We have just received an exciting new body of work by Australia's most significant female Aboriginal artist living & working today - Gloria Petyarre! 

Gloria Petyarre burst onto the Australian art scene in 1999 when she won the prestigious Wynne Prize for Landscape. She was the first Indigenous Australian to win a major non-Indigenous art prize, cementing her name in art history. Since then, Gloria has become a worldwide success with her unique subject matter and remarkable ability to depict her ancient dreaming stories in a highly contemporary and expressive manner. Gloria did not commence painting until 1988, and her talents were immediately apparent. Her depiction of the Kurrajong bush medicine leaves – with her layered, free flowing swirling brush strokes that scatter across the canvas – has since become her iconic motif. Gloria Petyarre is represented in state, national and international galleries and museums. She has travelled with her art to many countries and exhibited in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, USA, Japan, and in regional and commercial galleries throughout Australia.

As Gloria enters her 70’s, this ‘Queen of the Desert’ has an unwavering commitment to her profession, and has shown great determination to turn her undeniable talent into results equalled by only a handful of Australian artists.

Click here to view Gloria's works

We all know of one famous Dorothy who said “there’s no place like home”. We’d like to introduce you to another Dorothy who, through her captivating art, was able to show the whole world the beauty of her home, known as Mina Mina.

As a child Dorothy experienced unconditional happiness and freedom as she lived a traditional bush life. Dorothy’s fond early years at Mina Mina, along with the sacred dreaming stories that inhabit the land, are the inspiration and subject of her work.

The Australian art world instantly took note of this trailblazer, who was working towards a previously unseen abstracted method of Aboriginal art – removing all iconography in her work. Just as Dorothy’s visual effects are subtle and intriguing, so too are their connection to culture and country.

In 1991 Dorothy won the National Aboriginal art award for best painting in Western media. In 2002 her major solo exhibition (and the first solo exhibition for an Indigenous Australian artist) opened to considerable acclaim at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, and later toured Asia. In 2012 she became the first indigenous Australian artist to have work accepted by Art Cologne, and in the same year her work was displayed in Ancestral Modern, an exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum.

Despite all the success and fame, Dorothy was a quiet and reserved woman who loved nothing more than to go hunting and go walking on country with family. Those close to her knew a charming woman whose smile lit up a room.

In June last year, Dorothy’s life was tragically cut short. Kate Owen Gallery wishes to honour this incredible artist & friend with the exhibition

dorothy remembered

4 october - 26 october

 all artworks available to view online