Ronnie Tjampitjinpa Paintings

Ronnie Tjampitjinpa was born around 1943 at Tjiturrunya in the region near Munyinnga about 100km west of the Kintore Ranges in Western Australia. Ronnie Tjampitjinpa’s family travelled extensively across Pintupi territory, moving throughout this region and also in the area around Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay) which straddles the Western Australia – Northern Territory border. Ronnie Tjampitjinpa was initiated into Aboriginal Law at Yumari, near his birthplace.
After prolonged droughts in the 1950s, Ronnie moved with his family, first to Haasts Bluff, then to Papunya. Over the years, moving between Aboriginal communities station, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa talked to many people about returning to traditional lands, a move which was made possible with the establishment of Kintore (Walungurru) in 1981. Ronnie moved there with his family in the early 1980s and has since emerged as one of Papunya Tula Artists’ major painters. Today, Ronnie remains an important influence on a new generation of painters.

Ronnie Tjampijinpa’s art is a fine representation of the characteristic Pintupi sytle: a repetition of forms, which are geometric, simple and bold, and pigments which are often restricted to the four basic colours of black, red, yellow and white, although Ronnie also experiments with other colours.

The primary imagery in Ronnie Tjampitjinpa’s work are based on the Tingari Cycle which is a secret song cycle sacred to initiated Pintupi men. The Tingari are Ancestral Beings who, in the Creation Era, travelled across the landscape performing ceremonies to create and shape the country. Ronnie Tjampitjinpa’s art consistently reflects his direct ties with his culture and he can be considered amongst the first wave of artists effectively linking these ancient stories with modern mediums.

Ronnie Tjampitjinpa’s works first appeared in Papunya Tula exhibitions during the 1970s, then in commercial art galleries in Sydney and Melbourne throughout the 1980s.

Selected Exhibitions

1983 Mori Gallery, Sydney NSW
1986 Roar Studios, Melbourne VIC
1987 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne VIC
1998 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne VIC
1990 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne VIC
1990 Paintings from the Desert, Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart TAS
1990 The 7^th National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition,, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1990 National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome Italy
1991 The 8^th National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition,, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1991 Flash Pictures, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra ACT
1991 Australian Aboriginal Art from the Collection of Donald Kahn, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami USA
1991 Aboriginal Paintings from the Desert, Union of Soviet Artists Gallery, Moscow Russia
1991 Aboriginal Paintings from the Desert, Museum of Ethnographic Art, St Petersburg, Russia
1992 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Alice Springs NT
1992 The 9^th National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition,, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1993 Aboriginal Art Exhibition, Kung Gubunga, Oasis Gallery, Broadbeach QLD
1993 Tjukurrpa, Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia
1993 (1971-1993) Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth WA
1993 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Alice Springs NT
1994 Dreamings Tjukurrpa: Aboriginal Art of the Western Desert
1994 The Donald Kahn collection, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich
1994 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Alice Springs NT
1994 The 11^th National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition,, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1994 Australian heritage Commission National & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Old Parliament House, Canberra
1994 Power of the Land, Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne VIC
1994 Yiribana, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney NSW
2001 Sand, Spinifex and Salt, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2004 Travels of the Tingari – New Pintupi Works of the Western Desert, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2011 In Black and White, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2013 Landmarks and Law Grounds: Men’s Painting, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA

Collections

Artbank, Sydney
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
Campbelltown City Art Gallery
Donald Kahn Collection, Lowe Art Museum, Uni of Miami
Musee des Arts Africans et Oceaniens, Paris
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth