Kathleen Petyarre was born Kweyetwemp in c.1940 in the remote spinifex country of Atnangker, which lies some 275 kilometers (170 miles) north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Central Australia.
Kathleen Petyarre belonged to the Anmatyerr clan group and speaks Eastern Anmatyerr with English as a second language.
During childhood Kathleen Petyarre traveled around her vast homelands of some 200 square kilometers (125 square miles) with her father, mother, siblings and extended family, according to the seasonal availability of bush foods and water. From this early age, Petyarre learnt to understand land navigation and acquired the knowledge of the spatial history of her country.
Kathleen Petyarre, her daughter Margaret, and her sisters later settled at Iylenty (Mosquito Bore) near Utopia Station and it was during this time that Kathleen Petyarre became one of the key women involved in the successful claim for the freehold title that lead to the 1979 formal hand-over of the Utopia lease back to its traditional custodians.
Kathleen Petyarre, together with her brothers and sisters have custodial rights of the Arnkerrth Dreaming (Mountain Devil Lizard), together with Its associated narrative, which is referenced in all works of Kathleen Petyarre. Kathleen Petyarre’s Dreamtime ancestor Arnkerrth, Moloch horridus is a small timid agamid lizard that inhabits the desert plains and sand ridges around Atnangker country, changing colour according to its environment, like true chameleon.
The enormity of the journeys of Arnkerrth can be felt in the remarkable paintings of Kathleen Petyarre, revealing to the viewer an insight into the endless beauty of her desert world.
Kathleen Petyarre passed away in November, 2018.
Exhibitions
1991 Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland
1995 Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany
1998 Arnkerrthe - My Dreaming, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne VIC
1999 Recent Paintings by Kathleen Petyarre, Coo-ee Gallery, Mary Place, Sydney, NSW
2000 Kathleen Petyarre, Retrospective Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW
2000 New Directions in Contemporary Aboriginal Painting, Songlines Gallery, San Francisco CA, USA
2001 Genius of Place. The work of Kathleen Petyarre. Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney NSW
2002 Gallerie Commines, Paris, France
2006 Galerie Clément, Vevey, Switzerland
2006 Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA
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
Collections
Musée des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, Quai Branly, Paris, France
Musée des Confluences, Lyon, France
Kunsthaus - Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg, Austria
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
The Vroom Collection, The Netherlands
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle WA, USA
The Kelton Foundation, Los Angeles CA, USA
Harvard University (Peabody-Essex Anthropology and Ethnology Museum), Salem MA, USA
The Levi-Kaplan Collection, Seattle WA, USA
The Kluge-Rhue Collection, University of West Virginia VA, USA
Museum Puri Lukisan, Ubud, Indonesia
National Gallery of Australia - Collection of H. M. Queen Elizabeth II, Canberra ACT
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney NSW
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide SA
The Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth WA
The Museum & Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin NT
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide SA
A.T.S.I.C. Collection, Adelaide SA
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne VIC
University of South Australia Art Museum, Adelaide SA
Edith Cowan University, Perth WA
Awards
1996 Overall Winner of the Telstra 13th National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin, NT
1997 Overall Winner of the Visy Board Art Prize, the Barossa Vintage Festival Art Show, Nurioopta SA
1998 Finalist, 1998 Seppelts Contemporary Art Award - Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW
1998 Winner, People's Choice Award, 1998 Seppelts Contemporary Art Award, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW