
by Judy Watson Napangardi
Painting : acrylic 21.3 x 49.2 x 1.2 inch
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Artwork location: France
Judy is fond of two themes that refer to the journey undertaken in the Time of Dreams by her female ancestors, the vines and the Hair string Belt ceremonies. In her paintings, she uses a wide palette of vibrant colors and achieves harmonious compositions full of grace and chromatic subtleties. Through her tonic style Judy seeks to indicate the telluric forces set in motion by ancestors and the physical energy of sacred sites.
In this canvas, she represents the lianas of wild vines or ngalyipi. Burrowing sticks, or kuturu, having emerged from the earth at Mina Mina and Kimayi, the female ancestors picked up and used them on their journey east. During their journey, they performed ceremonies and made water appear.
They found serpent lianas (ngalyipi) which are represented by the sinuous lines drawn by Judy. The liana grows along the trunks and branches of the kurrkara (desert oak). It is used in the aboriginal pharmacopoeia and plays a role in female rites. It can also be used as a strap to carry wooden bowls filled with food (pitchis), or as a tourniquet for headaches.
About Judy Watson Napangardi
Judy was born around 1925; she died in 2016. She began painting in 1986, following the teaching of her older sister, Maggie Watson Napangardi. Judy is the custodian of the land around the Mina Mina and Yingipurlangu sites, between the Gibson Desert and the Tanami Desert.
Judy Watson Watson Napangardi is one of the greatest Aboriginal artists of the first generation. She was one of the artists selected to exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in June 2010, for an exhibition entitled "Contemporary Aboriginal Paintings from Australia".
In 1999, 2004 and 2008, she was among the "50 Most Collectable Australian Artists" according to the Australian Art Collector Magazine.
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Judy Watson began painting in the mid-1980s in the community of Yuendumu with her older sister Maggie Napangardi Watson.
Like most walpiri of this generation, she had a nomadic existence before settling in Yuendumu, making a living from hunting and gathering.
Judy is arguably the artist at this art center using such a rich color palette, though she also excels in white and black.
It was around the sites of Mina Mina, Yingipurlangu located between the Gibson desert and that of Tanami that she was initiated into the traditional knowledge from which she draws inspiration in her paintings, seeking to transmit all the quintessence and the energy that emanates from these sacred sites.
His flexible and alert technique allows him to play with color associations and complex shapes to create magnificent compositions as harmonious as they are luminous.
Deceased in 2016, Judy is considered one of the leaders of Aboriginal art. His paintings are part of important private and public collections in Australia and internationally.
Prizes received by this artist:
2003. 20th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin (Australia)
2000. Shell Fremantle Print Award (Australia)
1993. Northern Territory Art Award, Araluen Arts Center, Alice Springs (Australia)
His works are present in many collections:
Araluen Arts Center, Alice Springs (Australia) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia)
Central TAFE, Perth (Australia)
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide (Australia)
Gordon Darling Foundation, Canberra (Australia)
Helen Read Collection, Adelaide (Australia)
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (Australia)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (Australia)
Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory, Darwin (Australia)
Parliament House, Canberra (Australia)
South Australian Museum, Adelaide (Australia)
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica (United States)
The Vroom Collection, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, (Netherlands)
Philippson Collection, (Belgium)
Main personal and group exhibitions:
2016 Aborigène Galerie, St Germain-des-Prés, Paris, France
2017 “Pigments” Aborigène Galerie, Paris, France
2018 “The Last Initiates” Aborigène Galerie, Paris, France
2021 “Aboriginalité”, Philippson Collection, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Brussels, Belgium
2015. “Face to face”, DZ Galerie, Paris (France)
2013. “Artists at Nyirripi & Yuendumu”, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle (Australia)
2011. “People of the Lands”, Central Art - Aboriginal Art Store, Alice Springs (Australia)
2008. “11 Amazing Women Artists from the Central and Western Desert”, Central Art Aboriginal Art Store, Alice Springs (Australia)
2006. "Karntakurlangu - Women’s Stories", Alcaston Gallery, Sydney (Australia)
2005. “Karnta Jukurrpa”, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne (Australia)
2004. “Judy Napangardi Watson”, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne (Australia)
2004. “Big Country”, Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs (Australia)
2004. “Desert Mob Art Show”, Araluen Arts Center, Alice Springs (Australia)
2003. “Desert Mob Art Show”, Araluen Arts Center, Alice Springs (Australia)
2003. “Black and White, Color. Seeing Country in Two Ways ”, Counigan Gallery, Melbourne (Australia)
2003. “Yimi Pirrijirdi - Strong Stories”, Alison Kelly Gallery, Melbourne (Australia)
2002. “Indigenart”, Perth (Australia)
2002. “Onshore Art”, Barwon Heads (Australia)
2002. “Warlukurlangu Collection”, Parliament House, Canberra.
2002. “New Paintings from Yuendumu”, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London (England)
2002. “Warlukurlangu Arts of Yuendumu”, One Union Square Lobby, Seattle (United States)
2000. “Jangku Yinyi” Carey Baptist Grammar School, Melbourne (Australia)
2000. “Marking the Paper”, DesART Gallery, Sydney (Australia)
2000. “Wayuta”, The Desart Janganpa Gallery, Alice Springs (Australia)
2000. “Journey to the North West », Palya Art, Sydney (Australie)
2000. Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne (Australie)
2000. « Kurawari », DesART Gallery, Sydney (Australie)
2000. Beaver Galleries, Canberra (Australie)
1999. « International Women’s Day Exhibition », Watch This Space, Alice Springs (Australie)
1999. « Mina Mina », Hogarth Galleries, Sydney (Australie)
1999. « Desert Mob Show », Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs (Australie)
1998. « A Thousand Journeys », Tin Shed Gallery, University of Sydney, Sydney (Australie)
1998. Framed Gallery, Darwin (Australie)
1998. « Kurrawarri – Kirli », Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne (Australie)
1998. Art Gallery Culture Store, Rotterdam (Pays-Bas)
1997. Hogarth Gallery, Sydney (Australie)
1996. Sutton Gallery, Melbourne (Australie)
1995. Bellas Gallery, Brisbane (Australie)
1995. Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs (Australie)
1995. SOFA, Miami (États-Unis)
1994. « Echoes of the Dreamtime », Osaka (Japon)
1994. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (Australie)
1994. Armstrong Gallery, Floride (États-Unis)
1993. Adelaide Town Hall & The Pacific Arts Symposium, Adelaïde (Australie)
1993. « Chicago International New Art Forms Exposition » (États-Unis)
1993. « Northern Territory Art Award Exhibition », Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs (Australie)
1992. « Women’s Exhibition », The Women’s Gallery, Melbourne (Australie)
1992. Hogarth Gallery, Sydney (Australie)
1991. Darwin Performing Arts Centre, Darwin (Australie)
1990. « Women’s Exhibition », The Women’s Gallery, Melbourne (Australie)
1990. Darwin Performing Arts Centre, Darwin (Australie)
1989. « Yuendumu and Ramingining », Melbourne (Australie)
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