Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi Indigenous Australian, b. 1967-
Born: MT Allan, NT
Tribal Group: Anmatyerre
Community: Alice Springs, NT
Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi was born in 1967 and is the eldest daughter of famous artist Clifford Possum Tjpaltjarri. Her father had a great influence on her, teaching Gabriella to paint at a very young age. Even though Clifford’s style and influence may be seen in her work, Gabriella has developed a distinct style of her own, particularly in her choice of vibrant contemporary palette.
In 1985, at the tender age of 16, Gabriella won the coveted Alice Springs Art Award, while still a student at Yirara Lutheran College in Alice Springs. Her work has been exhibited widely in Australia as well as in the U.S.A and throughout Europe. She has also been included in many major collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Gabriella’s paintings tell Tjukurrpa, “dreamtime” stories and she utilizes many different techniques that are characteristically Indigenous, including the classic dot pattern. Gabriella is perhaps most well-known for the important commissions and installations which she has undertaken. These include being as major exhibiting artist within the Vivid Projection Programme at the Sydney Opera House in 2016; her designs displayed an Art Tram during the 2014 Melbourne Festival and her 2008 commission and installation depicting her custodial Grandmother's Country for the 2008 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, in London England, when her work was presented to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11.
Collections
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA
Holmes A Court Collection, Perth WA
Kelton Foundation Collection, Santa Monica, USA
Winterthur Collection, Switzerland
Corrigan Collection, Sydney, NSW
HRH Queen Elizabeth
Richard Branson Collection
Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT
Awards & Installations
1991 Professional Development Grant, from the Aboriginal Arts Unit of the Australia Council for the Arts
1993 Alice Springs Art Prize, Record Cover for 'Coloured Stone'
2008 Chelsea Flower Show - Gold Medal
2014 Art Tram, Melbourne Festival, Melbourne, VIC
2016 Vivid Projection Programme, Opera House, Sydney, NSW
Selected Exhibitions
1988 Aboriginal 'Dot' Painting, Melbourne
1992 Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney
1992 Washington DC, U.S.A.
1993 Berne, Switzerland
1993 London, UK
1997 'The Milky Way Dreaming', Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK
1998 'Sztuka Aborygenow - (Art of the Aborigines)', Warsaw, Poland
1999 Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA
1999 Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne, VIC
2000 United Nations Building, New York, USA
2001 Mia Mia Gallery, Melbourne.
2006 Shanghai Art Fair, China
2006 'Dreaming Their Way', National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC, USA
2007 Shanghai Art Fair, China
2007 London Art Fair, UK
2008 Art Aborigene Australien, Paris, France
2008 Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK
2009 Generations, Aranda Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, VIC
2009 Starry Starry Nights, Framed Gallery, Darwin, NT
2009 The Best of Gabriella Possum, Kate Owen Gallery, Rozelle, Sydney, NSW
2016 "From the sand to the Sails", Kate Owen Gallery, Rozelle, Sydney, NSW
2017 Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
