Leaves Exhibition, 12 Feb - 5 Apr 2016

Gloria Petyarre is currently ranked 7 on Australia's Indigenous Art Market and we are thrilled to be able to work with her. 

Leaves exhibition is a collection of nineteen unique artworks, each one hand painted by Gloria Petyarre representing Leaves, Gloria's most acclaimed subject.  

About Gloria Petyarre

An Anmatyerre woman from Atnangkere country in Utopia, Gloria Petyarre began her painting career when workshops were introduced to aboriginal people of her community in the early 1990's. Although unsure of the medium at first, after having worked over a decade with silk batik, Gloria knew there was no looking back when she held her paint brush for the very first time. Painting brought her a sense of freedom of expression and, being experimental by nature, it  has allowed her sense of artistic authority to develop.

Gloria has been known to paint many subjects in different styles over the years and her works are ranked amongst the best in Australia; collected by art lovers and art houses alike, all over the world.

Leaves

By far the most well known and successful of Gloria’s works are her Leaves paintings. Five of her top ten artworks sold at auction have been Leaves. Originally they depicted everyday leaves scattered on the ground, but they often reflect leaves with medicinal qualities also which play a significant part in Gloria's ownership of Country. 

The most popular works are those with pleasing patterns where leaves appear to be picked up in swift passing zephyrs, entangled in whirls of wind and swept across the landscape. The canvas holds no boundaries in these; it is as if the energy and movement continues off in all directions.

This life energy attributed to the success of Leaves, winning Gloria the very prestigious Wynne Prize in 1999. The Wynne Prize is one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, established in 1897, which now runs annually alongside the Archibald Prize held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.  

This major prize is awarded to the artist of the best Australian landscape painting or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists completed during the preceding 12 months. Gloria was the first aboriginal person to be awarded the prize; a triumph for Aboriginal art and a milestone for female artists in Australia.

In the mid 00's Gloria reinvented Leaves and is now mostly seen painting in this format; translating the leaf motif with large bold gestural and highly colour charged daubs superimposed over one another as the paint is still wet - a far cry from her earlier works. It is one of the most exciting styles to come from the Eastern Desert art, capturing the same essence of instinct and expression as Emily Kame Kngwarreye before her but with Gloria's own trademark motifs.    

We invite you to visit our exhibition page to read the full article and view the artworks.