Aboriginal Fine Arts Gallery

Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula
(Deceased)
One of Central Australia's most famous Aboriginal artists

Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula


Other Spellings:   Jupurrula, Warrankula, Warankula, Warungula, Warrangula,
                   Warangula, Tjaparula, Jonny W., Jupunalla
Other Names:	   Johnny W.

Born:                1925 c.
Died:                Feb. 2001 
Region:              Western Desert
Community:           Papunya
Country:             Ilypili, Ehrenberg Range, Kalpinya, north of Sandy Blight junction
Language:            Luritja, Pintupi, Kukatja
Social Affiliations: Tjupurrula subsection


Subjects and Themes:
Water, Yams, Fire, egret, Mala, Tjikari, goanna and kangaroo men

           
Awards/Grants/Commissions:
1956, Was presented to the Queen, along with Nospeg Tjupurrula, at Towoomba, Queensland


COLLECTIONS:	
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. 
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
Central Collection, Australian National University, Canberra. 
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra. 
Donald Kahn collection, 
Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. 
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide. 
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin. 
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. 
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. 
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane. 
South Australian Museum, Adelaide. 
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth. 
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, U.S.A.






EXHIBITIONS:
1977, 	Nigerian Festival Exhibition, Lagos, Nigeria, Africa. 
1980, 	Papunya Tula, Macquarie University Library, Sydney. 
1980, 	Australian Galleries Director's Council International Exhibition 
        of Aboriginal Art, touring to 1985. 
1980, 	Contemporary Australian Aborigine Paintings, Pacific Asia Museum, 
        Pasadena, California, USA 
1981-82,Aboriginal Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery 
        of Western Australia, Australian Museum, Queensland  Art Gallery   
1984, 	Koori Art '84, Art Space, Sydney. 
1984, 	Papunya and Beyond, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs   
1985, 	The Face of the Centre: Papunya Tula Paintings  1971-1984, National 
        Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. 
1987, 	Circle Path Meander, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.  
1988, 	Papunya Tula Paintings, Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery, 
1988, 	Foundation: The First Decade of Collecting, National  Gallery of Victoria   
1988, 	John Weber Gallery, New York City, USA. 
1988, 	Dreamings, the art of Aboriginal Australia, The Asia Society Galleries, NY. 
1988, 	The Inspired Dream, Life as art in Aboriginal Australia, Museum and Art 
        Gallery of the Northern Territory and touring  internationally. 
1989, 	A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, Westpac Gallery, 
        Melbourne; Design Warehouse Sydney  [through Lauraine Diggins Fine Art] 
1989, 	Aboriginal Art: The Continuing Tradition, National Gallery of 
        Australia, Canberra 
1989, 	Papunya Tula: Contemporary Paintings from Australia's Western Desert, 
        John Weber Gallery, New York, USA. 1989, Mythscapes, Aboriginal Art of 
        the Desert, National  Gallery of Victoria   1990, l'ete Australien a' 
        Montpellier, Musee Fabre Gallery, Montpellier, France. 
1991, 	Aboriginal Art and Spirituality, High Court, Canberra 
1991, 	Flash Pictures, National Gallery of Australia
1991, 	Canvas and Bark, South Australian Museum, Adelaide. 
1991, 	The Painted Dream: Contemporary Aboriginal Paintings  from the Tim 
        and Vivien Johnson Collection, Auckland City Art  Gallery and Te Whare 
        Taonga o Aoteroa National Art Gallery, New Zealand. 
1991, 	Alice to Penzance, The Mall Galleries, The Mall, London  
1991, 	Australian Aboriginal Art from the Collection of Donald Kahn, Lowe Art 
        Museum, University of Miami, USA  
1991/92,Friendly Country, Friendly People, Touring Exhibition, through Araluen
        Centre, Alice Springs  
1992, 	Crossroads-Towards a New Reality, Aboriginal Art from Australia, National 
        Museums of Modern Art, Kyoto and Tokyo. 
1993, 	Ten years of acquisitions,from ANU collection, Drill Hall Gallery ACT   
1993, 	Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom. 
1993, 	Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 
1993, 	Art Museum Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. 
1993, 	Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, Queensland, 
1993, 	Tjukurrpa, Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia 
        (1971-1993), Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth  WA. 
1993/4, ARATJARA, Art of the First Australians, Touring   Kunstammlung 
        Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf; Hayward  Gallery, London; Louisiana 
        Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark
1994, 	Dreamings - Tjukurrpa: Aboriginal Art of the Western  Desert; The Donald 
        Kahn collection, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich  
1994, 	Power of the Land, Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria

          
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Australian Aboriginal Art from the Collection of Donald Kahn, 1991, Lowe 
Art Museum, University of Miami, USA . 

Bardon, G., 1979, Aboriginal Art of the Western Desert, Rigby, Adelaide.

Caruana, W., 1987, Australian Aboriginal Art, a Souvenir Book  of Aboriginal 
Art in the Australian National Gallery, Australian  National Gallery, Parkes, 
Australian Capital Territory. (C) 

Caruana, W., 1993, Aboriginal Art, Thames and Hudson, London. (C) 

Cooper, C., Morphy, H., Mulvaney, D.J. and Petersen, N., 1981, Aboriginal 
Australia, Australian Gallery Directors Council, Sydney. (C) 

Croker, A. (ed.), 1981, Mr Sandman Bring Me a Dream, Papunya Tula Artists 
Pty Ltd, Alice Springs and Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd, Sydney. (C) 

Crossman, S. and Barou, J-P. (eds), 1990, L'ete Australien a  Montpellier: 
100 Chefs d'Oevre de la Peinture Australienne, Musee Fabre, Montpellier, France. (C)

Diggins, L. (ed.), 1989, A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth  Century Aboriginal 
Art, exhib. cat., Malakoff Fine Art Press, North Caulfield, Victoria. 

Gartrell, M., 1957, Dear Primitive: a Nurse Among the Aborigines, Angus & 
Robertson, Sydney. (C) 

Isaacs, J., 1989, Australian Aboriginal Paintings, Weldon Publishing, New 
South Wales. Johnson, T. and Johnson, V.,1984, Koori Art '84, exhib. cat., 
Art Space, Sydney. (C) 

Johnson, V., 1994, The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Craftsman House, 
East Roseville, New South Wales. (C) 

Bardon, G., 1991, Papunya Tula Art of the Western Desert  McPhee Gribble, 
Ringwood, Victoria. (C) Sutton, P. (ed.), 1988, Dreamings: the Art of Aboriginal  
Australia, Viking, Ringwood, Victoria. (C) 

1993, Aratjara, Art of the First Australians: Traditional and  Contemporary 
Works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists, exhib. cat. 
(conceived and designed by Bernard Luthi in collaboration with Gary Lee), 
Dumont, Buchverlag, Koln. (C) 

Page, G.,1992, Some Paintings by Johnny Warrangkula  Tjupurrula, Art Monthly 
Australia, August 1992, 
No. 52, page 2. Ryan, J., 1989, Mythscapes Aboriginal Art of the Desert from 
the National Gallery of Victoria, exhib. cat., National Gallery of  Victoria, 
Melbourne. (C) 

Wallace, D., Desmond, M., Caruana, W., 1991, Flash Pictures, exhib. cat., 
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. 

West, M.K.C., (ed.), 1988, The Inspired Dream, Life as art in Aboriginal 
Australia, exhib. cat., Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane. 

1993, Tjukurrpa Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central  Australia 
(1971-1993), exhib. cat., Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. (C)


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Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies