Piermarq Catalogue Art Palm Beach

FINE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL PAINTINGS

Piermarq has the great privilege of exhibiting the masters of the Aboriginal art movement to the world. Tommy Watson, Naata Nungurrayi, George ‘Hairbrush’ Tjungurrayi, Esther Giles Nampitjinpa and Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa are revered as five of the most significant living Australian Aboriginal artists.

These ‘first contact’ artists represent a unique and finite period in Australian cultural heritage, in that they are the last remaining generation of artists raised in the traditional tribal lifestyle. Until the 1950’s or 60’s, these artists had no contact with Western society. Each painting is a historical document to be celebrated and represents a significant symbol of Australian history.

The Australian Aboriginal people passed down knowledge through the ages through symbols, dance and stories. The mythology or ‘The Dreaming’ and the landscape are intertwined. Ancient rock carvings can still be found in the Australian outback today depicting these important symbols which were the basis for survival in the harsh desert landscape and indicated where water, food and shelter could be found as well as important cultural traditions and stories.

The great miracle we have been witnessing since the 1970’s is of this culture expressing itself through painting. Beginning with ethnographic paintings on boards, the Aboriginal art movement has evolved to include magnificent acrylic on linen paintings in recent times. The imagery has existed as long as the culture itself – more than 50,000 years – and represents a window into the world’s longest continuous lineage culture.

We welcome you to explore and share in the enjoyment of this vibrant and unique collection of Australian artwork.


One of the most significant Australian artists of our time, Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson, is internationally recognized and represented commercially by Piermarq and Yanda Aboriginal Art. Tommy’s recent series of iconic abstract works are setting record prices both in Australia and internationally, exhibiting at the most exclusive art fairs around the world.

Tommy Watson ‘walked in’ from the desert in his teens; as a child he lived a traditional life in the Gibson Desert, where he gained an intimate understanding of the environment and his Tjukurrpa or ancestral stories. He first started painting in the community of Irrunytju, near the township of Wingellina (see map in introduction). His paintings refer to his country, Ngayuku Ngura (‘My Country’ in Pitjantjatjara language), representing several sites of importance, such as Walunja, Anumarapiti, Untju Alkata and Pikarli. As a senior Pitjantjatjara elder, he is celebrated for his highly expressive use of bright color and innovative abstraction that sets him apart.

He is represented in all important Australian public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, and in many important collections around the world including the prestigious Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, which commissioned him in 2006 to paint an entire permanent ceiling on one of the four museum building’s levels. Tommy Watson is also the only Australian Aboriginal artist with a hotel named in his honor, The Watson Hotel in Adelaide.

Tommy Watson is considered a pioneer of contemporary indigenous abstraction. The culmination of his artistic career is undoubtedly his 20 x 26 feet (6 x 8 meter) masterpiece, Ngayuku Warnka Tjukurrpa, the largest and most impressive painting by an individual Aboriginal artist. It is a symbol that his place is secured as one of the all-time greats of Aboriginal painting.

YANNIMA PIKARLI TOMMY WATSON born c. 1935

Tommy Watson painting in his country near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia (2013). Photographed by Steve Strike.

Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Walunja, 2013

Acrylic on Belgian linen 60 x 96 inch (152 x 244 cm)

Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Untju Alkata, 2014 Acrylic on Belgian linen 60 x 96 inch (152 x 244 cm)

Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Ngayuku Ngura, 2015


Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Anumarapiti, 2013 Acrylic on Belgian linen 63 x 192 inch (160 x 488 cm)

Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Anumarapiti, 2015




Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Ngayuku Ngura, 2013 Acrylic on Belgian linen 63 x 192 inch (160 x 488 cm)

Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Untju Alkata, 2015


Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Aran, 2015


Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Irika, 2015 Acrylic on Belgian linen 48 x 72 inch (122 x 183 cm)

Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Pikarli, 2015


Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Kututu Iwara, 2015 Acrylic on Belgian linen 48 x 72 inch (122 x 183 cm)


Acrylic on Belgian linen 22 x 28 inch (56 x 71 cm) each

Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Iyarka, 2015 Acrylic on Belgian linen 48 x 72 inch (122 x 183 cm)

Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson Tali, 2014


Naata Nungurrayi is the most notable living female Aboriginal artist, whose works achieve auction records well over USD$150,000. Her work is internationally sought-after and was named among the Top 50 of Australia’s Most Collectable Artists in Art Collector magazine in 2004. In 2003, Naata was chosen to have one of her paintings represented on a special edition of an Australian Postal stamp.

