Bob Tjungurrayi

Bob Gibson Tjungurrayi was born at Papunya in 1974, a migratory area for many First People of Australia. His mother and father moved their three children, all under ten, to Tjukurla during the Papunya Tula movement, a 1980’s movement away from Tjungurrayi to one’s ancestral homelands.

Bob’s mother, Mary is a renowned artist in her own who these days spends her time between Tjukurla and Docker River, she is a central figure within the cultural make up and art centres of both communities. Bob Gibson Tjungurrayi inherited his own cultural commitments and his dedication to his responsibilities can often be cloaked within his paintings.
In 2007, he began painting with Tjarlirli Art, a community-owned art centre, his work was quickly recognized for its distinct fast action of shaping pattern in thick acrylic, allowing colour bleed, drips and splats to remain as he pushes paint around.
Gibson Tjungurrayi has works in the collections of Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), South Australia Museum, Adalaide, and the Artbank Collection via Telstra NATSIAA. A finalist in the Hadley’s Art Prize and Bayside Art Award, and Albany Art Prize in 2018, and a finalist in the 2021National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards run by the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery, Gibson’s work was acquired for the Artbank Collection.