View all artwork by Grace Morton Pwerle

GRACIE MORTON PWERLE is a senior Alyawarr artist, born around 1956 at Utopia in Central Australia. She is the daughter of Utopia artist Myrtle Petyarre and the sister of famous artists Gloria and Kathleen Petyarre.

Gracie began her artistic career following the formation of the Women’s Batik Group in Utopia in the 1980s; all of these batik works are now held in the Robert Holmes á Court collection. After learning the art of batik and other skills and story from her family members, Gracie moved to painting on canvas. Many of her works now represent the Bush Plum Dreaming story from her ancestral country, Ahalpere.

The finely layered dots of colour represent the low hanging fruits in various stages of ripeness. Gracie uses slightly different shades for each layer, creating depth and vibrance. The lines that dissect the canvas are the tracks walked by the women to collect the plum. The story also relates to the seeds that were scattered across the land in the ancient Dreaming creation era, bringing abundance and growth to the country that has been nourished by Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years.

Gracie’s artworks are represented in major collections, including the Holmes à Court Collection, National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, and Artbank.