Painting with Marwat (traditional Yolŋu hairbrush) using her non-preferred left hand, Dhambit Munuŋgurr’s distinct brushstroke and vivid palette of cobalt blues echo depictions of the sky and sea. Her compelling juxtaposition of contemporary materials and traditional stories construct an unexpected signature style. Munuŋgurr introduced non-traditional colours to her work when she started mixing ochre with acrylic paint in an effort to overcome the difficulty of grinding ochre by hand which became beyond her capability following a car accident in 2007. In doing so, she has defined her practice by the vibrancy of colour and powerful spontaneity of her mark making, to create strident, dazzling artworks.
Installation View, Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Booth F05, Sydney Contemporary (7–10 September 2023)
Welcoming the Refugees / Scott Morrison and the Treasurer, 2021; 2812-21; 1919-21; earth pigments and acrylic on bark; two panels: 241 x 108 cm; 260 x 102 cm
Banumbirr, 2021; 539-21; acrylic on eucalyptus; 395 x 25 x 25 cm
Exhibition view, Dhambit Mununggurr, Durrk - I can fly, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (12 October — 6 November 2021)
Group Show, The First 40 Years
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2024
Dhambit Munuŋgurr Healing / Dilthan Yolŋunha
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2022
Dhambit Munuŋgurr Durrk - I can fly
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2021
DHAMBIT MUNUŊGURR (born 1968)
Djapu, Waṉḏawuy, Dhuwa
Currently lives & works in Yirrkala, North East Arnhem, Northern Territory
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, Sydney (forthcoming)
Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Ḏurrk - I can fly, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Can We All Have a Happy Life, NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Salon Project Space, Darwin
GAYBADA – My Father was an Artist, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
Mirdawarr Dhulan, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
The power of colour, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
Desert + Coast, Salon94, New York
The First 40 Years, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
38th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Tarnanthi, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
35th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Salon des Refuse 2017, Charles Darwin University Art Gallery, Darwin
Provenance Does Matter: Living with Contemporary Art, Alcaston Gallery at Gallery 369, Bendigo
Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize for Emerging Artists, National Art School, Sydney
Mother to Daughter: On Art and Caring for Homelands, The Cross Art Projects, Sydney
AWARDS, GRANTS, PRIZES AND RESIDENCIES
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (finalist)
38th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin (finalist)
Telstra Bark Painting Award, 38th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin (winner)
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (finalist)
38th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin (finalist)
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gellatly, Kelly, 'Into the Blue', Art Guide, Issue 138, pg. 64-67
MacDonald, John, 'What’s the most colourful art in town? First stops on a gallery crawl', Sydney Morning Herald, 22 October 2021
Israel, Janine, '‘It keeps me alive’- the politically potent bark paintings of Dhambit Munuŋgurr', The Guardian, 6 December 2021
Crawford, Ashley, ‘Dhambit Mununggurr’, Artist Profile, Issue 53, pg. 118-123
COLLECTIONS
Artbank, Sydney
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Ballarat, Victoria
Foundation Opale, Switzerland
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art, Perth
University of Melbourne Art Collection, Melbourne
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