Ken Tjungkara Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1969 -

Tjungkara Ken (born 1 October 1969) is an Australian Aboriginal artist from Amata, South Australia.[1] She began painting in 1997,[1] when Minymaku Arts was opened by the women of Ama?a.[2] She started doing it professionally (as a job) in 2008.[1] By that time, the artists' co-operative had been renamed to Tjala Arts.[2]

Ken's paintings depict stories and figures from her personal Tjukurpa (Dreaming), the spirituality that is associated with her ancestor's homeland. Her father is from the country around Ama?a and Walitjara, and Ken most often depicts this country and its Tjukurpa in her paintings. She also illustrates her mother's country, which is further west, near Irrunytju.[1]

Ken's paintings have been featured in group exhibitions in many of Australia's major cities. Some of her work was also part of an exhibition in Graz, Austria in 2002.[1][3] One of her paintings, titled Ngayuku ngura – My Country, was chosen as a finalist for the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2010.[3][4] It was bought by a private collector.[5] Another of Ken's works, a painting depicting the Kungkarungkara (Seven Sisters Dreaming), was chosen by the Art Gallery of South Australia as the winner of its "Desert Country" competition in 2011.[6] The exhibition featured works by several artists from across the A?angu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, including Maringka Baker, Nura Rupert and Jimmy Baker.[7][8]

Examples of Ken's work are shown in the National Gallery of Victoria,[9] the Art Gallery of South Australia,[10] the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art,[3][11] and the National Gallery of Australia.[12] It is also held in several major private galleries in Australia.[1][3]