Language Group: Anmattyerr

Region: Camel Camp, Utopia Northern Territory

Dreaming: Bush Plum

Gladdy (Gladys) Kemarr (1937-2017), an Anmatyerr woman, was born on Mount Swan Station, north east of Alice Springs, NT. Gladdy started painting on silk and cotton in the batik technique in 1977, along with Angelina Ngala and Emily Kngwarreye. 

After ten years of producing batik, with the training and encouragement of Jenny Green and Julia Murray, Gladdy, along with other Utopia women took part in an exhibition at the S. H. Ervin Gallery in April 1989 on small canvas boards. This was organised by Rodney Gooch of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). Gladdy also took part in the foundational exhibition 'A Summer Project: Utopia Women's Painting 1988-89', then participated in a watercolour survey in early 1989 which was acquired in its entirety by the Holmes a Court Collection. 

Gladdy lived at Camel Camp in the Utopia region, where she resided with her close relatives including her sister, Ollie (Ally) Kemarre, and artists and sisters - Kathleen, Polly and Angeline Ngala. The practice of painting was sociable and harmonious for these women and they were often painting and chatting together. 

The fine dot work of Gladdy’s'paintings depicts the various ripening stages of the plum. Gladdy’s artworks simultaneously provide a topographical view of the landscape around Ahalpere, Utopia in Central Australia.

As part of Gladdy’s Dreaming, the women perform awely (women's ceremonies), paying homage to the bush plum and ensuring further germinations in years to come. Gladdy also painted many figurative works depicting women in ceremony and Bushmen in battle and at play. These figurative works are an important rendition of the history of the Anmatyerre and Alyawarr lifestyle. 

Over the years Gladdy participated in multiple exhibitions around Australia and overseas including India, Germany, Korea and across Europe. Her paintings are held in prestigious collections around Australia. Her works have been acquired by many major public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 2009 she was a finalist in the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and was awarded first prize in both the Mount Buller Art Awards and City of Swan Art Awards. In 2012, Gladdy was selected as a Finalist in The King’s School Art Prize, The Stanthorpe Art Prize, The Albany Art Prize, The Fletcher Jones Painting Prize and The Waterhouse Natural History Prize.

Gladdy Kemarre continued to regularly exhibit all over the world until she passed away in 2017. 

See more about her here

• Aboriginal Art Museum, The Netherlands 

• The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra 

• The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Artbank 

• Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 

• Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide 

• Flinders University Collection, Adelaide, South Australia 

• The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth 

• Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth 

• Maitland Regional Gallery, Maitland, NSW 

• Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin 

• Redland City Art Gallery, Cleveland, Queensland

• 2017 The Golden Age of Utopia, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin gallery, Brussels, Belgium

• 2015 Aboriginal Artists, Wimbledon Fine Art, London

• 2015 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award, Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT

• 2014 Landscape of our Dreaming, Red Poles, Mclaren Vale, South Australia

• 2014 Senior Women from Camel Camp, Utopia, London

• 2013 Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia

• 2013 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, VIC

• 2013 Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Art Gallery, Caloundra, QLD

• 2013 Hazelhurst Art Award, Gymea, NSW

• 2013 Togart Contemporary Art Exhibition, Parliament House, Darwin, NT

• 2012 Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Art Gallery, NSW

• 2012 Albany Centennial Art Prize, Vancouver Arts Centre, Albany, WA

• 2012 Highlights, Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland, QLD

• 2012 Albany Art Prize, Vancouver Arts Centre, Albany, WA

• 2012 Belongings, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore

• 2011 Cossack Art Award, Post and Telegraph Building, Karratha, WA

• 2011 Hazelhurst Art Award, Gymea, NSW

• 2011 The Waterhouse Natural History Prize, The South Australian Museum, SA

• 2011 Albany Art Prize, Vancouver Arts Centre, Albany, WA

• 2011 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, VIC

• 2011 The Fleurieu Landscape Art Award, Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, McLaren Vale, SA

• 2011 City of Whyalla Art Prize, Middleback Theatre, Whyalla, SA

• 2011 Utopian Aboriginal Art, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne

• 2011 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT

• 2010 Utopia, Indigenart - Mossenson Galleries, Subiaco, WA

• 2010 The Redland Art Awards, Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland, QLD

• 2010 Cossack Art Award, Post and Telegraph Building, Karratha, WA

• 2010 John Leslie Art Prize, Gippsland Art Gallery Sale, VIC

• 2010 Melbourne Art Fair 2010, Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, VIC

