Dorothy Napangardi
Dorothy Napangardi
Born:
c. 1958
Deceased:
2013
Language Group:
Warlpiri and Pintupi
Country:
Mina Mina, Tanami Desert, North West of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Medium:
Acrylic on Canvas and Linen
Subjects:
Mina Mina, Karntakurlangu (Women's Dreaming), Karntakurlangu Jukurrpa
Dorothy was born at Mina Mina. Mina Mina is situated to the west of Yuendumu, in the Tanami Desert of the Northern Territory, approximately 400km north-west of Alice Springs. Before her death, Dorothy resided in Alice Springs and painted full-time in her own studio.
Dorothy grew up in a traditional Aboriginal social environment and first came into contact with white society when her family walked into the pastoral station of Mount Doreen. She learnt the law and stories associated with her country whilst walking the desert with her family as a young girl.
Dorothy has a very individual painting style which she developed by elaborating on the traditional designs of the Kurawarri (dreaming). The consistently high quality of her work won her much acclaim as a fine artist of distinction. She began painting in 1987 and paints her country, Mina Mina. Her view of Mina Mina changes from one painting to the next.
Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA
The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth, WA
Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Germany
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
The Erskine Collection, NSW
1999
Painting the Desert, Alliance Francaise de Canberra and French Embassy, Canberra, ACT
1999
My Country - Journey of our Ancestors, Ancient Earth Indigenous Art Gallery, Cairns, QLD
2002
Native Title Business - Contemporary Indigenous Art, National Travelling Exhibition, Gurang Land Council, QLD
2002-2003
Dancing Up Country: The Art of Dorothy Napangardi, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, NSW
2004
Dorothy Napangardi, Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs, NT
2005
Dorothy Napangardi, Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2007
Country in Mind: Dorothy Napangardi, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2008
Black & White: Inspired by Landscape, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2011
Wet Paint, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2012
All Our Relations, 18th Biennale of Sydney, NSW
2012
Ancestral Modern, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA
1991
Best Painting in European Media
8th National Aboriginal Art Award
1998
Northern Territory Art Award, Alice Springs, NT
First Prize
1999
16th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
Highly Commended
2001
18th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
First Prize
Museum of Contemporary Art Limited
(2023) Museum of Contemporary Art, "https://www.mca.com.au/artists-works/artists/dorothy-napangardi/"
Birnberg, M. & Kreczmanski, JB.
(2004) Aboriginal Artists Dictionary of Biographies, J.B. Publishing Australia