Minnie Pwerle

Minnie Pwerle is an Australian aboriginal artist, born between 1910 and 1922 and died on March 18, 2006.

She started painting by the end of the 2000s.

The artist draws her inspiration from her environment: the Atwengerrp lands, the ceremonies of Awelye (a series of land fertility rituals)...... are some of her favorite subjects. Minnie Pwerle displays a flawless energy which she trancribes in her pieces. The vibration of her pieces are generated by a burst of exarcerbated colors and gestures. The traits intersect, specially in her piece "Bush Melon dreaming" where the small colored circles symbolize the "Bush Melon Seed Dreaming". Her paintings have a tendecy toward more sobriety when the artist uses only one shade (especially white on a black background).

Her paintings are coveted by numerous amateus of Australian aboriginal contemporary art . Her success is such that some collectors go through a hassle to get her artworks. There is an anecdote that says that the artist was kidnapped by a troop who wanted her to paint for them. She is referred to as one of the 50 "most collectable" Australian artists. All along her career, her work has been exhibited in Australian galleries and is part of several collection: Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery of South Australia, Kreglinger Coll, National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery, Thomas Vroom Coll, Hank Ebes Coll, AMP Coll.

Prizes received by this artist:

2001. Finalist, 18th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin (Australia)

His works are present in many collections:

AMP Collection, Melbourne (Australia)

Artbank, Sydney (Australia)

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia)

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (Australia)

Australian Heritage Collection, Adelaide (Australia)

Fred Torres Collection (Australia)

Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne (Australia)

John McBride Collection (United States)

Kreglinger Collection, Antwerp (Belgium)

La Trobe University, Melbourne (Australia)

Mbantua Collection, Alice Springs (Australia)

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (Australia)

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (Australia)

Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory, Darwin (Australia)

Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (Australia)

The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica (United States)

The Vroom Collection, Amsterdam (Australia)