Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri

Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri is a distinguished Pintupi artist whose austere geometric compositions and innovative depictions of ngalyapi (bark sandals) have established him as a significant figure within the Western Desert art movement. Born in the bush near where Kiwirrkurra community now stands, Joseph and his family contacted a Northern Territory Welfare Branch patrol around age ten and were brought to Papunya. Following his father's death in 1966, he was raised by classificatory fathers Yumpululu and Willy Tjungurrayi. Moving to Kintore in the early 1980s, Joseph assisted Charlie Wartuma Tjungurrayi before becoming an artist in his own right in 1988. Within two years, he held a solo exhibition at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, and exhibited at John Weber Gallery, New York (1988). In 1997, he traveled to Paris with Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula to create a sand painting for "Peintres Aborigenes d'Australie." His late 1990s work departed from geometric compositions to illustrate ngalyapi and desert landscapes through long sinuous lines. Joseph continues living at Kiwirrkurra, his representations of Tingari ancestors' travels held in major collections including the National Gallery of Victoria and Art Gallery of Western Australia.

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Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri

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