Kathleen Petyarre is an eminent Australian Aboriginal artist, known for her paintings displaying an extremely refined layering technique with intricate dotting. Her art refers directly to her country and her Dreamings.. However, the vastness of the country can be clearly felt in the landscapes of Petyarre’s paintings. They have been described as: “magisterial works that can be likened to symphonic compositions” (Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA).

Petyarre’s painstaking and virtuosic method of applying countless dots with kebab sticks of various sizes means she typically spends many days, sometimes weeks, on one canvas and has thus avoided the dangers of overproduction, widespread in Aboriginal art

Kathleen Petyarre was born at Atnangkere, an important water soakage for Aboriginal people on the western boundary of Utopia Station, 150 miles north-east of Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory. 

In 1996 she was the winner of the 13th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. Her considerable reputation as one of the most original indigenous artists, has since been confirmed nationally and internationally by her regular inclusion in exhibitions at the most reputed museums and galleries. A book about her art, ’ ‘Genius of Place’ ‘, was published in 2001 in conjunction with a solo exhibition of her works at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, and her paintings can be found in public and private collections all over the world.

She has several sisters who are also well-known artists, among them Gloria, Violet, Myrtle and Jeannie Petyarre. Kathleen’s works consistently show the highest degree of innovation, and are in great demand and likely to fetch the highest prices at auction.