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Gloria Petyarre
Atnangkere, Utopia Region
Gloria Petyarre has participated in both group and solo exhibitions since the 1980’s. She has travelled to Ireland, London, Paris, USA, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries exhibiting her works. Her work is included in the collections of the Australian National State Galleries including the National Gallery of Australia, also the Powerhouse Museum Sydney, Westpac New York, Holmes á Court and many other private collections. In 1999 Gloria won the prestigious art award, the Wynne Prize, for the Best Australian Landscape.
Gloria first gained recognition in silk batik which began at Utopia in 1978 with exhibitions held nationally and internationally. In 1988 Gloria was part of the very first group to experiment with canvas, called the Summer Project, and Gloria has since continued to work in this medium.
Awelye, the women’s ceremonial body paint designs, was the subject of Gloria’s very first painting, she recalls. Over the years Gloria has applied many methods of enhancing the simple linear work in her Awelye paintings, including using sponges, hand work and a toilet brush.
One of Gloria’s most important Dreamtime stories is that of Arnkerrthe, the Mountain Devil Lizard. Arnkerrthe travelled over Gloria’s land creating all of the people, sacred sites, songs and other Dreamtime stories. In its neck it holds a sac of ochre that Gloria and her people use for ceremonies. Gloria has developed a very popular style for Arnkerrthe Dreaming that she calls the ‘swirly ones’. A unique design by Gloria, these swirls represent the thorny skin on the back of this gentle little lizard.
By far the most well known of all Gloria’s paintings is Leaves. In April 1994 at Mosquito Bore in Utopia, Gloria began doing something new on her canvas. “That first one. I was looking, looking. Looks like leaf, and I been put another one and another one and ‘ah yeah’. First leaf.” (Gloria Petyarre). This painting can be viewed in the Mbantua Gallery Cultural Museum. Throughout the years this design has become more refined, leaves aren’t just scattered on the ground but rather picked up in swift passing zephyrs, entangled in whirls of wind and swept across the landscape. This life energy attributed to the success of Leaves, winning Gloria the very prestigious Wynne Prize in 1999, and highly recommended in 2004. The Wynne prize is awarded annually for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists.
Collections:
Allen, Allen & Hemsley
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Campbelltown City Art Gallery
Flinders University, South Australia
Griffith University Collection
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise
The Holmes á Court Collection, Perth
Mbantua Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford U.S.A
Westpac, New York
Baker-McKenzie
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
Queensland University of Technology
Supreme Court, Brisbane
Macquarie Bank
University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
British Museum, London
Wollongong City Art Gallery
Additional Information:
Skin name: Petyarre
Bush name: Tamerre
Born: c. 1945
Language Group: Anmatyerre
Country: Atnangkere
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