Willy Tjungurrayi
Australian Aboriginal Artist
Willy Tjungurrayi Born: 1936 c Region: Western Desert Community Centre: Kintore, Papunya, Haasts Bluff Country: Patjantja, south west of Kintore Language Bloc: Western Desert Language: Pintupi Social Affiliations: Tjungurrayi subsectionMedium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Subjects: Tingari, Kuniya at Karrilwarra.
Collections:
Artbank, Sydney.
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide.
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra.
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth.
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, U.S.A.
Exhibitions:
Group Exhibitions:
1982, Georges Gallery, Melbourne.
1982, Brisbane Festival, 1982, Mori Gallery, Sydney
1983, Papunya: paintings from the Central Australian Desert, touring exhibition, America and Europe.
1985, Dot and Circle, a retrospective survey of the Aboriginal acrylic paintings of Central Australia, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne
1987, Art and Aboriginality, Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth, UK
1988, Australian Aboriginal Graphics from the Collection of the Flinders University Art Museum.
1989, Aboriginal Art: The Continuing Tradition, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
1991, The Painted Dream: Contemporary Aboriginal Paintings from the Tim and Vivien Johnson Collection, Auckland Art Gallery and Te Whare Taonga o Aoteroa National Art Gallery, New Zealand 1994, Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs.
1994, Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Select Bibliography:
Butler, R., 1986, 'From dreamtime to machine time,' Imprint 21(3-4), 10. (C)
Crocker, A. (ed.), 1981, Mr Sandman Bring Me a Dream, Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, Alice Springs and Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd, Sydney. (C)
Johnson, V.,1987, Art and Aboriginality, exhib. cat., Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth, UK Kean, J., 1993, Yarnangu Ngaanya at PICA, FAR, June/July 1993
Johnson, V., 1994, The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists,Craftsman House, East Roseville, New South Wales. (C)
Maughan, J., and Zimmer, J., (eds), 1986, Dot and Circle, a Retrospective Survey of the Aboriginal Acrylic Paintings of Central Australia, exhib. cat., Communication Services Unit, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne. (C)
Neale, M., 1994, Yiribana, exhib. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. (C)
� Discovery Media, Documentation Pty Ltd, and the Australian
Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Notes:
Born at Patjantja, south-west of Lake Mackay, c.1936. Willy was raised by Charlie TARAWA, who was Willy's father's brother. Willy was raised 'in the bush'-'naked' with 'only nulla nulla and woomera'. It was Charlie's camels which eventually brought the family in to Haasts Bluffin the late '50s and from there to Papunya. Willy began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in 1976 during the '80s since emerged as one of the senior Pintupi painters. His country lies a short distance to the south west of Kintore, around Kulkuta, Tjukula, Warrabri, Malka, Yumari, Tjitikulpa and Patjanytja. In the early '80s he joined the move back to the Pintupi homelands and now lives with his family in Kintore.