Gracie
was born in 1956 in the Utopia region of Central Australia. Gracie is of
the Eastern Amatyerre group and her country is Alhalkere and the daughter
of Myrtle Petyarre. Utopia is a community approximately 170 miles/230 kms
northeast of Alice Springs, NT. She has always lived a traditional lifestyle,
her education involved living and surviving in a desert environment, collecting
bush foods and living off the land. Gracie still lives in the Utopia region
but also occasionally spends time in Alice Springs with one of her two daughters.
Gracie gained recognition as an artist working in the medium of batik,
exhibiting her work with the Utopia women in Australia and overseas. Funded
under government arts programs, the Utopia Women created a major work
entitled "A picture story". This was later acquired by the Holmes
a Court collection and exhibited at Tandanya in Adelaide in 1989. They
travelled to the UK, Ireland, India and Europe before returning to Australia.
In 1988, along with other Utopia artists, Gracie made the transition
from batik into the acrylics on canvas. Her initially depicted traditional
body paint designs and traditional symbols of the region. Open to outside
influence, Gracie's style evolved into the highly detailed spectre
as it presently appears. Her work now is quite brilliant, comprised of
laborious fine dots in intricate patterns, all associated with stories
of her Dreamtimes. These detailed patterns provide an effective three-dimensional
visual feeling. Her most commonly depicted subject is the bush plum known
to the Alyawarre people as Arnwekety. Her more recent etching work combines
the techniques she acquired in both batik and canvas.
Gracie's work has been exhibited throughout Australia
and in many places around the world, particularly in Western Europe and
in North America. Her works are highly sought after in many Australian
Galleries.
Collections
· The Robert Holmes a Court Collection, WA, Australia depicted
in a book entitled Utopia – A Picture Story
· Slaughter and May International Law, London, UK
Batik
· The Robert Holmes a Court Collection, WA, Australia depicted
in a book entitled Utopia – A Picture Story
Selected
Exhibitions
· 1985 Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1986 Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1989 Utopia Women's Paintings. The First Works on Canvas.
A Summer Project
· 1988-89, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney, Australia
· 1989-1991 Utopia - A Picture Story, (Travelling Exhibition) Tandanya
National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide, Australia; The Royal
Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Ireland; Meat Market Gallery,
Melbourne, Australia
· 1991 8th National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum &
Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia
· 1991 Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1992 Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1993 Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1994 Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1996 Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1998 The Art of Utopia and Balgo Hills, Aboriginal Art Gallery
Bähr, Speyer, Germany
· 1998 Culture Store, Art Gallery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
· 1998 Dreamings, Spazio Pitti Art, Florence, Italy
· 1999 Alliance Francaise in Canberra and French Embassy in Canberra,
Australia
· 1999 Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1999 Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, Australia
· 1999 My Country - Journey of our Ancestors, Ancient Earth Indigenous
Art, Cairns, Australia
· 2000 Mosquito Bore - The Art of the Minimalist, Ancient Earth
Indigenous Art, Cairns, Australia
· 2000 Ancient Earth Indigenous Art, Cairns, Australia Group Exhibitions
· 2001 Alliance Francaise , Canberra and French Embassy in Canberra,
Australia
· 2001-2002 Recounting the Essence of Life. Art from Australia,
Germany (In cooperation with Aboriginal Art Gallery Bähr, Speyer)
· 2004 Cicada Trading gallery in Denver, USA
· 2005 Cicada Trading gallery in Istanbul, Turkey
· 2005 Cicada Trading gallery in New York, USA
· 2007 Cicada Trading gallery in Abu Dhabi, UAE
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