Adrian Jangala Robertson
1962
Adrian Robinson
REGION: Yuendumu, NT
LANGUAGE: Warlpiri
ART CENTRE: Mwerre Anthurre Artists Studio at Bindi Inc
IMAGE CREDIT: Mwerre Anthurre Artists Studio at Bindi Inc
Adrian Jangala Robertson is an artist with Bindi Mwerre Anthurre, a supported art studio in Alice Springs for First Nations artists living with disabilities. Through painting, Robertson expresses himself with emotive, freely worked depictions of family, friends, and the dramatic landscapes of Central Australia, earning him the nickname "the Van Gogh of the Central Desert.”
PROFILE
Adrian Jangala Robertson
1962
REGION: Yuendumu, NT
LANGUAGE: Warlpiri
ART CENTRE: Mwerre Anthurre Artists Studio at Bindi Inc
IMAGE CREDIT: Mwerre Anthurre Artists Studio at Bindi Inc
Adrian Jangala Robertson is an artist with Bindi Mwerre Anthurre, a supported art studio in Alice Springs for First Nations artists living with disabilities. Through painting, Robertson expresses himself with emotive, freely worked depictions of family, friends, and the dramatic landscapes of Central Australia, earning him the nickname "the Van Gogh of the Central Desert.”
Robertson's father, Jampitjinpa’s country stretches from west of Walungurru, through Karku at Nyirrpi, to Warlurkurlangu at Yuendumu. He lived at Mount Doreen near Yuendumu and later worked at Papunya as a gardener and builder. Jampitjinpa was the brother of the late Darby Ross Jampitjinpa. Adrian Robertson's mother, the late Eunice Napangardi, was also a renowned painter. It is her country, Yalpirakinu, that Adrian depicts in his paintings.
Born in 1962 at Papunya, Robertson grew up among the pioneers of the Desert Painting movement. This movement, which began in 1971, was initiated by a group of senior men from Papunya, encouraged by school art teacher Geoffrey Bardon, as they translated traditional motifs into permanent and portable forms on board.
Robertson has received numerous prestigious awards including a triple-nomination for the prestigious Wynne, Archibald and Sulman prizes earlier this year, an unprecedented achievement for an First Nations artist. His previous accolades include the Telstra Painting Award in 2020 and the coveted Alice Prize in 2022.
ARTIST CV
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
2011 - Adrian Robertson Landscapes, Merenda Gallery, Fremantle, WA.
2010 - Adrian Robertson, first solo exhibition, Raft Artspace, Alice Springs, NT.
2006 - Adrian Robertson Jangala, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne.
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2024 - Wynne Price, Art Gallery of NSW, finalists exhibition
2024 - Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, finalists exhibition
2024 - Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, finalists exhibition
2024 - Alice Prize, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT, finalists exhibition
2023 - Desert Mob, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT
2022 - Alice Prize, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT, finalists exhibition
2021 - Desert Mob 30, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT
2021 - Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin, finalists exhibition
2020 - Telstra NATSIAA, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, NT, finalists exhibition
2019 - Desert Mob 2019, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT.
2018 - Desert Mob 2018, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT.
2018 - 35th TELSTRA NATSIAA, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT.
2014 - Bindi Inc: cars, cowboys and cockatoos. - New works from the Artist Collective Mwerre Anthurre, featuring Adrian Jangala Robertson, Billy Kenda, Cathy Peckham, Conway Ginger, Dan Raberaba, Jane Mervin, Kukula McDonald and Lance James at Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney.
2013 - Desert Mob, Araluen Cultural Precinct, NT.
2013 - Telling Stories, Talapi, NT.
2013 - Good Strong Powerful, Tandanya National Aboriginal Institute, Adelaide, SA.
2013 - Beautiful Art, Woolloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane, Qld.
2012 - Desert Mob, Araluen Cultural Precinct, NT.
2012 - Bindi Magic - Contemporary Arts and Disability in Central Australia, Bindi Inc., Alice Springs, NT.
2012 - Mwerre Anthurre Artists, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
2011 - Good Strong Powerful featuring the work of Lorna Kantilla, Alfonso Puantjimi and Estelle Munkanome, Billy Benn Perrurle, Kukula McDonald, Billy Kenda, Lance James and Adrian Robertson, Dion Beasley and Peggy Jones Napangardi at Arts Project Australia, 24 High St, Northcote Gallery, Melbourne.
2011 - Bindi Artists, Indigenart, Perth, WA.
2011 - Bindi 2011, featuring the work of Billy Benn Perrurle, Billy Kenda, Adrian Robinson, Kukulu McDonald and Lance James at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
2010 - A View on Country, featuring Bill Benn Perrurle, Kukula McDonald, Adrian Robertson, Lance James and Billy Kenda at Mossenson Gallery, Perth, WA.
2008 - Landscape Masters, featuring Billy Ben Perrurle, Adrian Robertson Jangala and Billy Kenda, at Alcaston Gallery, Sydney.
2008 - Bindi Exhibition, featuring Billy Ben Perrurle, Kukula McDonald, Adrian Robertson Jangala and Billy Kenda, at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
2006 - Billy Kenda, Kukula McDonald, Adrian Robertson and Billy Benn Perrurle, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne; Togart Contemporary Art Exhibition, Parliament House, Darwin.
2005 - Recent works by artists from Mwerre Anthurre Alice Springs, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
2004 - Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
Awards:
2022 - winner of the Alice Prize, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT
2020 - General Painting Award, Telstra NATSIAA MAGNT, Darwin, NT.
Bibliography:
Togart Contemporary Art Exhibition, Top End Arts Marketing, Darwin, 2006.
MARKET ANALYSIS
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