia, Aus. 2005 Strong and Stately, Red Dot Gallery, Singapore. 2005 Living Legends of the Western Desert’, Walkabout Gallery, Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2005 Pintupi Artists, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2005 New Works From The Western Desert, Indigenart, Perth, Western Australia, Aus. 2004 Papunya Tula - Selected Paintings, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. Pintupi Art 2004, Tony Bond Aboriginal Art Dealer, Adelaide, South Australia, Aus. Native Title Business – Contemporary Indigenous Art, Gippsland Art Gallery, Victoria, Aus. Papunya Tula Artists. 2004, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2004 All About Papunya, Chapman Gallery Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Aus. 2004 Talking About Abstraction’, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, The University of NSW. 2004 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Koorie Heritage Trust, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2004 Aboriginal Art 2004, Scott Livesey Art Dealer, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2004 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania, Aust. 2004 Ma Yungu/Pass It On, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. 2004 Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 2004 Looking Closely At Country, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, The University of NSW. 2004 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Carnegie Gallery and Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania, Aus. 2004 Pintupi Artists, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2004 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Ararat Gallery, Ararat, Victoria, Aus. 2003 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Cairns Regional Gallery, Queensland, Aus. 2003 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, Qld. 2003 Pintupi Art 2003, Tony Bond Aboriginal Art Dealer, Adelaide, South Australia, Aus. 2003 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Queensland, 2003 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Cooloola Shire Public Gallery, Queensland, Aus. 2003 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Noosa Regional GAllery, Queensland, Aus. Ab Op Exploring The Visual Intensity Of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2003 Aboriginal Art 2003, Scott Livesey Art Dealer, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2003 Kintore-Kiwirrkura 2003, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2003 Pintupi Art From The Western Desert, Indigenart, Subiaco, Western Australia, Aus. 2003 Masterpieces From The Western Desert, Gavin Graham Gallery, London, UK 2003 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Aus. 2003 Papunya Tula Artists, A Gift From The Desert, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. Pintupi Artists, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2002 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2002 Aboriginal Art 2002, Scott Livesey Art Dealer, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 2002 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Quensland, Aus. 2002 William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2002 Pintupi Mens’ and Womens’ Stories, Indigenart, Subiaco, Western Australia, Aus. 2002 Art Born Of The Western Desert, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Northern Territory, Aus. 2002 Saluting Papunya, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Aus. 2002 19th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin, Northern Territory, Aus. 2002 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Gladstone Regional Art Gallery and Museum, Qld 2002 Family, Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2002 Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Duaringa Shire Art Gallery, Blackwater, Queensland, 2002 Pintupi Artists, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 2002 Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2001 Musee des Beaux Arts et dArcheologie de Vienne, France. Palm Beach Art Fair, Palm Beach, FL, 2001 Papunya Tula 2001, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2001 Kintore, Kiwirrkura, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. Dreamscapes Contemporary Desert Art, Mostings Hus, Frederiksberg, Denmark. Papunya Tula 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT, Aus. 2001 The White Show 2, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2001 Pintupi Exhibition, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. Museum’ Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 2001 Size Doesn’t Matter, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2000 Lines, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland, Aus. 2000 Indigenart, Subiaco, Western Australia, Aus. 2000 Aboriginal Art 2000, Scott Livesey Art Dealer, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 2000 Utopia Art Sydney, New South Wales, Aus. 2000 Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Aus. 2000 Pintupi Men, Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, 1999 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 1999 Two man show with Ray James Tjangala. Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 1999 The Desert Mob Art Show, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 1998 Art Gallery, Culture Store, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. 1997 Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 1996 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Australia. 1996 C.A.A.A.C.E., Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 1995 Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Aus. 1995 Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. Utopia Art, Sydney, NSW. 1994 Chapman Gallery, Manuka, Canberra, A.C.T. Aus. 1993 Dreamtime Gallery, Broadbeach, Queensland, Aus. 1990 I Ete Australien a Montpellier, Musee Fabre Galerie, Saint Ravy, Montpellier, France The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, Canada 1990 Friendly Country - Friendly People, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Aus. 1989 1990 National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus. Select Bibliography:
Crossman, S. and Barou, J-P. (eds), 1990, L'ete Australien a Montpellier: 100 Chefs d'Oevre de la Peinture Australienne, Musee Fabre, Montpellier, France. (C) Dussart, F., 1993, La Peinture des Aborigines D'Australie, Editions Parentheses, Marseille, France. Johnson, V., 1994, The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Craftsman House, East Roseville, NSW. (C) Ryan, J., 1989, Mythscapes Aboriginal Art of the Desert from the National Gallery of Victoria, exhib. cat., National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. (C) Johnson, V., 1994, The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Craftsman House, East Roseville, NSW. (C). Winter, Joan., Native Title Business, Contemporary Indigenous Art (Catalogue), Keeira Press, Qld, 2002. © Discovery Media, Documentation Pty Ltd, and the Australian
Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Notes:
Warlinipirrnga Tjapaltjarri was born east of Kiwirrkura in the late 1950s. He is the brother of artist Walala Tjapaltjarri. In late 1984, Walala and eight other relatives of the Pintupi Tribe walked out of the desert in Western Australia and made contact for the first time with European society. Described as 'The Lost Tribe', he and his family created international headlines. Until this time Warlimpirrnga and his family lived the traditional and nomadic life of a hunter-gatherer society. Their intimate knowledge of the land, its flora and fauna and waterholes allowed them to survive, as their ancestors had for thousands of years. It is this sacred landscape with its significant sites that Warlimpirrnga so strikingly describes in his paintings.
In 1987 Warlimpirrnga completed his first painting for Papunya Tula Artists and in 1988 the First eleven paintings were exhibited at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, This entire collection was purchased and donated to the National Gallery of Victoria. Warlimpirrnga exhibited with Ray James Tjangala at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in 1999. Exhibitions include 'Mythscapes (1989) and 'Friendly Country Friendly People, (1990).