Meet the Marking the Infinite Artists: Yukultji Napangati

In this series, we introduce the nine artists behind Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia, on view at The Phillips Collection June 2–September 9, 2018. 

YUKULTJI NAPANGATI 

Born c. 1971, Wilkinkarra (Pintupi) / Lake Mackay (English), Western Australia 
Lives and works in Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia 
(Pintupi/Australian) 

Long after other Pintupi had moved to government-run settlements, Yukultji Napangati and her eight family members remained in the Great Sandy Desert, living an isolated nomadic life. In 1984, however, they emerged near the remote Kiwirrkurra community in Western Australia, many of them making contact with the Western world for the first time. Napangati started painting in 1996, inspired by senior women such as Wintjiya Napaljtarri, while frequently assisting her husband Charlie Ward Tjakamarra. Following his death in 2005, Napangati emerged as a prominent figure in her own right, perfecting the stark linear style characteristic of contemporary painting at Kiwirrkurra. Napangati has been included in more than 80 exhibitions in Australia and internationally, and her works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; and the Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane.