Glen Namundja is a passionate artist who draws on great cultural integrity for inspiration in his work. The depth of his creative practice reflects his confidence in creating intense compositions from his extensive cultural knowledge. These complex works are often densely populated with entwined figures and infilled with extensive rarrk (cross-hatching).
Namundja’s art is reflective of his character as an artist who will continually challenge himself. His first solo exhibition in Melbourne took place in 2008 and was a sell-out show. His ‘Likkanaya and Marrayka’, was awarded the 2009 National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Art Award in the Works on Paper category, and he has been a NATSIAA finalist several times, most recently in 2021. Glen’s innovative stylistic merging of West Arnhem Land figurative painting with extensive rarrk is very much his own.
Glen Namundja comes from a long line of culturally authoritative and talented artists. His father, Peter Maralwanga, was a key teacher for Glen’s generation when they learnt to paint as young men. Glen’s brothers are renowned artists Ivan Namirriki and Samuel Namundja. They all grew up together at Markolidjban outstation near the Liverpool River in West Arnhem Land.