ARTIST PROFILE
George (Hairbrush) Tjungurrayi
Elizabeth Marks Nakamarra (respected artist and the wife of the late senior artist Mick Namarari), when asked who she admired most of the painters with whom she had come in contact through her husband.... "Ronnie (Tjampitjinpa) and Hairbrush (George Tjungurrayi)."
George "Hairbrush" Tjungurrayi was born c.1947 near Kiwirrkurra in the Gibson Desert, Western Australia and relocated to Papunya with his older brother Willy Tjunguarrayi and others of his clan in the mid 1960's. He and Willy commenced painting in Papunya in approximately 1976 for Papunya Tula Co-operative. George is one of the most admired and respected senior artists from the Western Desert. He was included in "the most collectable artists" by the publication Australian Art Collector, which confirms the high regard in which he is held by Galleries and Collectors.
George's paintings, like those of his relatives, invariably depict the sacred sites located in his ancestral country. The Tingari cycle theme is representative of the journeys of his Tingari Ancestors which were created in the Dreamtime. An imposing man physically, there is a dramatic difference - almost a conflict - between his stature and the delicate nature of his works. George produces works with fine lines, sometimes perfectly straight in singular colour overlay on contrasting background and others featuring rectangular or circular images of the sacred sites visited by his Tingari ancestors.
A highly collectable artist who produces consistently aesthetically pleasing works.
Selected Group/Solo Exhibitions
1990
• Friendly Country - Friendly People, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, NT
1991
• Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
1992
• Dreamtime Gallery, Broadbeach, QLD
1993
• Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT
1994
• Gallery Australis, Adelaide, SA
• Dreamtime Gallery, Broadbeach, QLD
1995
• Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT
• Droombeelden - Tjukurrpa, Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
• On the Line, Utopia Art Sydney, NSW
• Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
• Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Alice Springs, NT
1996
• Adelaide Fringe Festival, Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Adelaide, SA
• Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, NT
• Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
• Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
• Nangara. The Australian Aboriginal Art Exhibition from the Ebes Collection, Brugge, Belgium
• Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Alice Springs, NT
1997
• Utopia Art Sydney, NSW
• Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
• Geschichtenbilder, Aboriginal Art Galerie Bähr, Speyer, Germany
• Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, Australia
1998
• Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
• The Desert Mob Show, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, NT
1999
• Aboriginal Art, IHK Würzburg, Germany (in conjunction with Aboriginal Art Gallery Bähr, Speyer)
• Zeichen des Seins. Painting of the Australian Aborigines. Städtische Gallery ADA, Meiningen, Germany (in conjunction with Aboriginal Art Gallery Bähr, Speyer)
2000
• Art of the Aborigines, Leverkusen, Germany (in conjunction with Aboriginal Art Gallery Bähr, Speyer)
• Lines. Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
• Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
• Pintupi Men. Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs, NT
2001
• Art of the Pintupi. Tony Bond Art Dealer, Adelaide, SA
• Desert Art, Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, Italy
• Kintore, Kiwirrkura. Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
• Palm Beach Art Fair, Palm Beach, Florida, USA
Papunya Tula 2001. William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
2002
• Mythology & Reality. Palazzo Bricherasio Turin, Italy
• AAM Utrecht, The Netherlands
• Utopia Art Sydney, NSW
2003
• Monash University Prato Centre, Italy
• Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts, Israel
• 'Paintings from Mamultjulkulnga and Kirrimalunya', Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
2004
• 'Papunya Tula Artists - 2004', Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 'All About Papunya', Chapman Gallery, Canberra
• 'Talking About Abstraction', Ivan Dougherty Gallery, University of NSW
• 'The Inner And The Outer', Stadtgalerie Bamberg, Villa Dessauer, Bamberg, Germany
• 'Aboriginal Art 2004', Scott Livesey Art Dealer, Melbourne,
• 'Ma Yungu/Pass It On', Framed Gallery, Darwin
• Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne,
• 'Looking Closely At Country', Ivan Dougherty Gallery, University of NSW
• 'Pintupi Artists', Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs
• 'Mythology & Reality', Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
2005
• 'Papunya Tula Artists', Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• Wynne Landscape Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Selected Collections
• National Gallery of Australia
• Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
• Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
• Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
• National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
• Robert Holmes à Court Collection, Perth
• Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, Darwin
• Artbank, Sydney
• Musee des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie
• Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs