Ally Kemarre

February 4, 2020

Ally Kemarre

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Artist Profile · Northern Territory

Ally Kemarre

Pioneering Utopia painter of Anwekety (conkerberry), held in the National Gallery of Australia.

Lived

c. 1920 – 2007

Language group

Anmatyerre / Alyawarr

Country

Ahalpere, Utopia region, north-east of Alice Springs, NT

Medium

Acrylic on canvas and linen; batik on silk; printmaking

One of Utopia’s first painters

Ally Kemarre was an Anmatyerre woman from Ahalpere, in the Utopia region of Central Australia. She lived in a family community rich in artists, including Glady Kemarre, Angelina Pwerle, and Polly and Kathleen Ngale.

Like many Utopia women, Ally first worked in batik on silk. She took up acrylic painting during A Summer Project of 1988–89, when canvas and acrylic paint were first introduced to the women of Utopia. She was never prolific, but painted steadily until her death in 2007.

Her work

Ally’s simple, quiet paintings capture Anwekety, the small black conkerberries that appear after good rain, which she called bush plum in English. In the Dreaming, winds carried the first Anwekety seed across her ancestors’ land, where it grew, fruited and spread. She also painted Awelye (women’s ceremony) and Ahakeye (Bush Plum) Dreaming.

Anwekety (Conkerberry)
Ahakeye (Bush Plum) Dreaming
Awelye (Women’s Ceremony)
Batik

Highlights

Utopia Women’s Paintings, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney (1989)
Utopia – A Picture Story, Holmes à Court Collection, touring Ireland and Scotland (1990)
Desert Gestures, The Anzai Gallery, Tokyo (2024)
Collections: National Gallery of Australia, Holmes à Court Collection and the Mbantua Collection

Buying Ally’s work

For authenticated paintings with provenance, buy through a recognised gallery such as Mbantua Gallery, and always ask for a certificate of authenticity.