Kunmanara Pompey

Michael Reid Sydney is pleased to present our first solo exhibition from Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara artist Kunmanara Pompey, whose vibrant, large-scale paintings are now on view in our upstairs exhibition space. This exhibition follows the recent announcement of her selection as a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), the country’s most prestigious prize dedicated to First Nations art.

Prior to her selection as a NATSIAA finalist, Pompey was awarded the Emerging Indigenous Art Award at the 2025 Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize. Currently represented in the landmark exhibition Ngura Puḻka – Epic Country at the National Gallery of Australia, Pompey began painting at Kaltjiti in the early 2000s alongside her mother, Tali Tali Pompey, an artist similarly renowned for her powerful desert paintings.

“Kunmanara’s artwork captures the vibrancy and colour of the desert landscape,” note the NGA curators in the large-format book accompanying Ngura Puḻka, which devotes an extensive chapter to Pompey’s practice. “The ridges of sandhills typical of the desert country around Fregon refer to her mother’s work of tali (sandhills). The small, rounded shapes reflect the habitat of shrubs, trees and bushes. These grow on the sides and at the base of the sandhill where the water collects after the rain. They provide a valuable source of many food-bearing grasses and shrubs.”

The recent installation of Pompey’s work in The Ghan’s Australis suite, part of the iconic cross-country rail journey’s major refurbishment by Woods Bagot, further attests to the growing national recognition of her work. We are honoured to present the artist’s first Eora/Sydney solo exhibition and invite those interested in discussing acquisitions to please contact hughholm@michaelreid.com.au