Gloria Petyarre, also known as Gloria Pitjara was born in 1942 in
Utopia, Northern Territory
Utopia is an Aboriginal Australian homeland area formed in November 1978 by the amalgamation of the former Utopia pastoral lease with a tract of unalienable land to its north. It covers an area of , transected by the Sandover River, and lies ...
, Australia. She was an
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...
artist from the
Anmatyerre
The Anmatyerr, also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, who speak one of the Upper Arrernte languages.
Language
Anmatyerr is divided into Easte ...
community, just north of
Alice Springs. One of her best known works is "Bush Medicine".
Petyarre started as an artist in the Women's Batik Group in 1977, which was launched by the CAAMA (
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is an organisation founded in 1980 to expose Aboriginal music and culture to the rest of Australia. It started with 8KIN-FM, the first Aboriginal radio station in the country. Based in A ...
). She continued her artwork through her paintings, while also working with one of her six sisters,
Kathleen Petyarre
Kathleen Petyarre (born Kweyetwemp Petyarre; c. 1940 – 24 November 2018) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. Her art refers directly to her country and her Dreamings. Petyarre's paintings have occasionally been compared to the works of Ame ...
.
Petyarre died on 8 June 2021 in Alice Springs.
Career and artistic impacts
Petyarre started her art career in the Women's Batik group and was known for
Batik
Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...
paint style. In 1999 she won the
Wynne Prize
The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...
with her piece ''Leaves'' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Australian magazine
''Art Collector'' called her "one of our most collectable indigenous artists".
As of 2014, her overall career rank on the Australian indigenous art market was 13.
Her piece was known for its strokes and paint style, which furthered her career.
She became a travelling artist after the art exhibit in 1988 that was initiated by CAAMA. This art exhibit was held at the E.H. Sherwin Gallery in
Sydney. Petyarre then travelled around the world to display her picture story exhibition, going to Ireland, England, India, and the U.S.
Art style
Petyarre used batik, and she was known for her big leaf paintings. She mixed colours on her canvas, and used big and wide strokes in her works. Petyarre worked in the Women's Batik Group with some of her family, like her sister
Kathleen Petyarre
Kathleen Petyarre (born Kweyetwemp Petyarre; c. 1940 – 24 November 2018) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. Her art refers directly to her country and her Dreamings. Petyarre's paintings have occasionally been compared to the works of Ame ...
and well-known aunt –
Emily Kame Kngwarreye
Emily Kame Kngwarreye (or Emily Kam Ngwarray) (1910 – 3 September 1996) was an Aboriginal Australian artist from the Utopia community in the Northern Territory. She is one of the most prominent and successful artists in the history of Austr ...
. Her work such as "Bush Medicine" was influenced by huge brush strokes and heavy lines. She also created feather-like strokes with vivid colours, like her piece "Thorny Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming". Her style ranged from landscapes and natural tones, to vivid colours and smaller strokes.
Petyarre's work is sold online, and can be found in
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
.
Petyarre lived at an
outstation community in Utopia after 1977, where she started batik painting, exhibiting in shows around Australia for ten years. She began work on the "Summer Project" in 1989 which involved translating the batik paintings onto canvas. She was one of the founding members of this Utopia Women's Batik Group. She painted an original subject titled ''Leaves'' as well as body paint designs and several
Dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
stories such as pencil
yam,
bean,
emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...
and
mountain devil lizard and small brown grass. Her paintings – monochromatic or multi-coloured – have well defined segments filled with curved lines. Her style was known for its abstract fields and bright colours.
Family
Petyarre had six sisters, all of whom have received international recognition.
Collections
*
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
, Canberra
*
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
*
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection
The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia houses one of the finest Indigenous Australian art collections in the world, rivaling many of the collections held in Australia. It is the only museum outside Australia dedica ...
,
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
, Charlottesville
*
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
* Allen, Allen and Hemsley
* Victorian Museum
*
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. Although often de ...
, Sydney
* Westpac Collection, New York
*
Gold Coast City Art Gallery
The Gold Coast City Art Gallery was a regional Art museum located in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Opened in 1986, the Gallery was part of HOTA, Home of the Arts (formerly known as the Gold Coast Art Centre) whic ...
*
Holmes à Court Collection
Holmes may refer to:
Name
* Holmes (surname)
* Holmes (given name)
* Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland
* Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer
Places
In the ...
*
Art Gallery of Ballarat
The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest and largest regional art gallery in Australia. Established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by the citizens of Ballarat, both the building and part of its collection is listed on the Victorian H ...
References
*
External links
Gloria Tamerre Petyarreat the
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Gloria Petyarre at Mbantua Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petyarre, Gloria
1945 births
2021 deaths
People from Alice Springs
Artists from the Northern Territory
Australian Aboriginal artists
Australian women painters
20th-century Australian painters
20th-century Australian women artists
21st-century Australian painters
21st-century Australian women artists
Wynne Prize winners