Minnie Motorcar Apwerl (Pwerle)

Minnie Pwerle was born around 1910 at Atnwengerrp in the Utopia region. She deceased on the 18 th March 2006. She was speaking the and Alyawarr languages.

Minnie came from a large family with five sisters, Margie, Molly, Emily, Lois, and Ally and one brother, Louis, now deceased. (deceased in 1996) was one of the greatest aboriginal painters. Minnie had a large family herself, with seven children including Eileen, Betty, June, Dora, Raymond, and Barbara. Her daughter Barbara is a well known artist, .

For seven years, Minnie witnessed the extraordinary rise to artistic super stardom of her friend and sister Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Listening to the internal melody, cleaning the brushes, immerse in this mental school that is the transmission.

Minnie’s painting career began in 1999. She was over 80 years of age but her paintings reflect a lively spirit dancing within. Her linear works are bold and flowing.

She loved to use bright colours, which easily capture the attention of art lovers. However, a prodigious and quick painter, Pwerle was also an extremely hard worker who was up at dawn, painting solidly most days. She also remained formidably fit, often outrunning women years younger on the regular hunts for food in the bush.

She started painting her distinctive linear canvases. In 2000 Minnie had her first solo exhibition in . Since then, she has exhibited regularly throughout the world.

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Minnie’s Dreamings are about "Awelye" women’s ceremonies, "Bush Melon", and "Bush Melon Seed". She has painted these subjects to convey her love and respect for the land and the food it provides to the people. Her "Awelye" paintings represent the lines and patterns painted on the top half of the women's bodies during ceremonies in their country of Atnwengerrp. Body painting carries a deep spiritual significance. They recognise the creative nature of this activity, which uses the human body itself as a living canvas for artistic expression.

Minnie exhibited her works extensively throughout and the world with great success. She is regarded as one of Utopia’s foremost artists and this late artist's paintings are in continual demand from both galleries and the private collectors.

Minnie was rated in the March 2003 by " Collector" magazine as one of the 50 most collectable artists in Australia.

Solo Exhibition:

2004 Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne - Australia 2006 Solo Exhibition, Gallery Savah, Sydney - Australia

Collective Exhibitions:

2000 Mbantua Gallery, - Australia DACOU Gallery in association with AMP, Utopia Artists, Sydney - Australia

2001 Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs - Australia Desert Colour - My Country, Darwin - Australia Painting Country Tandanya, - Australia Combined exhibition, Santa Fey, New Mexico - USA ‘Out of Utopia’ , With Barbara Weir San Anselmo, Marin County, California - USA ‘, Mary Pantjiti McLean, Tumaru Purlykumunu: Small Stories’, - Australia ‘Desert Colour - My Country’, Darwin - Australia ‘Painting Country’, Tandanya, Adelaide - Australia Santa Fe, New Mexico - USA ‘Women Artists of the Australian Desert’, Auckland - New Zealand Participate to the “18th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award”, Darwin – Australia

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2002 Generations”, Japingka Gallery - Australia “The Utopia Six”, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne - Australia Chapman Gallery - Australia “United – Mother and Daughter”, Alison Kelly Gallery - Australia New York City - USA Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs - Australia Heart and Soul Gallery, Nashville - USA Mary Woods, Portland - USA Urban Wineworks, Portland - USA “In the Cove”, Carriage House Gallery, Portland – USA

2003 “My Grandmother and Me”, World Vision, Walkabout Gallery, Sydney - Australia “Light Over Utopia”, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle - Australia ‘Minnie Pwerle’ Original & Authentic Aboriginal Art, Melbourne - Australia ‘Minnie Pwerle’, Alice Springs - Australia Participate to the “20th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award”, Darwin - Australia Redrock Gallery, Southbank - Australia Minnie Pwerle – Nancy Ross Nungurrayi, Galerie CLEMENT, Vevey, Switzerland Artens! On Juillet-Août, France

2004 Lines IV, Fire-Works Gallery Brisbane - Australia Minnie Pwerle, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne - Australia Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand Sofitel Wentworth Hotel, Sydney - Australia Gondwana Gallery, Alice Springs - Australia Emily’s Restaurant, Houston - USA Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane - Australia Indigenart, Subiaco, - Australia Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane - Australia Australian Trade Commission, Seoul, South Korea Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane - Australia Diva's of the Desert", Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs – Australia

2005 Utopia Revealed" Japingka Gallery, Fremantle - Australia Australian Art Exhibition,Taksu Gallery, Jakarta (in conjunction with Austrade) The Women's Show 2005, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne - Australia Utopia Revealed, Japingka Gallery, Perth - Australia The Dark and The Light (exhibition series), Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane - Australia

2007 Peinture Aborigène Contemporaine, MAMAC, Nice –France The Pwerle Sisters, Aboriginal Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia

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Collections:

Musée Grange Switzerland AMP Collection John McBride Collection Hank Ebes Collection Fred Torres Collection National Gallery of Victoria Queensland Art Gallery Art Gallery of NSW Art Gallery of South Autralia Kreglinger Foundation Thomas Vroom Collection

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