Gloria Petyarre

View Gloria Petyarre's Biography and Curriculum Vitae

Gloria Tamerre Petyarre created vibrant, abstract images distinguished by their variety and complexity, while remaining firmly rooted in her country Arlperre and the powerful Dreamtime stories that she inherited from her father. For over 30 years she was a renowned and active artist, initially for her work with batik on silk, then with acrylic on linen. The Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming and the Bush Medicine Leaf Dreaming are the inspiration for her most famous paintings.

The incredible range of her artwork 

Gloria Petyarre's depiction of bush medicine leaves — depicting the rushing movement of leaves with terse rhythmic brush strokes —  has been heralded as one of her most successful styles. Gloria utilises close tonal values of colour together with the rhythmic patterning of her brush strokes to capture the movement of a shrub's leaves as seen blowing in the wind and across the desert sands. The leaves of this shrub are an important bush medicine, which are gathered by women in the Arlperre Country and mixed with animal fat before being rubbed onto the skin. 

In her painting, Leaves, 1999 for which she was awarded the Wynne Prize for Landscape in 1999, (the first to be awarded to an Aboriginal artist), Gloria used a collection of rhythmically moving earth-toned lines to represent the movement of leaves in the wind. The mesmerizing sea of movement of leaves Gloria captured in this work is one of the finest examples of the artist’s depiction of bush medicine, landscape, and echoes of ceremony.

More recently, Gloria's paintings have moved towards a greater abstract depiction of her Bush Medicine Dreaming, using a large paint brush that is dipped into a variety of carefully selected acrylic colours. The finished pieces are dense with tulip-like leaves blown across the canvas; a beautiful display of colour and depth. 

Having been inspired by fellow Anmatyerre artist, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria often painted in the company of her sisters, Kathleen Petyarre and Violet Petyarre on the Delmore verandah. 

In 1989, Delmore Gallery held exhibitions including Gloria Petyarre's paintings, with Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne and Chandler Coventry Gallery in Sydney. Consequently, her paintings were acquired by major galleries such as the National Gallery of Victoria and The National Gallery in Canberra. After an exhibition by Delmore in Paris, The Louvre purchased one of Gloria's works. 

Gloria Petyarre's paintings are truly exceptional and we are thrilled to present her work for sale online.

Browse Gloria's available paintings or contact us for further details.