• 183cm by 117cm
• Acrylic paint on canvas

About Gloria

Gloria Petyarre, sometimes referred to as Gloria Pitjara, is arguably the most famous and significant of all living female Australian Aboriginal artists. She is internationally acclaimed for her 'Bush Medicine Leaf' paintings.

Her career took off when she won the coveted 'Wynne Prize for Landscape' at the New South Wales Gallery in 1999. It was a triumph for Aboriginal art. Gloria became the first Indigenous Australian artist ever to win a major art prize at the Gallery of New South Wales.

The painting was an extraordinary new artistic statement, quite unlike any other Aboriginal artwork to that time. A huge, gold and green abstract work, it was made up of swirling leaf shaped brush strokes positioned close together on a black background. It somehow captured the energy and flow of leaves being scattered by a fitful wind, seaweed swirling in a change of tide, or grass billowing in the wind.

So much did this artwork fascinate the essentially nature-loving people of this country, that it was to become one of the most popular styles in Aboriginal art, bringing many a devotee to the genre because of its resonance with the viewer.

Gloria continued to paint this style for the next 20 years until her retirement in 2019 due to health issues. During that time and subsequently, the style has been adopted and adapted by several generations of her family members. However, Gloria was and is credited with being the creator of this popular style and its most collectable proponent.

Gloria's origins are in a region called Utopia, covering an area approximately 230 - 300km from Alice Springs, itself a remote town to many people.

Many of Australia's foremost Indigenous artists spring from this area, including Gloria's renowned aunt, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, deceased since 2006, and the most famous and accomplished female Indigenous Artist Australia has produced.

Gloria, her family members and her skin family, first became interested in art making by participating in the Utopia Women's Silk Batik Group introduced in 1977 and initiated by CAAMA (the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association). Both Gloria and Emily were founding members of the group.

With up to 80 members at a time, the Batik and Tie-die project became the seeding inspiration for the artists, and its tremendous success both in Australia and overseas led to another successful project introduced in 1988, again by CAAMA.

This time, the artists were to paint on primed, stretched canvas, and many of the women took to the new medium with ease and enthusiasm, finding it more exciting to work with than the silk and batik techniques they had hitherto used.

The resulting works were exhibited at the S.H.Erwin Gallery in Sydney and several other notable galleries across Australia. It was the beginning of the Utopian Art Movement, and it was impressive enough to gain international attention. Gloria was one of the artists at the very centre of it.

As demand for Utopian art grew, so did Gloria's career. She travelled with her art to many countries and exhibited in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, the USA and Japan, and of course in regional and commercial galleries throughout Australia.

It would be easy to think that Gloria's works were limited to bush medicine leaves works, so popular were they. In fact she had quite a number of dreamings in her portfolio. She painted the 'Thorny Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming', a pattern of swirling coloured lines which imitate the tracks made in the sand by the lizard's tail. Yam Dreaming, popularly executed by her aunt Emily, was also one of her commonly painted stories. She also painted Grass Seed, Pencil Yam, Emu, Bean, Small Brown Grass and Body Paint dreamings. This breadth of subject matter and style has made her an extremely versatile artist.

Later in her career, Gloria began to paint massive 'Big Leaf' paintings, expressionistically rendered with giant brushstrokes that mix colour on the canvas to gain a variety of fascinating paint effects. The smile on her face while she painted these works revealed her delight in having a break from the finer styles that had occupied her previously.

Gloria is a multi-award winning artist and a highly collectible one. Her involvement in the founding projects of the Utopian Art Movement, and her status in the group have given her a place in Australian Art History - as well as a significant body of work.

Apart from the Wynne Prize, Gloria went on to be a finalist another four times. The most prestigious Indigenous art competition in this country, the 'Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award' has featured her artworks on many occasions, and her works are widely collected and commonly held in the finest Aboriginal Art Collections and Museums worldwide.

Collections

• Allen, Allen & Hemsley
• Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
• Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane
• Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
• Artbank, Sydney
• Australian National Gallery, Canberra
• Baker and McKenzie Collection
• British Museum, London, U.K
• Campbelltown City Art Gallery, Campbelltown, NSW
• Flinders University, Adelaide
• Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Gold Coast, QLD
• Griffith University Collection, Queensland
• James D. Wolfensohn Collection
• Kaplan and Levi Collection, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle
• Macquarie Group Collection
• Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria
• Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
• Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
• National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria
• Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
• Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
• Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
• Supreme Court Collection, Brisbane, Queensland
• The Holmes a Court Collection
• University of New South Wales Collection, Sydney
• University of the Sunshine Coast Collection, Queensland
• University of Woollongong, Woollongong
• Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, U.S.A
• Westpac Gallery, New York, USA
• Woollongong City Art Gallery, Woollongong
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
• Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne
• Sarrita King Collection
• Fetzer Family Collection, Germany
• Musee du quai Branly, Paris
• Musee des arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie, Paris
• National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• Donald Holt Collection, Australia
• Janet Holt Collection, Australia
• Levi Collection, Seattle, Canada

Awards and Recognition

• 2009 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney - Finalist
• 2009 Kings School Art Prize, Sydney - Winner
• 2008 25th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
• 2007 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney - Finalist
• 2006 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney - Finalist
• 2005 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney - Finalist
• 2004 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney - Finalist & Highly Commended
• 2004 Fremantle Print Award 2004, Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle - Finalist
• 2003 20th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
• 2002 Redlands Westpac Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney - Finalist
• 2000 5th National Indigenous Heritage Art Award 2000, (Reconciliation Prize), Old Parliament House, Canberra - Finalist
• Canberra, ACT
• 2000 Top 50 Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine
• 1999 Top 50 Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine
• 1999 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney - Winner
• 1996 The Third National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Art Award, Old Parliament House, Canberra - Finalist
• 1996 Full Fellowship Grant, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Board, the Australia Council
• 1994 Tapestry Commission for the Law Courts, Brisbane
• 1993 Design for tapestry for Victorian Tapestry Workshop
• 1993 Mural for Kansas City Zoo

Selected Solo Exhibitions

• 2014 Gloria Petyarre: Leaves, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
• 2010 DACOU Gallery, Melbourne
• 2009 New Works, Big Leaves, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2003 Changes - Gloria Petyarre, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
• 1999 Wildflowers, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs
• 1999 New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale
• 1999 Red Desert Gallery, Eumundi, QLD
• 1999 Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
• 1998 Campbelltown Bicentennial Art Gallery, Campbelltown
• 1998 Chapman Gallery, Canberra
• 1998 Utopia Art, Sydney
• 1998 Robert Steele Gallery, Adelaide
• 1997 Instant Pictures, Utopia Art Sydney
• 1996 FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
• 1995 New Works: Gloria Petyarre, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
• 1995 Gloria Petyarre: On the Line, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 1994 Utopia Art Sydney

Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2020 Colours of Spring, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2020 Pointillism Perfection, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2020 Still in the Desert, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
• 2019 Summer Show & Art Parade, Salt, Queenscliff, VIC
• 2019 Defining tradition | black + white, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2019 International Women's Day, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2019 Defining tradition | the colurists, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2019 Landscape Colours, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
• 2018 Earth's Creation 2: Emily Kame Kngwarreye & Family, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2017 Gems from the Stockroom, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2017 A SWEEP continues, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
• 2017 Sacred Marks, JGM Gallery, London
• 2017 Utopia the artists of Delmore Downs, Yaama Ganu Gallery, Moree
• 2016 Utopia Sisters The Petyarre Women, Delmore Gallery with RedSea Gallery, Brisbane
• 2015 Wynners, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2011 Aboriginal Art Collectors' Gallery, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2010 New Beginnings,Central Art - Aboriginal Art Store, Alice Springs (touring Germany)
• 2009 Size Matters, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2009 5th Shalom Gamarada Aboriginal Art Exhibition, University of NSW, Sydney
• 2009 Abstraction, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 2008 Three Petyarres, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2008 Gooch's Utopia, Flinders University, Adelaide
• 2007 The Petyarre Sisters 2007, Central Art - Aboriginal Art Store, Alice Springs
• 2006 A Survey, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 2006 National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC, USA
• 2006 Utopia, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
• 2006 National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC
• 2004 Power of The Land, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 2004 Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle
• 2004 Curtin University of Technology, Perth
• 2004 Ivan Dougherty Gallery, COFA, NSW
• 2004 The Women's Show, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
• 2004 Utopia: Gloria, Barbara, Minnie, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
• 2003 Glen Eira City Gallery, Melbourne
• 2003 Chapel off Chapel, Melbourne
• 2003 National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square, Melbourne
• 2002 Light Square Gallery, Adelaide
• 2002 Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
• 2002 Knut Grothe Galeri, Charlottlenlund, Copenhagen
• 2002 Two Thirds Sky, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre, NSW
• 2002 The Utopia Six, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
• 2002 Royal Exhibition Hall, Melbourne
• 2002 Gallery Rai, Tokyo, Japan
• 2002 Chapel off Chapel, Melbourne
• 2002 National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square, Melbourne
• 2001 Icons of Australian Aboriginal Art, Singapore
• 2001 Brisbane City Gallery, Brisbane
• 2001 Kunst der Gegenwart, Vienna, Austria
• 2001 Manawatu Gallery, New Zealand
• 2000 Australian National University, Canberra
• 2000 FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
• 2000 Australian National University, Canberra
• 2000 Old Parliament House, Canberra
• 2000 Royal Exhibition Hall, Melbourne
• 1999 Bush Garden, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
• 1999 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 1999 Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
• 1999 Embassy of Australia, Washington, U.S.A.
• 1999 Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, U.S.A.
• 1999 New England Regional Art Museum;
• 1999 Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
• 1999 New Leaves, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 1999 Quadrivium Gallery, Sydney
• 1999 Utopia, BMG Art, Adelaide
• 1999 Arts d'Australie, Bastille, Paris
• 1999 Sherman Galleries, Sydney
• 1998 The Anangkere Growth Paintings, Chapman Gallery, Canberra
• 1998 Annandale Galleries, Sydney
• 1998 Exhibitions in Europe inc. Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland
• 1998 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
• 1998 Chapman Gallery, Canberra
• 1998 The Adelaide Festival Theatre, Adelaide
• 1998 Propositions Australiennes, Galerie Luc Queyrel, Paris
• 1997 Australian Galleries, Sydney
• 1997 Instant Pictures, Utopia Art, Sydney
• 1997 Galerie de Stassart, Bruxelles
• 1997 Sutton Gallery, Melbourne
• 1999 Sherman Galleries, Sydney
• 1996 Seoul Arts Centre, Korea
• 1996 Old Parliament House, Canberra
• 1996 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
• 1996 William Mora Galleries, Melbourne
• 1996 Royal Exhibition Hall, Melbourne
• 1996 S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
• 1995 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 1995 Mitchell Galleries, State Library of NSW, Sydney
• 1995 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• 1995 Aboriginal and Tribal Art Centre, Sydney
• 1995 Canberra Museum of Art, Gifu, Japan
• 1995 National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
• 1995 Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
• 1995 Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
• 1994 Utopia Art, Sydney
• 1994 Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
• 1994 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 1994 Royal Exhibition Hall, Melbourne
• 1994 Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
• 1993 Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane
• 1993 Austral Gallery, St Louis, U.S.A.
• 1993 Australian Embassy, Paris, France
• 1993 Myra Morgan Gallery, Kansas, U.S.A.
• 1992 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 1992 Royal Exhibition Hall, Melbourne
• 1992 Gallery Rai, Tokyo, Japan
• 1992 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• 1992 The Body Paint Collection, Bishop Museum, Hawaii
• 1992 The Body Paint Collection, toured USA
• 1992 Robert Homes a'Court Collection, Bangkok, Thailand
• 1991 S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
• 1991 Art Gallery of NSW
• 1991 Australia Galleries, New York
• 1991 Meat Market Gallery, Melbourne
• 1990 Utopia, exhibited in Ireland, U.K., India
• 1990 Orange Regional Gallery, Orange NSW
• 1990 Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
• 1990 Third Eye Centre, Glasgow
• 1989 A Summer Project, S.H.Ervin Gallery, Sydney
• 1989 Utopia Batik, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs
• 1989 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• 1989 Coventry Gallery, Sydney
• 1989 Austral Gallery, St Louis, U.S.A.
• 1988 Bloomfield Gallery, Sydney
• 1984 First National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin