Emily Kam Kngwarray: My Country

Emily Kam Kngwarray (ca. 1914–96) is one of Australia’s most critically acclaimed contemporary artists. Her use of new art media began in the 1970s, when she began working with batik at Ankerrapw (Utopia Station homestead) in Australia’s Northern Territory. After developing a distinctive style with little external influence, she shifted to acrylic on canvas in 1988, marking the start of an extraordinary eight-year painting career during which she created over 3,000 works.

'My Country' will trace Kngwarray’s artistic evolution from her early organic forms to her later vibrant, dot-filled color fields, culminating in the minimalist compositions that defined her mature work. To reflect her profound influence on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, as well as on women artists and the Australian art landscape more broadly, the exhibition will also include contemporary batik works by artists inspired by Kngwarray’s pioneering practice.