Kathleen Petyarre

DOB: c.1940 - 2018
BORN: Atnangkere, NT
LANGUAGE GROUP: Anmatyerre / Alyawarre
COMMUNITY: Utopia, NT

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An Anmatyerre speaker, born in c.1938, Kathleen Petyarre's traditional country is Atnangkere, an important soakage on the western boundary of Utopia station which, on account of the abundance of food it provided, was keenly sought out by neighbouring Eastern Arrernte groups.

Kathleen’s father had three wives, and several daughters, who in recent times have managed to hold on to the area as a group establishing a camp at Atneltyeye Boundry Bore. Kathleen's Dreamings include Women Hunting Emu with Dingo and Mountain Devil Lizard. Like most of the Utopia artists, she took up painting in 1988-9 as a part of CAAMA's Summer Project after previously working in batik. Kathleen is a talented batik artist. The Museum & Art Galleries of NT holds one of her batik works. This is a large piece being 6 meters by 3 meters. Currently, Kathleen is producing some beautiful works of art using bodypaint designs.

Kathleen is a talented and focused artist who takes pride in her work and makes every effort to ensure that all of her work presented is of the highest quality.

One definitive highlight and speciality of her present work rest in her ability to contour and form her dreaming paintings attuning this to her symbolism and ceremony. Moreover, Kathleen has the innate capacity to meld together the earthy and timeless perceptions associated with her culture. This interaction is seen and felt through the rigorous high-quality standard of work she sets for herself. The end result of this mastery is a transmutation of visual feeling onto her paintings.

Her work has been exhibited across the Eastern and Southern States of Australia. She is an artist in high demand. Private collectors from all around the world constantly seek after her work. In 2001, she was featured in a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney where she was hailed as one of Australia’s most talented female artists.

Kathleen passed away in 2018.