VINCENT NAMATJIRA - JIMMY POMPEY & VINCENT NAMATJIRA PORTRAIT

 VINCENT NAMATJIRA
JIMMY POMPEY & VINCENT NAMATJIRA PORTRAIT,  2015
76.5 x 101.5 cm frame: 79.5 x 104.5 cm
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
 
PROVENANCE
Hermannsburg Central Desert, NT
Iwantja Arts, Indulkana SA This is No Fantasy, Sydney, NSWPrivate Collection, Sydney, NSW 
 
STORY
In this charming work Vincent has painted a self portrait giving a thumbs-up as the elderly Jimmy Pompey paints one of his ā€�true storiesā€™ sitting alongside.Pompey spent a lifetime working as a stockman mustering and driving large herds of cattle across the vast lands to water. He learned to play gospel and country music inspired by Slim Dusty and Hank Williams on the long cattle drives between remote desert cattle stations. As one of the oldest Jilpiā€™s painting for Iwantja Arts, Jimmy paints while recounting stories of his youth and the friendships he shared to the younger artists such as Vincent Namatjira, the grandson of the famed Australian water-colourist Albert Namatjira.  In contrast to Albertā€™s refined landscapes, Vincent has made a name for himself as a humorous portrait artist whose works are instantly recognisable for their way he exaggerates and distorts the features of his subjects. Namatjiras images are essentially caricatures. He amplifies his subjectsā€™ foibles and failings for comic affect. In 2020 Namatjira is the first Indigenous artist to win the Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, for his portrait of Adam Goodes. Namatjira was the recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2020 in honour of his contribution to Indigenous visual arts.
 
EXHIBITED
Cooee: Come Here, March 2021, Cooee Art | Redfern