Naata’s work is included in all important public and private collections nationally including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. Moreover, her work is exhibited internationally and can be found at prestigious art fairs and in private collections all over the globe.

Born in the desert around 1932 and raised in an orthodox tribal life, Naata’s paintings depict sacred women’s sites and ceremonies in the Kintore and Kiwirrkura desert regions (see map in introduction), but also patterns associated with ritual body painting. Naata is one the few female tribal elders to have permission to paint certain features of her Tjukurrpa or ancestral stories. Her ability to combine traditional icons prized in the most collectable works, with increasingly vibrant color and decisive composition, continues to drive her success.

Alongside the few remaining vibrant abstract works available in the primary market, Piermarq now exclusively brings Naata’s final body of work Iconography to the United States. Intrinsically linked to Naata’s own culture, these icons represent the beginnings of all human language and art before people became sedentary – examples of which can be found on ancient rock carvings on all habitable continents around the world. They are historical documents that will soon be our only link to the genesis of human culture. Completed over five years, Iconography is arguably one of the most significant bodies of indigenous art completed since the early 1970’s.

NAATA NUNGURRAYI born c. 1932

Piermarq director Rob Russell with artist Naata Nungurrayi (2012)

Naata Nungurrayi Marrapinti, 2009


Naata Nungurrayi Marrapinti, 2012 Acrylic on Belgian linen 72 x 96 inch (183 x 244 cm)

Naata Nungurrayi Marrapinti, 2012


Naata Nungurrayi Iconography Acrylic on Belgian linen 72 x 96 inch (183 x 244 cm)

George ‘Hairbrush’ Tjungurrayi remains one of a handful who were present at the genesis of contemporary Aboriginal art in the 1970’s. In his work, rhythmic and organic parallel lines pulse across the canvas, gaining the attention of contemporary art collectors from across the globe. In 2003 and 2013 he was justly named as one of the Top 50 Most Collectable Artists by Art Collector magazine.

Raised in a nomadic existence prior to his first contact with western culture, George ‘Hairbrush’ Tjungurrayi has perfected a minimalist and abstracted style of painting based on stories and sites of his country around Kiwirrkura, near Lake Mackay in Western Australia (see map in introduction). His paintings symbolize the ancestral journeys and ceremonial body paint intrinsic to his culture. George is the brother of renowned female Aboriginal artist Naata Nungurrayi and is revered as one of the senior exponents of men’s Pintupi painting movement.

George ‘Hairbrush’ Tjungurrayi was a finalist in the Wynne Prize, the annual award for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery, in 2007, 2014 and 2015, where he was represented with a 72 x 96 inch painting depicting designs associated with the water site at Tjulurulnga, west of the Kiwirrkura community.

He continues to exhibit throughout Australia and internationally, with his work being shown at numerous art fairs and shows globally. Moreover, his work is to be found in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, but also in renowned museums oversees such as the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, and the Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie in Paris, France.

GEORGE ‘HAIRBRUSH’ TJUNGURRAYI born c. 1943

George ‘Hairbrush’ Tjungurrayi in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia (2015)

George Tjungurrayi Mamultjulkunga, 2015 Acrylic on Belgian linen 59 x 71 inch (151 x 181 cm)

George Tjungurrayi Mamultjulkunga, 2015




George Tjungurrayi Mamultjulkunga, 2015


Esther Giles Nampitjinpa is one of the most talented artists to come out of the community at Tjukurla on the West Australian and Northern Territory border. Her work has been exhibited at the prestigious Venice Biennale in 2011, at the exhibition Vivid Memories – An Aboriginal Art History at the Bordeaux Musée d’Aquitaine in France in 2014, and at oversees art shows in Europe and the United States. More recently, Esther Giles Nampitjinpa has been announced a finalist in 2015’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), one of the most prestigious art awards in Australia, with her work on display at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin.

