Region: Central Desert

Community: Utopia, Northern Territory

Outstation: Atnangkere

Language: Anmatyerre

Born: 1934

Dreamings: Bush tucker, Inentye men at Atnangkere, body designs,

Nancy Petyarre was born at Soakage Bore in 1934. She is the sister of Gloria Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre, Ada Bird, Violet Petyarre, Myrtle Petyarre and Jeannie Petyarre.

Nancy is noted for her linear style of painting depicting Mountain Devil Dreaming with flowing strokes and bright colours. Often surrounding these broad areas of colour are small dots creating the effect of the lizards skin that is the basis of this Dreaming.

Nancy Petyarre is also well known for her carvings that have featured in numerous exhibitions, and for as well as wood block prints which are in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Collections:

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Exhibitions:

2006 - Utopia, Galerie DAD, France.

2004 - Reves de Femmes, Galerie DAD, Mantes-la-Jolie, France.

2003 - Tactility: two centuries of Indigenous objects, textiles and fibre,

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

1997 - L'Art des Aborigènes d'Australie, Arts d'Australie o Stéphane Jacob / Galerie

de Stassart, Bruxelles.; L'Art des Aborigènes d'Australie, Arts d'Australie o

Stéphane Jacob / Espace Paul Riquet, Béziers.

1994 - Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs;

Yapakurlangu Wirrkardu, Batchelor College, Tennant Creek, NT.

1993 - Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs.

1992 - Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs.

1990 - Utopia - A Picture Story, an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court

Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland.

1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89,

S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney; Aboriginal Art: The Continuing Tradition, National

Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Bibliography:

Brody, A., 1989, Utopia Women's Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project,

1988-89, exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings, Perth. (C) ;

Brody, A., 1990, Utopia: a Picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a

Court Collection, Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth. (C)

Birnberg & Kreczmanski, Aboriginal Artists dictionary of biographies, JB Publishing, (C).