Minnie Pwerle Biography and CV
Minnie paints very spontaneously, her works are bold and colourful with predominantly free-flowing lines.
Born in the Utopia Station region c. 1922 to the Anmatyerre/Alyawarre language group, Minnie's paintings explored her Dreamtime story, the anemangkerre (bush melon), which was traditionally painted onto the women’s bodies (awelye) as part of the ceremonies to ensure the prolific reproduction of the fruit in the coming year. The bodies of the women were anointed with emu oil and then painted with traditional ochres.
Minnie’s paintings are deeply rooted in her traditional stories, but developed into an abstract exploration of the original concept, when she was given a wide range of colour to use, by her daughter, Barbara Weir, who is also a recognised artist.
Minnie passed away on March 18, 2006.
View Minnie Pwerle's paintings
COLLECTIONS
Art Gallery of NSW
Art Gallery of South Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
Kelton Foundation
AMP Collection
John McBride Collection
Thomas Vroom Collection
Kreglinger Collection
La Trobe University Collection
Queensland Art Gallery
EXHIBITIONS
2018 Delmore Gallery: Utopia Women, Merricks Art Gallery, Victoria, Australia2010 Minnie Pwerle and Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Kate Owen Gallery, Rozelle, NSW
2010 Body Lines, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane QLD
2010 The Australian Indigenous Art Market Top 100 Exhibition, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Bondi, NSW
2009 Combined exhibition, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S.A
2008 Utopia Revisited, NG Art Gallery, Chippendale, NSW
2008 Colours of Utopia, Gallery Savah, Sydney NSW
2008 Atnwengerrp: Land of Dreaming, Minnie Pwerle carpet launch, Designer Rugs Showroom, Edgecliffe, NSW
2008 Emily and Her Legacy, Hillside Gallery in Tokyo, with Coo-ee Art Sydney in conjunction with the landmark retrospective exhibition 'Utopia - the Genius of Emily Kngwarreye' at the National Art Centre, Tokyo, Japan
2007 Standing on Ceremony, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide, SA
2007 Utopia in New York, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA
2007 Group Exhibition, Australian Embassy, Washington, USA
2007 Group exhibition, Desert Diversity, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2007 Treasures of the Spirit, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide, SA
2007 Group exhibition, APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition with Rio Tinto, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2007 New Works from Utopia, Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2006 Solo Exhibition, Memorial Exhibition, Gallery Savah, Sydney. NSW
2006 The Pwerle Sisters, Group Exhibition, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2006 Group exhibition, APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition, Rio Tinto Offices, Melbourne, VIC
2005 Utopia Revealed, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA
2005 Annual Group Exhibition, Shalom, University of NSW, Shalom Department, Kensington, NSW
2005 Small Wonders, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
2004 Diva's of the Desert, Gallery Gonwana, Alice Springs, NT2003 Art from the Dreamtime, Portland Art Museum in conjunction with Mbantua Gallery, Oregon, USA
2003 Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne
2003 My Grandmother and Me, World Vision, Walkabout Gallery, Sydney, NSW.
2003 Minnie Pwerle & Mitjili Napurrula, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle. WA.
2003 Group Exhibition, Art & Soul Gallery in conjunction with Mbantua Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
2003 Solo Exhibition, "Sydney Art Fair", Gallery Savah, Sydney, NSW.
2003 Contemporary Aboriginal Art Event, Mbantua Gallery, Umpqua Bank, Oregon, U.S.A
2002 Mixed Utopia exhibition at Knut Grothe Galeri, Charlottlenlund, Copenhagen, Denmark
2002 Contemporary Aboriginal Art From The Utopia Region - combined Exhibition at BMGART, Adelaide, SA
2002 Generations Utopia - combined exhibition, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, Perth
2002 Urban Wineworks Gallery, Portland, U.S.A
2002 Minnie's Country, DACOU Gallery, Adelaide, SA
2002 Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs
2002 Paintings From Utopia - combined exhibition at "Framed- The Darwin Gallery", Darwin, NT
2002 Heart and Soul Gallery, Nashville, U.S.A
2002 Mixed Utopia exhibition at Galerie a Le Temps Du Reve, France
2002 A Collectable Aboriginal Art Event - combined exhibition at Raintree Gallery, Darwin, NT
2002 BIG COUNTRY small worlds - solo exhibition at Fireworks Gallery, Qld
2002 Solo exhibition, Recent Paintings, Gallery Savah, Sydney, NSW
2002 The Utopia Six, Flinders Lane Gallery, VIC
2002 Heart and Soul Gallery in conjunction with Mbantua Gallery, Nashville, TN, USA.
2002 Awelye Atnwengerrp, Solo Exhibition at Dacou Gallery, Adelaide, SA.
2002 Urban Wineworks with Mbantua Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA.
2002 Mbantua Gallery, 'In the Cove', Portland, Oregon, USA.
2002 Chapman Gallery Group Exhibition, ACT
2002 Mixed Utopia Exhibition, Gallery Savah, Sydney, NSW
2002 Mixed Utopia Exhibition, Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs, NT
2001 Chapman Gallery, Canberra
2001 San Anselmo, Marin Country, California U.S.A
2001 Dreamtime Gallery, Santa Fe, U.S.A
2001 Tandanya, Adelaide, SA
2001 Gallery 2021, Auckland, New Zealand
2000 AMP Building, Sydney
AWARDS
2001 Finalist 18th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award
