Greeny Purvis Petyarre Biography
View Greeny Purvis Petyarre paintings
Greeny Purvis Petyarre was a gentleman, a quiet, confident, traditional elder. Born around 1930 to the Eastern Anmatyerre tribe, Greeny, was also an innovative and exciting artist.
During her second solo of Greeny's work in 2004, Gabrielle Pizzi told Don Holt that, in her opinion, Greeny was 'the most sophisticated male Australian Aboriginal artist of his time'.
Greeny was the eldest nephew of Emily Kame Kngwarreye. His father, Alhalkere Jack, was Emily's brother. Greeny was married to Kathleen Kemarre, with whom he had four daughters, Judy, Maureen, Jedda, and Jennifer. He was the senior "Emu Man" of Utopia, and also painted the Turkey, Yam and Kangaroo Dreamings.
Don Holt remembers vividly the day just after Emily Kame Kngwarreye died, when Greeny rang him up and invited him to attend the very important "sorry business". He arrived with a load of fresh meat to feed 500 people and found that he was the only white man there. Greeny was strong and authoritative and totally in control. He asked Don where he thought Emily should be buried. It was decided that her own Country near the Sandover River, would be appropriate.
Don was invited by Greeny to supply and build the headstone on the grave. This was later done by Don and Lindsay Bird, together. Lindsay's mother was Emily's sister.
Greeny often visited Delmore and was commissioned by the Holt family to paint, especially after Emily passed away. He would often linger for a quiet chat.
His work has been widely sort after and since his death on May 3, 2010, he is sadly missed as one of nature's gentlemen.
COLLECTIONS
Art Gallery of South AustraliaArtbank
The Delmore Collection
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht
Museum de Lyon, France
Musée des Confluences, Lyon
Thomas Vroom Collection, Amsterdam
EXHIBITIONS
2004 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin2004 Stadtgalerie Bamberg Villa Dessauer, Bamberg, Germany
2004 Addison Road Gallery, Marrickville
2003 Hogarth Gallery, Sydney
2002 Gallerie Le Temps du Reve, France
2002 Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne
2002 Anmatyerre Men, World Vision, Walkabout Gallery, Sydney
2002 Light Over Utopia, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
2002 Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
2002 The Strength and the Light: Art from Australia, Neuer Kunstverein, Aschaffenburg, Germany
2002 Glen Eira City Gallery, Melbourne
2002 Gallerie Le Temps du Reve
2001 Das Verborgene im Sichtbaren, Stadtische Gallery, Wolfsburg, Germany
2001 Recounting the Essence of Life: Art from Australia, Kunstforum HDZ, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany
2000 Gabrielle Pizzi Gallery, Melbourne
2000 Mary Place Gallery, Sydney
2000 Contemporary Art of Australian Aborigines, Freiburg, Germany
2000 Art of the Aborigines, Leverkusen and Dormagen, Germany
2000 Utopia Tradition and Innovation – Recent work by the Artists of Utopia, Hogarth Galleries, Darwin
2000 Artists of Utopia, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2000 Dream Paths: Contemporary Paintings of Australian Aborigines, Stadtische Gallery, Traunstein, Germany
1999 Utopia, BMG Art, Adelaide
1998 Dreamings, Spazop Pitti Arte, Florence
1998 Dreamings, Vlaams-Europeesch Conferentiecentrum, Brussels, Belgium
1998 Museum Darestad, The Netherlands
1997 Quadrivium Gallery, Sydney
1997 Aboriginal Art Galerie Baehr, Speyer, Germany
1997 Utopia: Contemporary Aboriginal Works, Quadrivium Gallery, Sydney
1996 Nangra, Stichting Sint-Jan, Brugge, The Netherlands
1996 Nangra, Stichting Sint-Jan, Brugge, The Netherlands
1996 Dreaming of the Desert: Aboriginal Dot Paintings of the Western Desert, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1995 Dacou Gallery, Adelaide
1993 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
1984 First National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
AWARDS
2004 Finalist, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin1984 Selected Entrant, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
