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Jack Britten Burrup Nyitka – Sunrise over Bungle Bungles

Rover Thomas & Kimberley Ochre Walk Through

It’s a wonderful experience to see a group of paintings by famous, now deceased artists. We are in the East Kimberley with collections from some of the really great names from Turkey Creek/ Warmun community. Artists like Jack Britten and Rover Thomas, Queenie McKenzie and Freddie Timms, and the slightly more contemporary Shirley Purdie. It’s…

Kurun Warun, Yidarki

Kurun Warun Painting A Moment In Time

Artist Kurun Warun travels twice a year with a school tour group to a remote region of the Northern Territory. We caught up with him near Mataranka, 420 km southeast of the territory capital Darwin at a place called Bitter Springs. The Springs are part of the Little Roper system and are home to many…

Minyma Kutjara

Art and Stories from APY Lands

Australia’s APY Lands What does APY Lands stand for? APY stands for Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara. It is a remote area to the north-west of South Australia mostly inhabited by Aboriginal people living in small townships on their traditional land. How big is the APY Lands? APY Lands cover approximately 103,000 km², roughly as big as…

Patrick Freddy Puruntatameri  |  Jilamara | Jap 018031

Jilamara Arts and Craft From Strength to Strength

Will Heathcote from Jilamara Arts and Craft at Milikapiti talks about the artists’ achievement highlights for 2020.

Jacinta Lorenzo  |  Jilamara | Jap 018020

Tiwi Art Jilamara Exhibition Walk Through

Will Heathcote, Studio & Workshops Coordinator at Jilamara Arts and Craft, talks featured artists in the 2021 Japingka exhibition.

Womens Collaborative  |  Kungkarungkalpa |
Jap 017679

2020 Stunning Spinifex Women’s Collaborative

The 2020 Spinifex Women’s Collaborative is a masterpiece that forms the highlight of the 2020 Spinifex Arts Project exhibition at Japingka.

Joylene Reid Napangardi  |  Womens Ceremony |
Jap 015856

2020 Staff Christmas Picks Under $700

We asked the Japingka staff to choose a painting they’d like to get for Christmas. Here is our in-house Santa wish list. If you’d like to do some Christmas shopping for yourself here’s a full list of Aboriginal art by price range. If you are looking for a special present, give us a call and…

Timo Hogan, Spinifex Artists, Japingka Gallery IMG_6957

We Celebrate This Masterpiece From Timo Hogan

Ian Plunkett from Japingka Gallery talks about Timo Hogan’s masterpiece, featured in the latest exhibition from the The Spinifex Arts Project.

Seven Sisters

Here’s A Couple of Our Personal Favourites

Gallery director Ian Plunkett shows off two of his personal favourite artworks by Rosella Namok and Sonya Edney.

Ian Rictor  |  Tuwan |
Jap 017701

Early Christmas Excitement With Spinifex Arts

Ian Plunkett describes Japingka Gallery’s long and proud association with Spinifex Arts Project. He shares the story of the excitement in the gallery as the new Spinifex works were unpacked. Meeting Spinifex Arts Project For The First Time We work with a lot of Indigenous owned and run art centres and we’ve always had a…

Spinifex artists exhibition at Japingka 2020

Spinifex Artists Project 2020 Exhibition Walk Through

In this article, David Wroth from Japingka Gallery walks us through some of the works from the upcoming major exhibition for The Spinifex Arts Project. It’s always a wonderful experience when a Spinifex Artists exhibition goes up on the walls at Japingka Gallery. We’ve been showing this community since 2002, so there’s a long history,…

Dorothy Napangardi exhibition at Japingka Gallery

Dorothy Napangardi Exhibition Walk Through

David Wroth from Japingka Gallery talks about some of the artworks from the Dorothy Napangardi Retrospective. Japingka is currently hosting the Dorothy Napangardi Retrospective. We have these wonderful big black and white canvases telling the story of a particularly significant place in the desert, Mina Mina. Dorothy draws on all the aspects of the story…

Makinti Napanangka

Stunning Major Work By Makinti Napanangka

Gallery Director Ian Plunkett introduces this major work by artist Makinti Napanangka. This particular painting is one we’ve had for quite a few years. We haven’t had it on general display simply because we realized the importance of it. It was a work that we really wanted to hang on to. It’s a major painting…

Warmun Artists, Gordon Barney PK19008_

Meet The Warmun Artists Featured in New Japingka Exhibition

Dominic Kavanagh is the Gallery Coordinator at Warmun Art Centre. In this interview Dominic talks about some of the artists whose work is featured in the upcoming Japingka exhibition. Patrick Mung Mung Patrick is the son of George Mung Mung. George Mung Mung was a famed two-way communicator of Gija heritage. He talked a lot…