Born around 1948 and raised in traditional law in the desert with her extended family, Esther Giles Nampitjinpa was known for her skill as a traditional basket weaver, just like her sister Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa, before becoming recognized for her exceptional painting skills. Her first contact with western civilization was harsh; in 1956 her father was shot and killed by a lone white man in an unprovoked attack. He was then strung up in a tree, witnessed by the young Esther.

Utilizing traditional dotting techniques to paint her country, Esther’s work depicts sand dunes known as tali and rock escarpments known as puli, as well as waterholes located near her country, near Tjukurla (see map in introduction).

Today, her vivacious character is projected onto the canvas in her beautiful and detailed paintings which are heavily collected. Recently her work has been included in important private collections including the Stokes and Corrigan collections, both highly regarded in the world of Australian indigenous art.

ESTHER GILES NAMPITJINPA born c. 1948

Esther Giles Nampitjinpa in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia (2013)

Esther Giles Nampitjinpa Untitled, 2009


Esther Giles Nampitjinpa Untitled, 2013 Acrylic on Belgian linen 60 x 72 inch (152 x 183 cm)








Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa, ‘Mrs. Porter’, is one of the protégés to follow in the footsteps of renowned female Aboriginal artists Naata Nungurrayi (b. 1932) and late Mrs. Bennett (1935-2013). Tjawina in her own right has seen her work recently collected by private, corporate and public collections in Australia, Europe and the United States.

Born around 1950, Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa grew up in the desert living a nomadic lifestyle with her tribe. After the death of her younger brother, her family moved to the then newly established government settlement of Papunya, a small indigenous community roughly 150 miles northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory in Australia. Tjawina has since returned to live in her country with family members. Like her sister Esther Giles Nampitjinpa, Tjawina was known for her skill as a traditional basket weaver before becoming recognized for her exceptional painting skills.

Her works are rich in ethnographic iconography and image the stories of her mother and father. They represent the traditional homelands associated with her tribe’s ancestral heritage near Tjukurla (see map in introduction). The concentric circles often depicted in Tjawina’s paintings depict sand dunes known as tali and rock escarpments known as puli, as well as waterholes and food sources located near her homeland. The lines connecting each of the symbols refer to ancestral pathways that were established during Tjukurrpa, ancestral time.

Body painting is an important part of ceremonial practice and bears direct relationship to these pathways or so-called ‘song-lines’. Her designs are often used in body art during traditional corroborees.

In the years that Tjawina has been painting she has gained worldwide recognition, participating in many national and international solo and group exhibitions all over the globe, such as The European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht and the Armory Show in New York.

TJAWINA PORTER NAMPITJINPA born c. 1950

Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa in front of one of her paintings, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia (2013)

Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa Untitled, 2013 Acrylic on Belgian linen 48 x 72 inch (122 x 183 cm)

Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa Untitled, 2013







Acrylic on Belgian linen 18 x 60 inch (46 x 152 cm) each

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Boutique events Piermarq has a reputation for providing collectors with unique experiences, from travelling into the heart of the Australian desert to meet with artists or hosting events alongside of the world’s most exclusive luxury brands. Piermarq can immerse our clients in the art world in ways not open to the everyday collector.

Whatever your interest in art, you’ll find Piermarq delivers an alternative to your average gallery experience.


ABOUT US

Piermarq was founded in early 2012 by directors Justin Callanan and Rob Russell to provide collectors with access to the finest examples of Australian contemporary and Aboriginal paintings.

Justin Callanan Rob Russell

CONTACT US

76 Paddington StPaddington 2021 NSW Sydney, Australia

www.piermarq.com.au

Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 2 9660 7799 Justin: +61 415 805 353Rob: +61 439 474 670Follow us on

20-24 JAN 2016

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Documents

Piermarq Catalogue Art Palm Beach