Katie Kemarre

About the Artist

Katie Kemarre

Born: 1943 Language Group: Alyawarr

Prior to painting, Katie participated in the Utopia - A Picture Story Exhibition, featuring silk batik works by 88 Utopian artists, which toured internationally.

During 1988 and 1989, Katie was involved with the Summer Project, which introduced many Utopian’s into the art of painting. It didn’t take long before painting was a huge hit and the artists moved entirely from batik work into acrylic on canvas/linen.

Katie’s work evolves continually which reflects the nature of Katie’s personality and tribe. Katie occasionally dabbles in wood carvings for art purposes, where she has experience in creating wooden artifacts, such as bowls, for her community.

Collections

Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Mbantua Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs

The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth

The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA

Exhibitions

1989 Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney

1990 Utopia- A Picture Story, an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Robert Holmes á Court Collection by Utopian Artists which toured Eire and Scotland.

1991 The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

1991 Aboriginal Women’s Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

1993 The Tenth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

1994 Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

2002 Group Exhibition, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs NT

2002 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions: New City Merchants, Knoxville, TN; Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, TN; 'The Cove Gallery' Portland, OR; Urban Wine Works, Portland, OR; Mary's Woods, Portland, OR

2003 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions: New City Merchants, Knoxville, TN; Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, TN; 'The Cove Gallery' Portland, OR; Mary's Woods, Portland, OR

2003 Contemporary Aboriginal Art Event, Umpqua Bank in conjunction with Mbantua Gallery, Portland, Oregon USA

2003 Art from the Dreamtime, Portland Art Museum, Portland OR USA

2004 Last of the 20^th Century, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs

2004 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibition; Portland, Nashville, Knoxville, Greenwich and New York

2004 Evolution of Utopia, Mbantua Gallery Cultural Museum, Alice Springs

Further References

Brody, A 1989, Utopia Women’s Paintings: the First Work on Canvas, A Summer Project 1988-89., cat., Heytesbury Holdings, Perth

Brody, A 1990, Utopia: a Picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth

Aratjara 1993, Art of the First Australians: Traditional and Contemporary Works by

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists, exhib. Cat. (conceived and designed by Bernard Luthi in collaboration with Gary Lee), Dumont, Buchverlag, Koln.

Neale, M. 1994, Yiribana, exhib.cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Art Gallery 1991, Aboriginal Women’s Exhibition, exhib. Cat. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney