John Mawurndjul
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John Mawurndjul (born 1952) is an Australian indigenous artist. He is a member of the Kuninjku people of West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, and grew up with only occasional contact with non-indigenous people and culture. He was tutored in rarrk, a traditional painting technique using fine cross-hatching and infill, by his own people, and began producing small paintings on bark. During the 1980s he began producing larger and more complex works, and in 1988 won a Rothmans Foundation Award. Since then he has been included in major exhibitions in Australia and overseas (primarily in Japan and Europe), culminating in a major retrospective in Basel (2005) and in Hanover's Sprengel Museum (2006).
Mawurndjul is one of the leading figures in contemporary Australian art, using traditional motifs in innovative ways to express spiritual and cultural values. He is represented in most major public collections, including: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Artbank, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Djomi Museum, Kluge Collection, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Museum of Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, National Maritime Museum, and Queensland Art Gallery.