• 2010 The Waterhouse Natural History Prize, The South Australian Museum, SA

• 2009 Aboriginal art in Korea, Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul, Korea

• 2008 From the Desert to the Sea, Yurlunggar Art, Brisbane

• 2008 Emily and Her Legacy, Hillside Gallery, Tokyo with Coo-ee Art Sydney in conjunction with the opening of the landmark retrospective exhibition Utopia – The Genius of Emily Kngwarreye at the National Art Centre, Tokyo, Japan

• 2007 Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay, Sydney

• 2006 Senior Women of Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane

• 2004 Aboriginal Art Exhibition, Gallery Bahrt, Speyer

• 2002 Aboriginal Art Exhibition, Gallery Bahrt, Speyer

• 2002 Land of Diversity, The Northern Territory, Hogarth Galleries, Paddington

• 2001 Land of Diversity, The Northern Territory, Hogarth Galleries, Paddington

• 2001 Exposition Collective, Arts d’Australie, Arts D’Australie Equation Transparence, Paris

• 1998 Utopia and Balgo Hills, Gallery Bahr, Speyer, Holland

• 1997 Exposition Collective, Arts d’Australie, Arts D’Australie Equation Transparence, Bruxelles

• 1996 Voices of the Earth, Paintings, Photography and Sculpture from Aboriginal Australia, Seoul, South Korea, Calcutta.

• 1996 Nangara: The Australian Aboriginal Art Exhibition from the Ebes Collection, Brugge, Belgium

• 1996 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, N.T

• 1994 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, N.T

• 1993 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, N.T

• 1992 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, N.T

• 1992 Emily Kngwarreye and Utopia Artists, Hogarth Gallery, Sydney

• 1992 Utopia Women, Eastern Desert Art (Robin Purvis) Brisbane

• 1991 Utopia Artists, Hogarth Gallery, Sydney

• 1991 Alraluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs

• 1990 Art of the Eastern Desert, Eastern Desert Art, (Robin Purvis) Brisbane

• 1989 Aboriginal Art from Utopia, Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne

• 1989 Utopia Women, Coventry Gallery, Sydney

• 1989 Utopia – a Picture Story, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide; The Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin; The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork; Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick; Meat Market Gallery, Melbourne

• 1988 Time Before Time, Austral Gallery, St Louis, USA

• 1988 Painting and Batik from the Desert, Utopia Art, Sydney, NSW

• 1988 Utopia Batik, Craft Council Gallery, Canberra, ACT

• 1988 Utopia Batik, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, QLD

• 1987 Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA

• 1987 Darwin Museum Gallery, Darwin, NT

• 1987 Yirrkala Community Centre, Northern Territory

• 1987 Jogyakarta Fine Art Academy, Indonesia

• 1987 Sydney Expo, Craft Council Gallery, Sydney, NSW

• 1987 The Araluen Centre, Alice Springs, NT

• 1986 Craft Council Gallery, Canberra, ACT

• 1986 Bundaberg Art Gallery, Queensland

• 1986 The Araluen Centre, Springs Craft Festival, Alice Springs, NT

• 1985 Black Women in Focus, Adelaide Festival, Adelaide, SA

• 1985 Burnie Gallery, Tasmania

• 1985 Tasmanian Craft Gallery, Hobart, TAS

• 1984 Craft Council Gallery, Canberra, ACT

• 1984 Queensland University Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

• 1984 Fireworks Gallery, Adelaide, SA

• 1984 Sydney Craft Expo, Sydney, NSW

• 1984 Darwin Craft Council Gallery, Darwin, NT

• 1984 The Araluen Centre, Alice Springs, NT

• 1983 Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, SA

• 1983 Alice Springs Craft Council, Alice Springs, NT

• 1982 Sydney Craft Expo, Sydney, NSW

• 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games Exhibition, Brisbane, QLD

• 1981 Floating Forests of Silks - Utopia Batik from the Desert, Adelaide Festival Centre, SA

• 1980 Artworks, Alice Springs, NT

• 2015 Finalist NATSIAA Awards

• 2013 Finalist (H/C) Waterhouse Natural History Prize SA Museum

• 2013 Winner Calleen Art Award

• 2012 2nd Place Redland Art Awards

• 2012 Finalist Togart Prize

• 2010 Finalist City of Albany Art Prize