Violet Petyarre | FireWorks Gallery

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Selected works

FW19284

Bio & CV

Born: 1945
Language: Anmatyerre, Alyawarre
Region: Central/Eastern Desert, NT
Community: Utopia, Mosquito Bore

Violet Petyarre (with her brothers and sisters) has custodial rights of the Arnkerrth Dreaming (Mountain Devil Lizard), which together with its associated narrative, is referenced in all of her works. Violet Petyarre's artistic endeavors commenced 1977 with Batik tie-dying and woodblock printing techniques, in which her Dreaming references were burnt into wood with hot wire and then ‘stamped’ onto fabric. Colours were then applied and these bright fabric panels were then sewn into garments that were welcomed by the Utopia women. As with other Utopia women, Violet Petyarre’s first works-on-canvas evolved through a special local project entitled ‘Utopia Women’s Paintings - A Summer Project 1988-1989’ (The Holmes a’ Court Collection). This project engendered a new direction of artistic output, launching Utopia as a major centre for Indigenous art and placing it firmly within the context of the Australian contemporary art scene. Violet Petyarre’s role as a foundation member of the Utopia arts community together with her artistic individualism has firmly endorsed her position as an important contributor to Australia’s art history.

Image and text courtesy of Cooee Arts

Story/Statement

MOUNTAIN DEVIL LIZARD
Violet usually paints the Mountain Devil Lizard (from her father's country), using strong linear patterns and colours. The Mountain Devil Lizard has the ability to camouflage itself by changing colours. This is represented in this painting by the various colours Violet uses. The traditional colours used for ceremony are ochre red, yellow and white.
Courtesy of Mbantua Alice Gallery

VIOLET PETYARRE
Born: 1945
Language: Anmatyerre, Alyawarre
Region: Central/Eastern Desert, NT
Community: Utopia, Mosquito Bore

EXHIBITIONS—SOLO (SELECTED)
2003 Violet, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs
2002 Mountain Devil Lizard Stories, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane

EXHIBITIONS—GROUP (SELECTED)
2020 Spring, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2020 From the Desert, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2019 Matches 6: Three Clusters, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2004 Lines IV, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2004 Art Aborigine Pour Tous, Galerie DAD, Mantes-la-Jolie, France
1997 Songlines Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherhlands
1996 Gallerie Australis, Adelaide, Australia
1992 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs
1991 Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1990 Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Harvard University, University of Minnesota, Lake Oswego Center for the Arts, United States of America; The Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth; Utopia - A Picture Storyan exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists, which toured Ireland and Scotland
1988-89 S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1989 Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project
1988 The Fifth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

PUBLICATIONS
Brody, A., 1989, Utopia Women's Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings, Perth. (C)
Brody, A., 1990, Utopia: a Picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth. (C)
Johnson, V., 1994, The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Craftsman House, East Roseville, New South Wales. (C)
Nicholls, Christine, The Bold and the Beautiful – the Work of Violet Petyarre, Crossings, the Journal of the International Association of Australian Studies, University of Queensland, December 2002
Nicholls, Christine, 'Home and Away with Kathleen and Violet Petyarre, or, Travels with my aunts', Art Monthly Australia, Number 138, April 2001, Canberra, pp. 16-20
1990, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings Ltd., Perth
1991, Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, exhib. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

COLLECTIONS
Artbank, Sydney
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth

Courtesy of Cooee Art

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