ARTIST PROFILE

Ada Bird Petyarre

Ada Bird Petyarre was born on the old Utopia station at Atangkere c.1930.  She is an Anmatyerre speaker and is a significant Elder of one of the most important movements which has emerged from desert painting, the Utopia Women.  Her country is  Atnangkere  and she painted the Arnkerrthe (Mountain Devil Lizard), Engcarma (Bean), Unyara (Emu), Annlara (Pencil Yam), Kadjera (Grass Seeds),  and Elaitchurunga (Small Brown Grass) Dreamings that she shares with Gloria Petyarre and Emily Kame Kngwarreye and other female artists from the Utopia region.  Ada’s style is unique, reflecting her culture and her personality.  Her talent is obvious, and she has a legacy of works in many different designs, some featuring strong bright colours and others so beautifully delicate.
 
Ada formerly resided at Mulga Bore (Akaye Soakage) but is now in care in Alice Springs.  It is unlikely she will paint further works due to ill health.  She was involved with the Utopia Women's Batik group since its interception in the late '70s.  Ada began painting in 1988 with CAAMA (Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association) Summer Project.  In late 1989 the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra acquired a major canvas, and the addition of her works to many public and private collections followed. The German filmaker Wim Wenders acquired one of her batiks and gave Ada a role in one of his films, partially shot in Central Australia.
 
Her work features on the cover of “Utopia - A Picture Story”, a publication based on an exhibition of 88 works on silk by the Utopia artists that toured Eire and Scotland; and is also featured in The Art of Utopia.
 
Ada Bird Petyarre is recognised as being one of the leading artists to have emerged from Utopia and her works are held in major collections in Australia and Internationally.
 
Selected Solo & Group Exhibitions

1988
- Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Utopia Art, Sydney
- Time Before Time, Austral Gallery, St. Louis, USA

1989
- Utopia Batik, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
- Utopia Women’s Paintings. The First Works on Canvas. A Summer Project, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney

1989 – 91
- Utopia - A Picture Story, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
- The Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin; The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork

1990
- A Portfolio of Australian Women Artists, Macquarie Gallery, Sydney
- Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes à Court Collection, USA
- Utopia Artists, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

1991
- Aboriginal Women’s Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Flash Pictures, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

1992
- Modern Art - Ancient Icon, Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, Victoria

1993
- Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
- Tjukurrpa. Desert Dreamings, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth

1993 – 94
- Aratjara. Art of the First Australians – Germany, London, Denmark

1994
- Power of the Land. Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria
- Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

1997
- Aboriginal Art Gallery Baehr, Speyer, Germany

1998
- Art Gallery Kunsthuys, The Netherlands
- Culture Store, Art Gallery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Dreamings, Spazio Pitti Arte, Florence, Italy
- Dreamings, Brussels, Belgium

1998 – 2000
- Raiki Wara. National Gallery of Victoria, Museum & Art Gallery of the N.T., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia

1999
- Ginninderra Galleries, Canberra
- Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs
- Aboriginal Art - Australia Today, Deutsche Welle, Cologne, Germany
- Indigenous Art of the Dreamtime, United Nations and Australian Agency at the United Nations, New York, USA

2000
- Art of the Aborigines, Leverkusen, Germany
- Utopia Women, Red Desert Gallery, Eumundi, Sunshine Coast University, Noosa

2001
- The Unseen in Scene, Städtische Gallery Wolfsburg, Germany
- De Beer’s Collection, Brookdale Galleries
- Seven Sisters Petyarre, Brisbane City Gallery, Brisbane
- Walkabout Indigenous Art Gallery, Sydney

2002
- Recounting the Essence of Life. Art from Australia, Germany
- The Strength and the Light. Art from Australia, Germany

2003
- Big Country. Flinders University City Gallery, Adelaide

Selected Collections
- Anthropology Museum, St. Lucia, USA
 - Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Kelton Foundation, Los Angeles
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
- Robert Holmes à Court Collection, Perth
- University of Queensland, Brisbane