The extraordinarily powerful and prolific artist, Minnie Pwerle was born circa 1910 in bush country some 350 kilometres northeast of Alice Springs.  She was to become, along with her contemporary, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, one of Australia's greatest female artists. Her works are held in museums and have been shown in public and private exhibitions worldwide.  In 2004, Minnie was named by Australian Art Collector Magazine as one of Australia's 50 most collectable artists.

The source and inspiration for her art came from her involvement in traditional Aboriginal ceremonial practice and rituals where she was responsible for applying the all-important body paint designs to participants in women's ceremonies.  Minnie Pwerle's Dreamings consist of elements of 'Bush Melon' and 'Bush Melon Seed'. 'Bush Melon' is depicted using linear design curves, circles and breast designs in different colours creating a very loose and bold design while 'Bush Melon Seed' is big and small patches of colour strewn across the canvas.

Both of these Dreamings tell the story of this lovely sweet food that comes from a very small bush found only in Atnwengerrp. Once very abundant and fruiting in the summer season, the bush melon is now very hard to find.  Minnie and the other women used to collect this fruit (that was green in colour and then ripened to a brown colour) and scraped out the small black seeds.  They would then eat the fruit straight away or cut it into pieces and skewer them onto a piece of wood and dry them to be eaten in the coming months when bush tucker was scarce. 

COLLECTIONS

National Gallery of Victoria

Art Gallery of South Australia

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Queensland Art Gallery

La Trobe University Collection

AMP Collection

Hank Ebes Collection

Kelton Foundation

Kreglinger Collection

Thomas Vroom Collection

The Luczo Family Collection, USA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019 Desert Colours, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

Matches 6 - Group Exhibition - Featuring Barbara Weir, Ian Bettinson, Jack Britten, Lilly Kelly Napangardi, Minnie Pwerle, Tony Tuckson & Yvonne Mills-Stanley, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane

2018 Earth's Creation 2: Emily Kame Kngwarreye & Family, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney

Delmore Gallery: Utopia Women, Merricks Art Gallery, Merricks

Utopia Exhibition of 4 Generations, One Rundle Trading Co., Adelaide

2017 Gems from the Stockroom, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney

A SWEEP continues, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane

2010 Utopia, DACOU, Melbourne

The Pwerle Sisters, DACOU Australia & DACOU Melbourne

The Australian Indigenous Art Market Top 100 Exhibition, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney

Minnie Pwerle and Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney

Desert Rhythms, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

2009 Utopia - Colours of the Desert, Gongpyeong Art Space with DACOU, the Australian Embassy in Korea and Crossbay Gallery, Seoul, Korea

Size Matters, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney

2008 Utopia Revisited, NG Art Gallery, Chippendale

Emily and Her Legacy, Hillside Gallery, Tokyo, with Coo-ee Art Sydney and the landmark retrospective exhibition Utopia - the Genius of Emily Kngwarreye at the National Art Centre, Tokyo, Japan

Colours of Utopia, Gallery Savah, Sydney

Atnwengerrp - Land of Dreaming, Minnie Pwerle carpet launch, Designer Rugs Showroom, Sydney

2007 Utopia in New York, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA

Treasures of the Spirit, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide

Standing on Ceremony, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide

New Works from Utopia, Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

2007 Desert Diversity, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

Australian Embassy, Washington, USA

APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition with Rio Tinto, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane

2006 The Pwerle Sisters, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

2005 Utopia Revealed, Japingka Gallery, Perth

Small Wonders, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs

Shalom, University of NSW, Shalom Department, Sydney

2004 Utopia: Gloria, Barbara, Minnie, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne and New York, USA

Divas of the Desert, Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs

Utopia, Galerie DAD, Mantes La Jolie, France

My Grandmother and Me, World Vision, Walkabout Gallery, Sydney

2003 Minnie Pwerle & Mitjili Napurrula, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle

Group Exhibition, Art & Soul Gallery with Mbantua Gallery, Nashville

Contemporary Aboriginal Art Event, Mbantua Gallery, Umpqua Bank, Portland, Oregon, USA

Art from the Dreamtime, Portland Art Museum with Mbantua Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA

Minimal Fuss Featuring Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Tony Tuckson & Minnie Pwerle, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane

2002 Utopia, Galerie Le Temps du Reve, Pont-Aven, France

Urban Wineworks Gallery with Mbantua Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA

United - Mother and Daughter, Minnie Pwerle and Barbara Weir, Alison Kelly Gallery, Armadale

The Utopia Six, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

Paintings from Utopia, Framed, Darwin

Mixed Utopia exhibition at Knut Grothe Galeri, Charlottlenlund, Copenhagen, Denmark

Minnie's Country, DACOU Gallery, Adelaide

Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs

In the Cove, Carriage House Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA

Heart and Soul Gallery with Mbantua Gallery, Nashville, USA

Generations Utopia, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle

Gallery Savah, Sydney

Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs

Contemporary Aboriginal Art From The Utopia Region, BMGART, Adelaide

Chapman Gallery, Canberra

A Collectable Aboriginal Art Event, Raintree Gallery, Darwin

BIG COUNTRY small worlds, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane

2001 Women Artists of the Australian Desert, Gallery 2021, Auckland, New Zealand

Small Stories: Minnie Pwerle, Mary Pantjiti McLean, Tumaru Purlykumunu, Japingka Gallery, Perth

Group exhibition, San Anselmo, CA, USA.

Dreamtime Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Desert Colour- My Country, Raintree Aboriginal Art Gallery, Darwin

2000 Minnie Pwerle (first solo exhibition) Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne