Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Painting by Wentja Napaltjarri

Details

Description

A stunning abstract painting by Australian Aboriginal artist Wentja Napaltjarri (c1945 - 2021) entitled Rockhole West of Kintore, the work … Read more A stunning abstract painting by Australian Aboriginal artist Wentja Napaltjarri (c1945 - 2021) entitled Rockhole West of Kintore, the work depicts the artist's ancestral land in Dreamtime. Diminated the painting, the concentric form is the site of the Rockhole, surrounded by the shifting desert landscape, mesmerizingly composed with tiny dots, set on a deep cobalt blue background. The edge of the canvas is marked with artist name, title, and the original catalog number.
Medium: acrylic on Belgium Linen
Provenance: Purchased by the previous owner from Art Equality. The painting was commissioned by Art Equality in conjunction with Glenis Wilkins directly from the artist in 2014. It comes with a copy of evaluation letter from Art Equality.
Wentja Napaltjarri is a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. The artist's biography is below (Courtesy of Nanda/Hobbs).
Wentja Morgan Napaltjarri was the daughter of Shorty Lungkata Tjungurrayi, one of the original founders of the Western Desert art movement.
Forced to leave their lands after the arrival of Europeans, the family journeyed an incredible distance east to reach the ration depot at Haasts Bluff. While at Haasts Bluff, Wentja met her husband, Ginger Tjakamarra, who was the son of the artist Makinti Napanangka. The couple eventually moved to Papunya, where Wentja started painting as her father's apprentice.
Wentja's early system of connecting concentric circles and dotted bands has been replaced by mesmerizing fields of tonal colors. Her paintings display a key motif, in most cases a large roundel, which represents an important Rockhole where her family regularly camped. Surrounding the Rockhole is a charged energy field of intricate dots. While she works, Wentja sings about the Rockhole, and the songs and music are incorporated into her paintings.
Wentja's work has been exhibited in leading Australian and international exhibitions, including the 2003 exhibition Masterpieces from the Western Desert, held in London. Her works are included in major collections, such as the Kerry Stokes and Thomas Vroom Collections and the National Aboriginal Art and Culture Institute in Adelaide. See less