TJAPALTJARRI BROTHERS

Year:

​

WARLIMPIRRNGA TJAPALTJARRI

DOB: c.1958

Skin Name: Tjapaltjarri

Language: Pintupi

Region: Kiwirrkurra, Western Desert

Dreaming: Tingari cycle





Salient Points:

A first contact indigenous man. A member of the “Pintupi Nine” who became an international sensation when they walked in from the desert in 1984
One of Papunya Tula most senior artists – Papunya Tula was the genesis point of what is considered the contemporary indigenous art movement
Born 1950, Painting since 1987
Three time finalist Telstra Award for Aboriginal Art - NATSIAA
Auction record of $286,473 AUD achieved in Sotheby’s London 21/10/2016 http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/aboriginal-art-l16321/lot.90.html
Auction record the second highest achieved by any living aboriginal artist
Musee National des Arts Africanis et Oceaniens, Paris, France, the Thomas Vroom Collection, The Gagosian Gallery, NYC
Market for Australian Aboriginal works 25% up year on year (2019 vs 2020)


Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri was born sometime around 1958, east of Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia. Warlimpirrnga and his family which includes fellow artists Thomas, Walala, Yukultji, Yalti and Tjakaria led a completely nomadic life until they emerged from the desert around Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay), coming to Kiwirrkurra in 1984. He & his family created international headlines and became known as "the Last Nomads" or "the group of nine". They had had no contact with western society until this point and until this time Warlimpiringa and his family lived the traditional and nomadic life of a hunter-gatherer society. Their intimate knowledge of the land, its flora and fauna and waterholes allowed them to survive, as their ancestors had for thousands of years. It is this sacred landscape with its significant sites that Warlimpiringa so strikingly describes in his paintings.