Melbourne ART FAIR 2026

Melbourne Art Fair 2026 Leon Russell Black

Leon Russell Black (b. 1993) is a Tiwi artist from Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) on Melville Island, part of the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin. He comes from a strong artistic lineage: his mother, Lidwina Tepomitari, is a painter, and his grandfather, Romuald Puruntatameri, was a respected cultural leader, artist, and songman. Growing up within this creative and cultural environment deeply shaped his connection to art, country, and ceremony. Black began painting in 2017 at the Munupi Arts Centre in Pirlangimpi, where his distinctive practice grounded in Tiwi cultural knowledge quickly developed. He works primarily with natural ochres: red, yellow and white which are mixed to create a wide range of tones of pinks, oranges and greens. These hand-mixed pigments, add to the characteristic depth and luminosity of his paintings. His dreaming is Nyarringari (Magpie Goose), which appears throughout his work alongside depictions of landscape, hunting and gathering practices, family life, and the rhythms of his community. Blending traditional Tiwi aesthetics with his unique contemporary visual language, Black’s paintings weave together ancestral knowledge and personal memory. Through his richly layered ochre paintings, Leon Russell Black contributes to the continuation and evolution of Tiwi cultural storytelling, offering intimate and powerful expressions of life on country. Black has gained national recognition as a finalist in major prizes including the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA), the Hadley’s Art Award, The Churchie Emerging Artist Award, and the Wynne Prize. His works are held in respected public and private collection

Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2025 Ochre on Canvas 160 x 100 cm $8,200 25-47 Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2024 Ochre on canvas 210 x 40 cm $4,400 24-204 Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2025 Ochre on canvas 180 x 120 cm $10,800 25-367

Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2024 Ochre on Canvas 180 x 120 cm $10,800 24-192 Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2024 Ochre on Canvas 180 x 120 cm $10,800 24-243

Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2024 Ochre on Canvas 160 x 100 cm $8,400 24-293 Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2025 Ochre on Canvas 120 x 80 cm $5,200 25-344

Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2024 Ochre on Canvas 180 x 100 cm $10,800 24-208 Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2025 Ochre on Canvas 180 x 120 cm $10,800 25-336

Bush HOliday Dreaming, 2024 Ochre on Canvas 100 x 100 cm $5,200 24-208

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