Violet Petyarre

Violet Petyarre (c. 1945 – present) is a leading Australian Aboriginal artist and a gifted figure who is a member of the Anmatyerre people and from the Utopia region of the Northern Territory of Australia, which is well noted for its culture. Using bright and complex paintings, Violet carries on a tradition of the Petyarre family that played a huge role in the development of contemporary Aboriginal art. She enjoys painting the dreaming stories of her people and the natural features of her traditional country, and her works are called spiritually and culturally significant, and aesthetically beautiful.

Consequently, as a cultural keeper of her indigenous people, Anmatyerre, Violet has employed this art form to pass on the knowledge of her people to the outsiders as well.

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Early Life and Heritage

Violet Petyarre was born circa 1945 at Atnangker, a very small place in Utopia, 240 km northeast of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Utopia, also known as Ahalpere, is an Aboriginal community inhabited by the Anmatyerre people. It is well known for its talents, including some of the best-known Aboriginal artists in Australia.

Violet was born into a big family of artists that includes her sisters Kathleen, Gloria, Ada Bird, Nancy, Myrtle, and Jean Petyarre. Together, the Petyarre family has emerged as major players in shaping the Aboriginal art of today. Her early life in Utopia was very much a part of these traditions of the land. This involved storytelling, ceremonial procedures, and extensive knowledge of the land's resources.

Artistic Journey and Style

Violet’s art practice started in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the batik movement established in Utopia. This movement opened new possibilities for many Aboriginal women artists because they were able to work on innovative projects that were nevertheless based on Aboriginal culture. Moving from batik, she began painting with acrylic on canvas, where she was able to further develop her dot paintings and explore even more creativity.

Her artwork is based on the Dreamtime ancestors of the Anmatmere people, and she especially has a close spiritual link with the Bush Yam plant. Bush Yam is considered important for the Anmatyerre people as a source of nutrition and as a reminder of the growth cycles. Through the use of patterns of dots, layers and colours, Violet’s paintings of the Bush Yam depict a lively sense of movement that gives them energy.

This symbol is also used often in her work and represents the curative value of the native flora, ‘Bush Medicine Leaves.’ In her descriptions and brushstrokes, Violet narrates the beauty of Mother Nature and the spirituality found in her people’s existence.

Violet Petyarre 520mm x 790mm

Recognition and Achievements

Violet Petyarre's artwork is present in many galleries in Australia and abroad. Her works are part of appreciated collections, such as the Holmes à Court Collection, demonstrating the continuous interest of collectors and international museums in her artwork.

Growing up in the Petyarre family, Violet has enriched many people worldwide with the story and heritage of the Anmatyerre tribe. While her work employs conventional aboriginal iconography and aesthetic arrangements with a fresh approach, she has been hailed as one of the contemporary aboriginal artists of considerable repute.

However, Violet is still very grounded and retains a strong connection to the show’s humble beginnings. She lives now near the Utopia Station and occasionally returns to the family camp at Iylenty (Mosquito Bore). Her consistent hard work enables the culture of her forefathers to continue to live on in the contemporary world of art.

Legacy and Cultural Impact

Violet Petyarre engaged herself in Aboriginal art, where she not only carried forward the traditions of her family but also explored potentialities in her art. In her work, she pays homage to the myths of her people and the territory in which her kinfolk live. Every artwork produced is a tribute to the survival, artistic, and spiritual fibre of the Anmatyerre people.

In either respect, as an art worker and cultural historian, one admires Violet’s work for its aesthetic appeals, and at the same time coming to appreciate the cultural values of the indigenous spirituality that the artwork represents on the Aborigines’ part. In her paintings she was able to engage people to the eternal bond between man, the society, and the land.

Violet Petyarre's paintings are regarded as cultural hero stories, which show the audience the resiliency of native Aboriginal people and the richness of Anmatyerre culture. Using small dots and bright symbols, she conveys the history of her tribe and the relationship between people and the territory. Her work helps fill the gap between old and new, as one can view the Spiritual and cultural richness of the First Nations of Australia.

Thus, as she finds herself on the cusp of becoming a mature woman, Violet Petyarre remains a perfect example of how art affects cultural change through the continuation of cultural wisdom and experience. Her paintings make people aware of honouring Indigenous culture and the Aboriginal art form, which is the contribution of Indigenous Aboriginal artists to the contemporary art world.

Violet Petyarre 520mm x 790mm

Celebrate Violet Petrayarre’s Legacy with Mandel Art Gallery

Visit Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery to learn more about Violet Petyarre's patterns. Check out our current exhibitions or online showcases of Indigenous artists. Explore the art of the Anmatyerre people, learn about its beauty, and pay homage to Violet Petyarre's works.