Born: c. 1930
Deceased: 2018
Language Group: Anmatyerre
Country: Atnangkere, Utopia Region, North East of Alice Springs
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas and Linen, Silk Batik
Subjects: Arnkerrthe (Mountain Devil Lizard), Ntyerrm (Seed of the Dogwood Tree), Awelye (Women's Ceremony), Grasses, Bush Seed
Kathleen Petyarre is a highly respected artist from the Utopia movement which was established in the 1980's. She began her art career with the batik movement at Utopia and commenced painting in 1988 as part of CAAMA's Summer Project.
Kathleen has painted consistently, developing a strong individual style - painting her country and stories associated with this such as Mountain Devil Lizard and Green Bean.
Kathleen and her sisters (they all have the same father and three mothers) Ada Bird Petyarre, Gloria Petyarre, Nancy Petyarre, Myrtle Petyarre, Violet Petyarre and Jean Petyarre all paint this Dreaming and are known widely as the prestigious Petyarre Sisters.
Collections
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney NSW, Australia
Art Gallery of South Austrlaia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
A.T.S.I.C. Collection, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Collection de Musee des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie, Paris, France
Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Harvard University (Peabody-Essex Anthropology and Ethnology Museum), Salem MA, USA
The Holmes á Court Collection, Perth, Australia
The John W Kluge Collection, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, California, USA
The Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth WA, Australia
The Kluge-Rhue Collection, University of West Virginia, VA, USA
Kunsthaus - Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg, Austria
The Levi-Kaplan Collection, Seattle, Washington, USA
The Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs NT, Australia
Musée des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, Quai Branly, Paris, France
The Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin NT, Australia
Museum Puri Lukisan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra ACT, Australia
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
Peabody Anthropology and Ethnology Museum, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle WA, USA
University of South Australia Art Museum, Adelaide, SA, Australia
The Vroom Collection, The Netherlands
Artist-In-Residence
| 1997 | Art Gallery of South Australia, Desert Artists in Residence, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| 1997 | Museum Puri Lukisan, Dreampower - Art of Contemporary Aboriginal Australia, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia |
Awards
| 1996 | Joint Second Prize, Open Award Category - The Third National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Commission Art Award, Canberra ACT |
| 1996 | Overall Winner of the Telstra 13 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin, NT |
| 1997 | Overall Winner of the Visy Board Art prize - The Barossa South Australia Vintage Festival Art Show, Nuriootpa, SA |
| 1998 | Winner, People's Choice Award, Seppelts Contemporary Art Award, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW |
| 1998 | Finalist, Seppelts Contemporary Art Award, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW |
Scholarships
| 1998 | Australian Delegate, Belonging to Mother Earth - Indigenous Wisdom and healing Conference, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA |
Solo Exhibitions
| 1996 | Kathleen Petyarre – Storm in Aknangkerre Country, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne Vic |
| 1998 | Arnkerrthe - My Dreaming, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Vic |
| 1999 | Recent Paintings by Kathleen Petyarre, Mary Place Gallery, Paddington, Sydney NSW |
| 2001 | Kathleen Petyarre, Contemporary Art Galley of NSW, Sydney |
Group Exhibitions
| 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 | Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions: Portland, Nashville, Knoxville, Hartford and Greenwich |
| 2004 | Evolution of Utopia, Mbantua Gallery Cultural Museum, Alice Springs |
| 2006 | Galerie Clément, Vevey, Switzerland |
| 2006 | National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC, USA |
| 2006 | Prism - Contemporary Australian Art at the Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan |
| 2007 | Galerie Rigassi, Bern, Switzerland |
| 2007 | Gallery Anthony Curtis, Boston MA, USA |
| 2008 | Emily and Her Legacy, Hillside Gallery, Tokyo with Coo-ee Art Sydney in conjunction with the opening of the landmark retrospective exhibition Utopia - the Genius of Emily Kngwarreye at the National Art Centre, Tokyo, Japan |
Further References
| Brody, Ann. | Utopia Women's Paintings: The First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, Heytsbury Holdings Ltd., 1989 Catalogue No. 7 |
| Brody, Ann. | Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes a Court collection, Heytsbury Holdings Ltd. 1990 |
| Brody, Ann. | Utopia - A Picture Story, 88 Silks Batiks from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Heytsbury Holdings Ltd. 1990 |
| Boulter, Michael. | The Art of Utopia: A New Direction in Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Craftsmen House, 1991 |
| Johnson, Vivien. | Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert, A Biographical Dictionary 1994 |