Artists at Maningrida Art Centre

Ingrid Johanson is the former Manager of Bábbarra Women’s Centre in Maningrida in Arnhem Land. In this interview, Ingrid discusses the centre, the artists, the designs and a recent trip by the artists for an exhibition in Paris. A new exhibtion of works from Bábbarra Women’s Centre and Maningrida Arts and Culture opens this July…

Warmun Art Centre Artists - by Dominic Kavanagh

Ochre Painting By Warmun Artists

Dominic Kavanagh is the Gallery Coordinator at Warmun Art Centre. In this interview Dominic talks about the art centre, the artists and the ochre medium, the Warmun art style and how he came to take up the role of Gallery Coordinator. Works from Warmun Art Centre will feature in a new exhibition at Japingka Gallery…

Kluge-Ruhe Collection- Beyond Dreamings exhibition

Aboriginal Art in the USA

This article traces the emergence of Australian Aboriginal art as major focus in the American art scene. Aboriginal art has moved at some point from being an ethnographic study to being a contemporary art form with international appeal. Some of the turning points are found in the USA, starting with the Dreamings exhibition held in…

Families & Watercolour Painting Traditions From Central Australia

Marisa Maher is part of the team at Many Hands Art Centre. She is an Indigenous Aranda woman. The Arrernte Aboriginal people live on their traditional lands at Alice Springs and the surrounding areas of Central Australia.  Marisa is part of the extended clan group who gather together at the art centre to continue the…

Watercolour Landscapes from Aboriginal Artists of Central Australia

David Wroth from Japingka Gallery takes us on a tour of a watercolour exhibition from Central Australia that explores how the different generations approach painting their homelands. The watercolour painters of Central Australia are amongst the most recognisable of Aboriginal artist groups. Albert Namatjira began painting the West MacDonnell landscapes in his ancestral country in…

This is a painting of the Seven Sisters Dreaming story by Madeline Curley & Carolanne Ken

Anangu Aboriginal Artists And Their Dreamtime Stories

David Wroth from Japingka Gallery talks about new works from Aboriginal artists of the APY lands in South Australia.. Artists from the APY lands in South Australia have built a strong profile over the last fifteen years. Their work is known for the use of vibrant colour and stories that link powerfully into the ancestral…

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Australian Aboriginal Dot Painting

Aboriginal dot painting is a well recognised style used by Australian Aboriginal artists. Emerging in the 1970s, it has become a medium for telling stories and enlivening culture. Early Origins of Aboriginal Dot Painting Styles Aboriginal peoples have used dots in art and other forms of expression for a very long time. Dots can be…

Betty Pula Morton | My Country – Bush Medicine Plants | Jap 016442

Betty Pula Morton Shortlisted for 2019 Hadley’s Art Prize

The Bush Garden – Artists of Ampilatwatja exhibition is an exciting collection of works from this small community north-east from Alice Springs. One artist included in the show is Betty Pula Morton. Betty has just been short listed for the prestigious Hadley’s Art Prize. This award celebrates paintings and drawings of the Australian landscape by…

Sonya Edney - My Journey Through Ingarrda Country

A Walk Through of Sonya’s Edney’s First Solo Show

Sonya Edney at Japingka Gallery The first painting in Sonya’s exhibition is one that Sonya completed early in the range of artworks that she painted for her show. It’s on the cover of the exhibition invitation. This is a really strong image of Gascoyne Country, and you feel it draws you into the landscape. It…

Betty Pula Morton  |  My Country – Bush Medicine Plants |
Jap 016442

Artists of Ampilatwatja Share Their Bush Garden

David Wroth from Japingka Gallery talks about the dazzling new exhibition from the artists of Ampilatwatja. In Gallery Two we have the exhibition titled Bush Garden from the Artists of Ampilatwatja in Central Australia. It’s always a joy to see their paintings. They are small works which carry great charm and immediately engage your attention.…

Barramundi Dreaming | Phyllis Thomas | Jap 003649

Phyllis Thomas, Barramundi and Diamonds

This ochre work from the Kimberley tells a very special ancient story. David Wroth tells us the story behind the painting. We have a beautiful ochre painting from Phyllis Thomas hanging in the gallery. It comes from the East Kimberley and it is executed as a very monotone work. There is a soft pink background…

Umutju by Tommy Watson | Jap 016336

Tommy Watson Celebrates Western Desert

A painting by Tommy Watson has just arrived at Japingka Gallery and created considerable interest and excitement. David Wroth tells us about this latest addition to the gallery collection.

Hills on Texas Downs Country

Stunning Queenie McKenzie Work Returns

Ian Plunkett shares his thoughts about a special painting that has just come back from France. Recently I was talking about paintings coming back into the gallery. These are works that we sold several years ago. It’s always great to see an old friend come back, especially special paintings like this Queenie McKenzie painting. It…

Patsy Mudgedell Animal Painting

About Authority, Authenticity and Spiritual Awakening

Patsy Mudgedell is an artist from the Warlayirti Artists community. She reflects on the importance of authority and authenticity in the passing on of stories and the care of the land. Patsy describes as this time of spiritual awakening and her belief in the Lore of Love.

Lucy Loomoo at Work in Studio at Balgo

The Working Life of a Studio Manager at Warlayirti Artists

Poppy Lever is Studio Coordinator for Warlayirti Artists. In this interview Poppy talks about her role and her hopes for the art centre going into the future.

IMG_8203-e1555575764277

Talking With Warlayirti Artists

Winifred Nanala – Artist   Winifred is an experienced artist who comes from a well-known family of painters. Her parents were artists and she has many sisters who have become artists as well. Her sister Elizabeth Gordon had the first Warlayirti Artists solo exhibition back in the early 1990’s. FamilyI belong to the Napaltjarri skin…

Amanda Westley Exhibition Image

Amanda Westley at Home on the Coorong

Amanda Westley is part of the Ngarrindjeri clan in South Australia. In this interview, she talks about her latest exhibition at Japingka. Amanda reflects on the experience of joining an endangered language program and her new interest in weaving. Her busy life juggling a young family plus her language group and community involvement have become…

Kudditji Kngwarreye  |  Ankerre – Emu Dreaming at Alhalkere | Jap 004066

Amanda Westley & Kudditji Kngwarreye Spirit of Place

Bringing together the contrasting styles of Amanda Westley, a young South Australian artist and Kudditji Kngwarreye, a renowned artist from Utopia.

Lanita Numina  |  Dingo Dreaming | Jap 014764

The Numina Sisters and Stories From Central Australia

Bringing together the contrasting styles of Amanda Westley, a young South Australian artist and Kudditji Kngwarreye, a renowned artist from Utopia.

Rockholes and Country Near The Olgas by Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri Jap 015886

Rare Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri Masterpiece Returns

Rockholes and Country Near The Olgas by Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri Jap 015886 It is not every day that you discover an extraordinary new talent. In this article, Japingka’s Ian Plunkett tells the story of how he came to see the first paintings by artist Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri. He describes the return of this special work…

Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

A New Way of Telling The Australian Story

It’s not so long ago that the telling of Australian history in schools and cultural institutions was all about the white settlement and European explorers. Just recently I returned to Sydney for the first time in fifteen years and I got to see the extent of change in how Australian history and culture is now…

Patrick Tjungurrayi | Untitled

Landscape Colours and Patterns on Show At Japingka

We are excited to start off the year with the Landscape Colours exhibition this Friday night at Japingka. The collection draws together some famous artists’ work sitting alongside the art of some very talented rising stars. 

We wanted to show how Aboriginal people respond to landscape. We also wanted to celebrate the extraordinary diversity in…

Tommy Watson | My Country |Jap 015762

Let’s Take A Look Through The Landscape Colours Exhibition

In this article David Wroth takes you for a walkthrough of The Landscape Colours exhibition. The Landscape Colours exhibition draws together some of the best-known artists along with some other great artists represented by the gallery. The concept was to show how Aboriginal people respond to landscape. We also wanted to showcase the colour palettes…

Tingari by Walala Tjapaltjarri

The Pintupi Artists of the Western Desert

In this article David Wroth takes you on a walkthrough of the Pintupi Artists exhibition. In Gallery 2 we have the exhibition Pintupi Artists of the Western Desert. It’s said that the human brain is built for recognising patterns. These Pintupi artists have an extraordinary talent for creating structured patterns and designs that represent different aspects…

Feature Small is B 015507

Small is Beautiful – An Exhibition Walkthrough

The Small is Beautiful exhibition opens on 16 November and has some wonderful works contributed by communities and artists from around Australia. Bark Paintings There are some very delicate little bark paintings from Yirrkala. They come from the Buku-Larrnggay community.  These wonderfully painted barks, some of them just maybe 40 centimetres tall, are quite compact and…

Ghost Net Baskets from Groote Eylandt

Ghost Net Baskets and Silk Scarves by Anindilyakwa Arts Centre

We are exhibiting a wonderful collection of ghost net baskets from the Aboriginal artists on Groote Eylandt who work with Anindilyakwa Art Centre. The concept behind these works is quite extraordinary. Fishing ropes, nets, and the plastic debris drift into the island from commercial fishing boats. They are called ghost nets because they are carried…