Tarisse King

Who is Tarisse King Nampin?

Tarisse King Nampin was born in Adelaide in 1986. She shares the artistic limelight with her sister, Sarrita King Nmapin, as both follow in the footsteps of their late father, the highly regarded artist, William King Jungala (1966 – 2007).

What is Tarisse’s connection to Wave Hill?

Tarisse has her Aboriginal inheritance from her father, who was from the Gurindji clan in the Northern Territory. The Gurindji people were drawn into the public gaze during the 1960s and 1970s when the Wave Hill strike by Aboriginal workers on the cattle station, led a landmark case and the first successful land rights claim in Australia.

Tarisse now has two small children of her own, and paints as often as she is able with a young family. She lived most of her early life in Darwin, Australia’s most northerly capital city, which is subject to extreme weather conditions, from torrential rain and cyclones in the wet season to oppressive heat in the dry season.

Major Art Themes: The Salt Lakes

While the features of the extreme climate are represented in her artwork, Tarisse King Nampin’s paintings mostly reflect the road trips she made between Darwin, Katherine and Adelaide, where her father lived. This journey of 3,027 km through the heart lands of Australia, revealed the expanses of changing landscape and gave Tarisse King the isolation and time to develop a unique perception of the land. The influence of these trips can be seen in her paintings such as the Salt Lake series.

When Tarisse King moved to Adelaide at the age of 16, her interaction with her father’s art led her to experiment with her own designs and techniques, resulting in a definable style of her own. Drawing on the Central and Western Desert Aboriginal dotting style of painting the land topographically, Tarisse King captures the complex and varied soul of the land.

In all of her artworks, Tarisse creates a contemporary representation of her ancient heritage and allows the present day viewer an accessible moment to consider the past.

A Full Time Career As An Artist

From her early twenties Tarisse King has been a full-time artist, participating in over twenty exhibitions across Australia and in Europe. Her work is found in high profile Australian and international art collections.

Aboriginal Art Status

Rising Star

Selected Group Exhibitions

2008       Aboriginal Art Auction, Customs House, Sydney NSW
2008       Canterbury Art Exhibition, Canterbury VIC
2008       The EWB exhibition, 14 exhibitions across Australia
2010       Canterbury Art Exhibition, Canterbury VIC
2011       In Black and White, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2021       Top Ten Artists 2020, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2020       Sounds of Summer, Japingka Gallery, Perth
2020       60 by 60 – Small Paintings, Japingka Gallery, Perth

Major Exhibitions

2009       William, Tarisse & Sarrita King, Aboriginal Art Galleries, Sydney NSW
2009       Kaminabend mit Tarisse & Sarrita King, (Aboriginal Art Galerie, Brit‘s Art, Übach-Palenberg, Germany
2009       The King Sisters, Blue Gum Gallery, QVB, Sydney NSW
2009       The Three Kings, Bennelong Gallery, Sydney NSW
2009       The Three Kings, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney NSW
2010       Rising Stars, Tarisse & Sarrita King, Aboriginal Art Galleries, Sydney NSW
2010       The King Sisters, Mason Art Gallery
2010       In Our Father’s Eyes: works by Tarisse and Sarrita King, Aboriginal Dreamtime Art Gallery, Los Angeles USA
2010       Contemporary Auction, Art Curial, France
2010       Fire & Lightning: Sarrita & Tarisse King, Central Art, Alice Springs NT
2010       The King Sisters, Red Desert Dreaming Gallery, The Hilton, South Melbourne VIC
2013       King Sisters: Sarrita and Tarisse King, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2014       Sarrita King and Tarisse King, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2016       Sarrita King & Tarisse King 2016, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2017       Ancestors, Element, Heritage – Sarrita King & Tarisse King, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA
2019       Tarisse King & Sarrita King, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle WA

View:

Exhibition: The King Sisters – Sarrita King & Tarisse King – 2013
Exhibition: Sarrita King & Tarisse King – 2014
Exhibition: Sarrita King & Tarisse King – 2016
Exhibition: Ancestors, Elements, Heritage – Sarrita King & Tarisse King – 2017
Exhibition: Tarisse King & Sarrita King – 2019
Sarrita & Tarisse King – Reflecting On Gurindji and Wave Hill