Emily Kame Kngwarreye
Of advanced years when she began her artistic career, Emily Kame Kngwarreye's death in September 1996 ended a brief but brilliant period where her output and inventiveness made up for time. Born "in the bush" in roughly 1910, Kngwarreye grew up in a traditional way, learning about her country, Alhalkere, and of her responsibilities to this land. Kngwarreye's first contemporary art was made in the late 1970's, with the opportunity to work in the batik medium. However, it was in the summer of 1988/89 that Kngwarreye found her true medium, acrylic paint on canvas. Her first painting was a great success. This led to her receiving the first CAAMA Fellowship in 1989, her first of many solo shows in 1990 and the award of the Australian Artists Creative Fellowship in 1992. Her work is now included in every major public, corporate and private collection in the country and increasingly abroad.
In 1997 Kngwarreye's work was exhibited at the Venice Biennale. In the same year the Queensland Art Gallery curated a major survey exhibition Emily Kame Kngwarreye: Alhalkere: Paintings from Utopia. This then travelled to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the National Gallery of Australia. The exhibition was conceived in 1995 as a survey but soon became a tribute to this remarkable artist. In 2008, a major retrospective of Kngwarreye's work, Utopia: The Genius of Emily Kame Kngwarreye, was exhibited at the National Museum of Art in Osaka and the National Art Centre in Tokyo.
which toured onto the Tate Gallery in London 2025, the first for an Australian Indigenous artist and then to the Fondation Opale in Switzerland, 2026.
For the entirety of her painting career Emily Kame Kngwarreye was the name by which Kngwarreye was known. It’s the name on the back of her paintings, on documentation, in catalogues, newspaper articles and books. It is the only name used in all that time.
In 2010 the latest update to the orthography, would change the spelling, but as Kngwarreye passed away more than a decade prior, we are retaining the spelling used in her lifetime.
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The Golden Age of Utopia, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre and Ada-Bird Petyarre at the S.H Ervin Gallery, Sydney August 6 to Sept 14 2025
Christopher Hodges curates an exhibition presenting significant works from the Utopia community in the Northern Territory, highlighting the region’s major artistic output from its peak period in the 1990s.
The exhibition focuses on the internationally recognised artistic production of artists from the Utopia region, particularly developments in contemporary Aboriginal painting and the emergence of distinct visual languages associated with Country, ceremony and lived experience.
Featured artists include Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre and Ada Bird Petyarre.
By bringing together key works from this period, the exhibition underscores the historical and cultural significance of the Utopia community as one of the most influential centres of contemporary Indigenous art practice in Australia.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye at the Tate Gallery, London Until January 2026
Emily Kame Kngwarreye is the subject of a major survey exhibition at the Tate Modern, marking several institutional milestones.
The exhibition is the first solo presentation by an Australian artist at Tate Modern and the first solo exhibition by an Indigenous artist at the institution. It presents a comprehensive overview of Kngwarreye’s practice, highlighting her significance as one of Australia’s most important contemporary painters.
Developed in association with the National Gallery of Australia, the exhibition brings together key works from public and private collections internationally. It traces the evolution of Kngwarreye’s painting practice and her sustained engagement with Country, ceremony and large-scale abstraction.
The survey positions Kngwarreye’s work within a global context, reinforcing her influence on contemporary painting and her enduring legacy in Australian and international art history.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye at the National Gallery of Australia until April 28 2024
Emily Kame Kngwarreye is the subject of a major survey exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, presenting a comprehensive overview of her practice across key works spanning her career.
The exhibition traces the development of Kngwarreye’s distinctive visual
language and her sustained engagement with Country, ceremony and
mark-making. It highlights the breadth and evolution of her practice,
positioning her as one of the most significant Australian artists of the
20th century.
Widely recognised as one of Australia’s most significant artists, Kngwarreye’s work is presented as a powerful and enduring contribution to contemporary art, reflecting a practice that extends beyond conventional categories of medium and representation.
Utopia Art Sydney represented Emily Kame Kngwarreye throughout her painting career and are proud to support this major survey at the National Gallery of Australia.
Soft and Weak like Water From April 7
Emily Kame Kngwarreye is featured in the Gwangju Biennale, Korea.
April 7 - July 9 2023
STRONG: NERAM Until October 16, 2022
STRONG brings together the work of 5 women artists who began or continued to work late in their lifetime. Emily Kame Kngwarreye is included with several paintings.
New England Art Museum, Armidale, NSW
A Year in Art: Australia 1992 From June 8
The Tate Modern in London has opened a new exhibition of recent acquisitions by Australian Indigenous artists. Until Spring 2022.
Drill Hall Gallery, ANU, ACT December 4 - 20, 2020
An exhibition curated by the Drill Hall Gallery staff of a selection from the ANU Collection, including recent acquisitions and gifts. Including Liz Coats
The Future is Female March 8 to September 13, 2020
An exhibition focussing on female artists using paper to express their ideas behind the aspects of their daily lives. Includes Emily Kame Kngwarreye.
CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Who's Afraid Of Colour Until April 17, 2017
Emily Kame Kngwarreye is included in "Who's Afraid of Colour", An unprecedented survey of over 100 Indigenous Australian Women artists from 1990 to the present. The exhibition is drawn from the NGV collection, and includes all media from traditional woven baskets and bark paintings to contemporary paintings, photographs and video. Also included are Papunya Tula artists Wintjiya Napaltjarri and Tjunkiya Napaltjarri.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye 4 - 28 May, 2016
The most comprehensive look at Kngwarreyes awelye works since the historic exhibition in 1994. Including works that travelled to the Venice Biennale in 1997, and Kngwarreyes retrospectives which toured Japan and Australia.
4 - 28 May, 2016