Abie Loy Kemarre / Bush Medicine Leaves (AL16)

Abie Loy Kemarre was born in 1972 at Utopia Station, 275 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern territory of Central Australia. Abie comes from one of the most celebrated painting families in Australia. She is the daughter of Margaret Loy Pula (who won the Wynne Prize in 2012), granddaughter of Kathleen Petyarre and niece of Gloria Petyarre. The eldest of 5 children, she belongs to the Anmatyerr clan group and speaks Eastern Anmatyerr with English as a second language.

Abie began painting in 1994 under the tutelage of her famous grandmother, Kathleen Petyarre. She has custodial rights to the Bush Hen Dreaming which she depicts as well as her associated Country, sandhills and body painting series of works.

Abie spends her time between Mosquito Bore with her family, Lake Nash (Alpurrurulam) and Alice Springs.

Through her powerful and beautiful paintings, Abie Loy Kemarre is able to convey to the viewer the sensitivity and strength she derives from her Dreaming and her country.

Selected Collections
• The Art Gallery of South Australia, South Australia
• Festival of Arts Foundation Collection, Adelaide, South Australia
• The Adelaide University Art Collection, South Australia
• The Levi-Kaplan Collection, Seattle, USA
• The Kelton Foundation, Los Angeles, USA
• The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Commission Collection
• The National Gallery of Victoria, Victoria
• Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth, Western Australia

Selected Solo Exhibitions
• 2004 Abie Loy Kemarre, Gadfly Gallery, Perth
• 2004 Abie Loy Kemarre, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney
• 2003 Abie Loy Kemarre, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne

Selected Group Exhibitions
• 2023 Utopia in Colours, Musee de l’art aborigene australien, Fondation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Motiers, Switzerland
• 2023 Central Desert Showcase, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2023 Top 20 of 2022, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2022 Painting Words, Cooee Gallery, Redfern
• 2022 Utopia & Beyond, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2022 Top 20 2022, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2022 Synergy 2022, First Nations Artists from around Australia, Everywhen Art, Shoreham VIC
• 2021 Top 20 2021, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2021 Body Line, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
• 2021 Big Names Little Paintings, Cooee Art Gallery, Sydney
• 2020 Sounds of Summer, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2020 Central Focus, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2020 Top 20 Exhibition, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2020 Director’s Choice 2020, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2020 Spring, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
• 2019 Summer Show & Art Parade, Salt, Queenscliff, VIC
• 2019 Beyond Time, Australian Aboriginal Art, Booker Lowe Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
• 2019 defining tradition | black + white, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2019 International Women’s Day, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2018 My Country, Salt, Queenscliff, VIC
• 2017 On Country: Australian Aboriginal Art from the Kaplan-Levi Gift, Metropolitan Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
• 2017 Sacred Marks, JGM Gallery, London
• 2016 O Tempo Dos Sonhos, Arte Aborigene Contemporanea da Australia, Caixa Cultural, Sao Paolo
• 2010 Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2008 Emily and her Legacy, Hillside Gallery, Tokyo
• 2007 Yapa Dreaming, Yapa Gallery, Paris
• 2004 Arrnkerthe, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney
• 2003 Mbantua Gallery, USA Exhibition Tour
• 2003 My Grandmother and Me, Walkabout Gallery, Alice Springs
• 2003 Abie Loy Kemarre – Recent Paintings, Fire-works Gallery, Brisbane
• 2002 Mbantua Gallery, USA Exhibition Tour
• 2002 Abie Loy & Violet Petyarre – Recent Paintings, Mary Place Gallery, Paddington NSW
• 2001 15th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Exhibition, Darwin
• 2000 The Collection, Gallerie Australis, Adelaide
• 2000 Utopia, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
• 1999 North by North East: Landscape & Ceremonial paintings from Utopia, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
• 1999 SALA Week, Gallerie Australis, Adelaide
• 1999 Joint Indonesian: Utopia Batik Workshop for the Third Pacific Arts
• 1999 Utopia: Recent Works, King Street Gallery, Perth
• 1998 Our Country Then and Now, Gallerie Australis, Adelaide
• 1998 Raiki Wara: Long Cloth from Aboriginal Australia and the Torres Strait, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
• 1998 Utopia Dreamings, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
• 1997 Shliderijen uit Utopia, Songlines Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 1997 Dreampower: The Art of Contemporary Aboriginal Australia, Museum Puri Lukisan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
• 1997 The Alice Prize Art Exhibition, Alice Springs

Abie’s artwork celebrates the leaf of the antywerleny, a native wattle plant long valued by Aboriginal people for its healing qualities. Traditionally, the leaves are crushed and blended with animal fat to create a soothing medicinal ointment, or steeped in water to produce a cleansing wash.

In her paintings, Abie honours the life-giving spirit of this plant. Each finely painted leaf represents both the practical healing it has provided for generations and the deep connection between people and Country.

By depicting the leaves, Abie pays tribute to the plant’s spirit and expresses a heartfelt wish for its continued regeneration and abundance.