John Mawurndjul
Encyclopedia
John Mawurndjul is an Australia
n contemporary Indigenous artist
. Mawurndjul's artwork is highly regarded internationally. He uses traditional motifs in innovative ways to express spiritual and cultural values.
He is a member of the Kuninjku people of West Arnhem Land
, Northern Territory
, and grew up with only occasional contact with non-indigenous people and culture. His is currently living a traditional lifestyle at an outstation
near Maningrida
which includes hunting and a continuation of his paintings.
at the Hermitage Museum
in Russia. The exhibition received a positive reception from Russian critics, one of whom wrote:
His work was subsequently the subject of a major retrospective in Basel (2005) and in Hanover's Sprengel Museum (2006).
2003 saw Mawurndjul named by Australian Art Collector magazine as one of the country's 50 most collectible artists. His works have been singled out for praise by many critics, including Art Gallery of New South Wales
senior curator Hetti Perkins, and artist Danie Mellor
.
, Art Gallery of South Australia
, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Artbank, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Djomi Museum, Kluge Collection, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Museum of Contemporary Art
, National Gallery of Australia
, National Gallery of Victoria
, National Maritime Museum, and Queensland Art Gallery
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n contemporary Indigenous artist
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians. It is generally regarded as beginning with a painting movement that started at Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in 1971, involving artists such as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri...
. Mawurndjul's artwork is highly regarded internationally. He uses traditional motifs in innovative ways to express spiritual and cultural values.
He is a member of the Kuninjku people of West Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, and grew up with only occasional contact with non-indigenous people and culture. His is currently living a traditional lifestyle at an outstation
Outstation
Historically, an outstation was a subsidiary homestead or other dwelling, on Australian sheep or cattle stations which were large enough to have more than a day's travel between different parts of the property....
near Maningrida
Maningrida, Northern Territory
Maningrida is a self-governing indigenous community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory. Maningrida is located 500 km east of Darwin and 300 km north east of Jabiru. It is on the North Central Arnhem Land coast of the Arafura Sea, on the estuary of the Liverpool...
which includes hunting and a continuation of his paintings.
Art
He was tutored in rarrk, a traditional painting technique using fine cross-hatching and infill, and began producing small paintings on bark. During the 1980s he began producing larger and more complex works, and in 1988 won a Rothmans Foundation Award. Since then he has been included in major exhibitions in Australia and overseas (primarily in Japan and Europe). In 2000, Mawurndjul's work was amongst that of eight individual and collaborative groups of Indigenous Australian artists shown in the prestigious Nicholas HallNeva Enfilade of the Winter Palace
The Neva Enfilade of the Winter Palace, St Petersburg is a series of three large halls arranged in an enfilade along the palace's massive facade facing the River Neva....
at the Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
in Russia. The exhibition received a positive reception from Russian critics, one of whom wrote:
This is an exhibition of contemporary art, not in the sense that it was done recently, but in that it is cased in the mentality, technology and philosophy of radical art of the most recent times. No one, other than the Aborigines of Australia, has succeeded in exhibiting such art at the Hermitage.
His work was subsequently the subject of a major retrospective in Basel (2005) and in Hanover's Sprengel Museum (2006).
2003 saw Mawurndjul named by Australian Art Collector magazine as one of the country's 50 most collectible artists. His works have been singled out for praise by many critics, including Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
senior curator Hetti Perkins, and artist Danie Mellor
Danie Mellor
Danie Mellor is a contemporary Indigenous Australian artist and the winner of the 2009 National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award...
.
Collections
Mawurndjul is represented in most major public collections, including: Art Gallery of New South WalesArt Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
, Art Gallery of South Australia
Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia , located on the cultural boulevard of North Terrace in Adelaide, is the premier visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of over 35,000 works of art, making it, after the National Gallery of Victoria, the largest state...
, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Artbank, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Djomi Museum, Kluge Collection, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia is an Australian museum solely dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting and collecting contemporary art, both from across Australia and around the world...
, National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
, National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
, National Maritime Museum, and Queensland Art Gallery
Queensland Art Gallery
The Queensland Art Gallery is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, and is located nearest to Brisbane River at South Bank...
.