Artist: Susan Pitjara Hunter

Skin Name: Pitjara (also spelt Petyarre)

Language Group: Alyawarr

Region: Irrultja, Utopia, Northern Territory

Vendor: Utopian Aboriginal Art

Dreaming: Awely (Body Paint), Women’s Business

Born circa 1966 into the Alyawarr tribe and the younger sister of artists. Susan lives at the outstation of Irrultja on Utopia in the Eastern Desert. She lives a traditional life spending all her time in the bush with her husband Clements. Susan Pitjara Hunter (also known as Susie) is one of the most gifted young emerging artists of this region. For such a young artist, Susan has always had a deep sense of belonging to her country and has remained steadfastly a bush woman. Her meticulous execution of Women’s Business is rendered with extreme care and respect for her subject matter. The end result is a myriad of intricate patterns symbolising her Dreaming.

Collections:

• National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Perth

Exhibitions:

• 1989 – A Myriad of Dreaming. Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, Westpac Gallery, Melbourne
• 1989 – Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.
• 1989-91 – Utopia – A Picture Story, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
• 1990 – Utopia – A Picture Story – an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland.
• 1991, 92,93,94,96 – Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs,NT
• 1997 – Geschichtenbilder, Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer, Germany
• 1999 – Aboriginal Art – Australien heute, Deutsche Welle, Koln, Germany (in co-operation with the Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer)
• 1999 – Australie – Art, Arts d’Australie • Stephane Jacob / J.L. Amsler – Bastille, Paris.
• 2004 – Bilderwelten in Utopia. Holzschnitte und Gemaelde vom Aborigines, Staedtisches Kunstmuseum Spendhaus Reutlingen, Kunstmuseum Bayreuth, Deutschland (in Kooperation mit Aboriginal Art Galerie Bahr, Speyer)
• 2006 – Senior Women of Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
• 2006 – Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
• 2007 – Standing on Ceremony, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
• 2007 – Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay Gallery, Sydney
• 2007 – Eastern Desert Dreaming – Artists from Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
• 2007 – Eastern Desert Song, Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
• 2008 – Power of Place, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc., Adelaide
• 2008 – From the Desert to the Sea, Emu Apple Gallery, Brisbane

Bibliography:

• Brody, A., 1989, Utopia Women’s Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, (exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth.)©
• Brody, A., 1990, Utopia: a Picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, (ehibition cat. Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth.)©
• Diggins, L. (ed.), 1989, A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, exhib. cat., Malakoff Fine Art Press, North Caulfield, Victoria