Aboriginal Paintings

 

Grass Seed St#03198 Synthetic polymer paint on linen 1200 x 900mm

Awelye Spring Country 2008 St#08619 Synthetic polymer paint on linen 1220 x 900mm SOLD

Grass Seed St#203037 Synthetic polymer paint on linen 1810 x 1280mm

Public Collection: Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane HITACHI AMP MACQUARIE BANK. Further reading: Contemporary Aboriginal Art by Susan McCulloch, 1999.  Utopia: Emily Kame Kngwarreye: Alhalkere, Paintings from Utopia, ed. Margo Neale, 1998 Emily Kngwarreye Paintings, D. Holt, T. Smith, and National Gallery of Victoria, 1998 The Art of Utopia: A New Direction in Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Michael Boulter, 1991 OUR ONLINE BOOKSHOP

Barbara Weir was born in 1945 at what was formerly known as Bundy River Station. Her country is Atnwengerrp and her language is Anmatyerre and Alyawarr. Barbara’s mother Minnie Pwerle is Aboriginal and her father Jack Weir is Irish, and as she was of a mixed heritage, she was taken away from her family at the age of nine. This was a common event for half caste children at that time, and these people are now known as the stolen generation. Barbara was fostered out to various families, first in Alice Springs, then in Victoria, and Darwin. During these years she lost contact with her family but was determined to return and re-claim her heritage. In the late 1960s Barbara and her six children returned to Utopia. There she was re-united with Emily Pwerle, who had looked after her as a child. The reunion was a happy one although Barbara was unable to communicate with the family, as she did not know the language. Eventually, Barbara mastered both the Anmatyerre and Alyawarr languages. On returning to her home and her unique relationship with Emily Pwerle, Barbara became interested in painting. In 1994, Barbara and other Aboriginal women travelled to Indonesia to learn more about the art of batik. She returned from Indonesia full of ideas for developing her own style. In 1996 Barbara travelled to Switzerland and Paris at the request of a gallery owner who commissioned some of Barbara's paintings. Every painting was snapped up by private collectors and this proved to be the turning point in her life. In 1999 Gallery Savah launched its first solo exhibition of Barbara Weir's paintings titled "Dream Works". This exhibition was a sell-out. Susan McCulloch, art critic for the Australian Newspaper and author of Contemporary Aboriginal Art reviewed the show favourably in a full page article, published in the Australian newspaper. Barbara's second solo exhibition launched at Gallery Savah was in April 2000. This exhibition was featured in the 30min Discovery Channel documentary Utopia Revisited.