The First Museum Survey of Works by Australian Indigenous Artist
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —October 14, 2024 — The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens presents The Mysteries that Remain, a survey of works by Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, one of Australia’s most acclaimed Indigenous artists. This important collection of paintings is an exploration of the ancestral narratives of his desert homeland executed in a modern, abstracted style. The Mysteries that Remain is on view until January 12, 2025.
“This exhibition invites the viewer to reflect on Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri’s journey of perseverance and innovation nourished by a deep connection to his heritage," said Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Ph.D., George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs Director and CEO of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. “The Mysteries that Remain is a survey of masterful works that provide us all the opportunity to celebrate this important artist, whose works are featured in public and private collections throughout Australia, America, and Europe.”
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1923 – 1998) was a Pintupi man, born at Marnpi, a site about 330 miles west of Alice Springs. Raised with knowledge of desert survival skills and ancestral traditions, he worked in the cattle industry before starting to make paintings in the 1970s. As the Australian government transitioned its policies towards Aboriginal affairs from assimilation to self-determination, the Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd was formed to encourage the creation and marketing of art. Namarari was a founding shareholder of the longest-running Aboriginal-owned art business in Australia.
The collection of works tracks Namarari’s progress from his iconographic and ritually explicit works of the 1970s to more abstracted landscapes of the 1990s. It shows Namarari to be an artist who grasped the creative challenge of painting for the art market while never losing sight of the ancestral underpinnings of his country. Despite their alluring colors and designs, these paintings retain their mystery, hinting at the spiritual world beyond the painted image. This exhibition sheds new light on this enigmatic and important artist as he moved from detailed figurative works to grand abstractions. A quiet, reserved man, The Mysteries that Remain places Namarari in his rightful place as contemporary master.
This exhibition is organized by the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia.
2024 Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens Exhibition Presenters include: Season Presenters - City of Jacksonville, Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, and Ronald and Karen Rettner; Presenting Sponsor - State of Florida; Lead Sponsors – The Robert D. Davis Family Endowment and The Schultz Family Endowment.
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About the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens:
For more than 60 years, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens has been committed to engaging and inspiring through the arts, gardens, and education. A permanent collection of more than 5,000 objects and historically significant gardens on a riverfront campus offers nearly 140,000 visitors a truly unique experience on the First Coast each year. Nationally recognized education programs serve adults and children of all abilities. The Museum is committed to ensuring that diversity and inclusion are woven into the fabric of its exhibitions, programs, and offerings. For further information, including hours, visit?www.cummermuseum.org.