Kudditji Kngwarreye Biography

Born Circa 1938 Lallguora, Utopia - 2017

Kudditji Kngwarreye was one of the most ground-breaking Indigenous artists. His beautiful two-dimensional spatial compositions rightfully earned him the status of one of the 50 most collectable Aboriginal artists. About Kudditji KngwarreyeKudditji (pronounced goo-beh-chee and called Goob) was born in the 1920s northeast of Alice Springs in Alhalkere, a few miles from Utopia. Although not blood-related, he is the skin brother of the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye. They would share styles and stories. Kudditji started painting around 1986 after many years as a stockman. Having received a traditional upbringing, he was able to translate the iconography of his ancestors with ease, and quickly adopted an intuitive, gestural method of painting. Unfortunately, this style was not welcomed by major galleries at that time, and he had to adapt to the sought-after pointillist style, which allowed him to make money off his painting practice. His favoured colour field style become wildly popular later in his career and remains in huge demand. In his younger years, he used to take young men hunting emu as their initiation into adulthood. It was his experience with the land and these traditions which lead him to focus on the representation of his inherited Dreamings like the ‘Emu Dreamings’ or the ‘Men’s Business’, or ‘My country’ works for which he is the custodian. Seeing his sister Emily catapult to fame on the Australian and international art scene, Kudditji sensed it was a good time to embark on the journey of artistic exploration again. He has discovered his unique voice of abstract imagery, bold colours and intuitive compositions, which he continued to develop as he was becoming one of the more prominent artist of the Aboriginal art scene. He had painted for over twenty-five years until he finally ‘put down the brush’ around 2015, only painting occasionally after that point. By the time he passed away, Kudditji Kngwarreye had participated in many international exhibitions, has been purchased into major collections around the globe, and for his characteristic Rothko-like style with a clear Aboriginal voice became a well-known and instantly recognisable artist. Technique and StyleKudditji Kngwarreye’s considerable creative output in the form of large dynamic paintings has helped expand the realm of the traditional story-telling, as expressed by Central Desert painters. His paintings are the invocations of the lyrical images of his country, its intense skies, and unpredictable climate of torrential rains and scorching heat in summer. Kudditji communicated these motifs intuitively by broad sweeps of colours connecting into rectangular shapes. He applies paint with gusto, often using harsh hues of red, orange, or black, which he softens by the blurry edges and uneven contours. The geometrical patchworks explore the size of the canvases, giving off a feeling of immense space. The massive juxtaposed blocks of colour, innocently reminiscent of Rothko, produce an atmospheric two-dimensional effect with a clear Australian voice.  While painting, Kudditji could be often heard singing. It was his way of infusing the works with stories of the land; the ancestral Dreamings, the traditional lifestyle, and the culture of the Anmatyerre country. His songs will continue to echo through his beautiful artworks, which now hang in galleries and private collections all over the world. Why collect?In 2006 Kudditji Kngwarreye was nominated for Art Collector Magazine 50 Most Collectable Artists. He is highly praised for his one-of-a-kind rendition of the Aboriginal ancestral Dreamings. He has reaped success internationally and has cemented his name into the recognition of many important collectors and art galleries.