Sonia Kurarra

AUSTRALIAN. WALMAJARRI, B. 1952

MANGKAJA ARTS

Sonia Kurarra grew up in river country at Yungngora (Noonkanbah), alongside Daisy Japulija. She began painting at Mangkaja Arts, Fitzroy Crossing, in the early 1990s, working mostly on paper. Since 2008 Kurarra has worked predominantly on canvas. She held her first solo exhibition in 1990, and has featured in many group and solo shows since then. Kurarra paints the sandy billabong country along the stretch of the Fitzroy River that runs directly behind the community, including gapi (fish), parrmarr (rocks), ngurti (coolamon) and karli (boomerang). She paints and repaints her custodial Country in abstracted colors and shapes, revealing her understanding of gestural narrative.

COLLECTIONS
ArtBank, Sydney, Australia
Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA
Harvey Wagner Collection, USA
Kerry Stokes Collection
Murdoch University, Perth, WA
University of Wollongong