Kathleen Petyarre (c.1944–2018) was one of Australia’s most revered Aboriginal artists, known for her ethereal dot paintings that map the spiritual and ancestral dimensions of her homeland at Atnangkere, in the Northern Territory. A senior woman of the Eastern Anmatyerre and Alyawarre language groups, Petyarre’s practice was deeply rooted in traditional knowledge, kinship systems, and Dreamings passed down through generations. Her work evokes not only geographic terrain but metaphysical presence—charting movement, memory, and ceremony across the canvas.

Petyarre began her artistic journey in the late 1970s as part of a collective of Utopia women participating in batik workshops organized by community educators. By the late 1980s, she had transitioned to painting with acrylic on canvas, developing a singular technique defined by delicate dotting, subtle tonal shifts, and expansive fields of visual rhythm. These paintings, often inspired by her custodianship of the Arnkerrthe (Thorny Devil Lizard) Dreaming, depict ancestral journeys across the desert landscape. Using finely layered pigment applied with sticks and natural tools, Petyarre conjured shimmering surfaces that have been compared to the abstract mysticism of Mark Rothko or the gestural density of Jackson Pollock—yet hers remain entirely distinct in origin and intention.

Her national breakthrough came in 1996 when she won the 13th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, propelling her into wider recognition. That success was followed by a string of international acquisitions, including by the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, the Seattle Art Museum, the Kelton Foundation, and the National Gallery of Australia. In 2001, she was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition, Genius of Place, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, accompanied by a comprehensive monograph on her life and work. The exhibition underscored her importance not only as a master painter but as a cultural custodian of immense depth and vision.

Despite controversy surrounding authorship claims in the late 1990s, Petyarre’s reputation remained strong. She continued to paint for trusted galleries and collectors, including Delmore Gallery and Gallery Australis, producing deeply meditative works characterized by refined execution and profound connection to Country. Her process could take weeks or months for a single canvas, a testament to the contemplative and ceremonial nature of her art.

Collections

• Musée du quai Branly, Paris

• The Museum & Art Galleries of the Northern Territories, Darwin

• The Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

• The Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide

• The John W. Kluge Collection, Charlottesville, VA, USA

• The Kelton Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, USA

• Artbank, Sydney

• Morven Estate Collection, Charlottesville, USA

• Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA

• National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

• National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

• Museum Puri Lukisan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

• Songlines Aboriginal Art, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

• The Araluen Art Collection, Alice Springs

• The Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth

• The Holt Collection, Delmore Downs Station, N.T.

• The Levi-Kaplan Collection, Seattle, WA, USA

• A.T.S.I.C. Collection, Adelaide

• Riddoch Regional Art Gallery, Mount Gambier, S.A.

• Edith Cowan University, Perth

• Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, Paris, France

• Peabody-Essex Anthropology and Ethnology Museum, Harvard University, Salem, USA

• The Hilton Group Superannuation Fund

Solo Exhibitions

• 2008 – Amazing 11, Central Art, Alice Springs

• 2007 – Galerie Rigassi, Bern, Switzerland

• 2007 – Gallery Anthony Curtis, Boston, USA

• 2006 – Galerie Clement, Vevey, Switzerland

• 2006 – Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA

• 2006 – National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, USA

• 2006 – Prism, Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo

• 2003 – Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne

• 2002 – Gallerie Commines, Paris, France

• 2002 – Aboriginal Galleries of Australia, Melbourne

• 2001 – Genius of Place, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

• 2000 – Retrospective, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

• 2000 – New Directions in Contemporary Aboriginal Painting, Songlines Gallery, USA

• 2000 – Landscape: Truth and Beauty, Alcaston Gallery

• 1999 – Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

• 1999 – Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth

• 1999 – Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise

• 1999 – Coo-ee Gallery, Mary Place, Sydney

• 1998 – 15th NATSIAA, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

• 1998 – Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide

• 1998 – Chapman Gallery, Canberra

• 1998 – Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

• 1998 – Arnkerrthe – My Dreaming, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne

• 1996 – Storm in Atnangkere Country, Alcaston House Gallery, Melbourne

• 1994 – Atnangkere Country, Delmore Gallery, via Alice Springs

Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2017 – The Golden Age of Utopia, Brussels, Belgium

• 2016 – Utopia Sisters, Brisbane, QLD

• 2007 – The Petyarre Sisters, Alice Springs

• 1998 – Belonging to Mother Earth, Virginia Beach, USA

• 1998 – Raiki Wara, NGV, Melbourne

• 1998 – Expanse, University of South Australia

• 1998 – Our Country – Then and Now, Adelaide

• 1997 – Schilderrijen mit Utopia, Amsterdam

• 1997 – Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Paintings, Kassel, Germany

• 1996 – Dreaming of the Desert, Art Gallery of South Australia

• 1996 – Dreampower, Ubud, Bali

• 1990 – Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Harvard University

• 1989 – A Summer Project, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney

• 1989 – Utopia Women, Coventry Gallery, Sydney

Exhibitions of Batik Silks

• 1988 – Time Before Time, Austral Gallery, St Louis, USA

• 1988 – Painting and Batik from the Desert, Utopia Art, Sydney

• 1988 – Utopia Batik, Craft Council Gallery, Canberra

• 1988 – Utopia Batik, Queensland Museum, Brisbane

• 1987 – Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA

• 1987 – Darwin Museum Gallery, Darwin, NT

• 1987 – Yirrkala Community Centre, NT

• 1987 – Jogyakarta Fine Art Academy, Indonesia

• 1987 – Sydney Expo, Craft Council Gallery

• 1987 – The Araluen Centre, Alice Springs

• 1986 – Craft Council Gallery, Canberra

• 1986 – Bundaberg Art Gallery, Queensland

• 1986 – Springs Craft Festival, Alice Springs

• 1985 – Black Women in Focus, Adelaide Festival

• 1985 – Burnie Gallery, Tasmania

• 1985 – Tasmanian Craft Gallery, Hobart

• 1984 – Craft Council Gallery, Canberra

• 1984 – Queensland University Gallery, Brisbane

• 1984 – Fireworks Gallery, Adelaide

• 1984 – Sydney Craft Expo

• 1984 – Darwin Craft Council Gallery

• 1984 – The Araluen Centre, Alice Springs

• 1983 – Adelaide Festival Centre

• 1983 – Alice Springs Craft Council

• 1982 – Sydney Craft Expo

• 1982 – Brisbane Commonwealth Games Exhibition

• 1981 – Floating Forests of Silks, Adelaide Festival Centre

• 1980 – Artworks, Alice Springs

Commissions

• 1997 – John McCaughey Memorial Art Prize, NGV, Melbourne

Awards

• 1999 – Public Award Winner, Seppelt Contemporary Art Award

• 1998 – Finalist, 15th NATSIAA, Darwin

• 1997 – Overall Winner, Visy Board Art Prize

• 1996 – Joint Second Prize, ATSI Heritage Commission Art Award

• 1996 – Overall Winner, 13th Telstra NATSIAA