Ollie Kemarre Art for Sale and Sold Prices

b. 1939 - d. 2007

Ollie Kemarre (1939-2007) (sometimes referred to as Allie), an Anmatyerre woman, was born at Mount Swan and brought up in the Haarts Range region with her sister, Gladys Kemarre and brother Billy Benn Pwerle.


Ollie and her sister Gladys were inseparable, and often sat together painting the Anwekety or Bush Plum Dreaming with Angeline Ngale (Kngale), which had been passed down to her by her grandmother. Her fine dot work represents the sweet black fruit, sometimes referred to as Conkerberry. Her paintings primarily depict the ripening stage of bush plum. The plant produces white flowers and berries, which when ripe, are edible and sweet to taste. The berries also feed a variety of wildlife including emus, bush turkeys and other native bird species. Ollie's artworks provide a topographical view of the landscape around Ahalpere, her country, in the Utopia region in Central Australia. As part of Ollie's Dreaming the women perform Awelye ceremonies (women's ceremonies) to pay homage to the Bush Plum to ensure further germinations in years to come.


Like many artists from the eastern desert community, Ollie started painting on fabric using the batik technique in 1977 under the initial guidance of Yipati, a Pitjantjatjara artist from Ernabella and Suzie Bryce, a craft instructor. Later, Jenny Green, a wonderfully enthusiastic arts facilitator, provided cotton material and paints for the women to use and taught many of the women to sign their names as well as other new skills that would make a difference to life at Utopia, such as how to drive a car. When Julia Murray arrived, she introduced silk to the artists and helped expand the market.


After ten years of producing beautiful batik on silk and cotton in glorious colours, Ollie, along with 88 other Alyawarre and Anmatyerre artists participated in an exhibition at the S. H. Ervin Gallery in April 1989 on small painting boards. This was organised by Rodney Gooch of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). She took part in A Summer Project: Utopia Women's Painting (first works on canvas) 1988-89, exhibited in 1989, then participated in a watercolour survey in early 1989 which was acquired in its entirety by the Holmes a Court Collection.


Ollie lived her life tied to the traditions of the bush and her family, was a talented artist and a generous, beautiful soul. Although Ollie never rose to the fame of contemporaries such as Emily Kngwarreye, Kathleen Petyarre and Gloria Petyarre, and at times was in the shadow of her sister Gladys and the three Kngale sisters, her legacy will not be forgotten. In recent times, Ollie's work has been bought by major public collections.


Ollie passed away in March 2007.