Judy Watson Napangardi

Judy Watson Napangardi Biography

Judy Watson was born in 1925 at Yarungkanji, Mt. Doreen Station. At this time many of the Warlpiri Peoples, along with other Central and Western Desert Peoples, still retained traditional nomadic ways of life. Judy partook in these activities, undertaking numerous journeys on foot back to her ancestral country, Mina Mina and Yingipurlangu on the border of the Tanami and Gibson Deserts, where she would stay for long periods of time. These areas are rich in ‘bush tucker’ such as wanakiji (bush plums), yakajirri (bush tomatoes), and wardapi (sand goanna), elements of Country that Judy depicts in her art making, whilst she continues to go hunting in the country west of Yuendumu, near her homelands.

Now a senior female painter located in Yuendumu, a community 293 km northwest of Alice Springs renowned for its quality art, Judy’s highly original paintings depict stories from her country, particularly those from Mina Mina. Originally taking up painting alongside her sister, Maggie Watson, Judy has developed a unique way of representing these stories through her use of vibrant colours and textured surfaces. Her incredible energy is translated into to her work through her dynamic use of colour, and energetic "dragged dotting" style.

Judy is a significant contributor to contemporary Indigenous Australian art, placed at the forefront of a move towards more abstract rendering of Jukurrpa by Warlpiri arists. However her work retains strong ‘Kurruwarri’, the details which tell of the sacredness of place and song in her culture. Her paintings most often represent the stories of Mina Mina, telling of the journey of a group of women who travelled to gather food, collect Ngalyipi, or snake vine, and performed ceremonies in this area.

Judy Watson Napangardi Description

Judy Watson Napangardi Resumé

EXHIBITIONS:

1989 "Yuendumu and Ramingining", Melbourne
1990 Darwin Performing Arts Centre, Darwin.
1990 'Women's Exhibition'. The Women's Gallery, Melbourne.
1991 Darwin Performing Arts Centre, Darwin.
1992 Hogarth Gallery of Dreams, Sydney.
1993 Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.
1993 Northern Territory Art Award, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs.
1993 CINAFE (Chicago International New Art Forms Exposition), U.S.A.
1994 Armstrong Gallery, Florida.
1994 "Echoes of the Dreamtime", Osaka, Japan.
1995 SOFA, Miami, U.S.A.
1995 SOFA, Chicago, U.S.A.
1997 Hogarth Gallery, Sydney.
1998 Art Gallery "Culture Store" Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
1998 'Kurrawarri - Kirli', Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
1998 Framed Gallery, Darwin.
1998 Japingka Gallery, Perth.
1999 Desert Mob Show, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs.
1999 'Mina Mina', Hogarth Galleries, Sydney.
2000 Beaver Galleries, Canberra.
2000 Kurawari, Desart Gallery, Sydney.
2000 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
2000 'Journey to the North West', Palya Art, Sydney.
2002 'Warlukurlangu Artists of Yuendumu', Jeffrey Moose Gallery, Seattle USA.
2002 'Warlukurlangu Artists of Yuendumu' ,One Union Square Lobby, Seattle, USA.
2002 'New Paintings from Yuendumu' Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London
2002 'Warlukurlangu Collection' Parliament House, Canberra.
2002 Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.
2004 Yilpinji - Love Magic and Ceremony, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
2005 "Karnta Jukurrpa", Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
2005 "Warlukurlangu Artists of Yuendumu", Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
2006, Divas of the Desert, Gallery Gondwana, Sydney and Alice Springs
2006, Open Doors, Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
2007, Vivid Visions - Warlpiri women artists from Yuendumu and yonder, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney
2008, New works from Yuendumu and Balgo Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney.
2008, Black and White - an exhibition of Aboriginal works NG Art Gallery Sydney
2008, New works from Yuendumu and Balgo Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney.
2009, En_trance - Experience and Sensation in Nomadic Art, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney
2009, Summer Show 2009, Hogarth Galleries Sydney.