Gloria Petyarre – Aboriginal Art

Artist : Gloria Petyarre
People : Anmatyerre
Language : Anmatyerre
Born : c. 1945
Region : Atnangkere

All this change in 1977, with the beginnings of the Batik program, which excelled providing the town of Utopia with an income and a claim of recognition.


Gloria Petyarre was one of the original artist employed in this program. The batik program was a major success, with Gloria being one of the leading artists in this format.


Gloria Petyarre was one of the original artist employed in this program. The batik program was a major success, with Gloria being one of the leading artists in this format.


Gloria paints the traditional women business subjects, which are predominant in Utopia. The store of white understanding is heavily influenced by the sex of the contact. In Papunya the contact was Geoffrey Bardon, therefore most of the original artist were male. In Utopia the arts advisor was female, allowing the female artists of this area to flourish.


The leading artists quickly mastered the manipulative possibilities. Not only did a huge range of colors emerge, but a far greater tonal range than they were able to achieve with batiks. Gloria stands out here, with her work she uses close tonal values of different colors, creating a dynamic optical intensity. Her work features powerful structural linear patterns derived from body painting, outlined with single dots. At other times the structural pattern becomes submerged in a sea of dots, the tonal relationships causing the structural pattern to dissolve into the base design of her painting.



Related resources

http://www.jintaart.com.au/bios/gloriabio.htm