KANYA TJAPANGATI BORN CIRCA 1930 | Kirritjinna (A Rockhole Site North of Jupiter Well)

Painted at Kiwirrkura, Western Australia in 2003 for Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs
Private Collection, Melbourne
Sotheby’s Australia, Important Aboriginal & Oceanic Art, 18 October 2011, lot 69
The Dennis and Debra Scholl Collection, Miami

Housed in a dark brown/ black wooden shadow box frame that obscures the Papunya Tula catalogue number. Minor scuffs and scratches to the bottom edge of the frame. The work is in excellent condition overall with no visible evidence of repair or restoration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Kanya Tjapangati’s artistic education began at Yayayi, the Pintupi group’s outstation west of Papunya in the late 1970s, under the tutelage of some of the most accomplished painters who had instigated the modern desert painting movement at the beginning of the decade. They included such luminaries as Charlie Tarawa Tjungurrayi (c.1925-1999), Shorty Lungkata Tjungurrayi (c.1914-1987) and Uta Uta Tjangala (c.1926-1990). Once he settled in the Pintupi community of Kiwirrkurra in the 1980s, Kanya devoted himself to painting. His constant source of inspiration were the Tingari ancestors, whose esoteric teachings and creative acts found expression in his intensely optical renditions of the landscape. Although his career spanned almost three decades, Tjapangati was a gentle character and not a prolific painter. His paintings are characterized by thinly and sensitively applied paint, and unusual combinations of pigment. Towards the end of his life he produced a series of larger scale minilmalist canvases, like those featured in his only solo exhibtion at William Mora Galleries in Melbourne in 2003. Painted in the same year, Kirritjinna is an exceptional example of this style that he continued to develop until his untimely death in 2006.

WC