Biography

Studio Australis acknowledges that the artist referenced below has passed and respectfully recognises the Aboriginal cultural protocols observed by many communities regarding the naming of deceased persons. To ensure consistency with certificates of authenticity, museum records and published references, Studio Australis continues to use the artist's most widely recognised professional name. Pintupi, c. 1945–2023 George Ward Tjungurrayi was a senior Pintupi artist born near Lararra, east of Tjukurla in Western Australia. He began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in the mid-1970s and became one of the major painters of the Tingari Cycle. He was the younger brother of Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi and Willy Tjungurrayi, placing him within one of the most important Pintupi family lineages of the Western Desert painting movement. Dreaming & Country: Tingari George Ward painted Tingari stories connected to Pintupi Country, including sites around Kiwirrkura, Lake Mackay, Kulkuta, Karku, Ngaluwinyamana and Kilpinya. These works refer to ancestral journeys, ceremonial knowledge and the network of sites across the Western Desert. Only the public elements of these stories are represented in the paintings. Style and Technique George Ward’s paintings are recognised for their strong geometric structure. His Tingari works often use interlocking roundels, linear pathways and repeated rectangular or concentric forms to map ancestral movement across Country. The compositions are formal and measured, with dotting used to hold the structure rather than obscure it. In larger works, the surface can become almost architectural: sites, travelling lines and ceremonial forms arranged with a clarity that reflects his seniority within Pintupi painting. George Ward’s Palette George Ward commonly worked with restrained Western Desert colours: black, white, ochre, red-brown, cream and yellow. His palette gives emphasis to structure, contrast and the organisation of the Tingari sites across the canvas. For the Collector George Ward Tjungurrayi was a senior Papunya Tula artist and a major Pintupi painter of the Tingari Cycle. In 2004, he won the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. His work is held in public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria, Artbank, Art Gallery of South Australia and Seattle Art Museum.