Greenie Purvis Art for Sale and Sold Prices

b. 1930 - d. 2010

Greeny, apart from being a very high ranking tribal elder in Utopia, is also the nephew of the late Emily Kngwarreye. His father, Alhalkere Jack, Lindsay Bird’s mother and Emily are all blood brothers and sisters. Greeny was married to Kathleen Kemarre and together they had four daughters.

Greeny’s paintings, especially his Yam Seed Dreamings, are highly sought after by collectors and galleries throughout the world. Very rarely does Greeny digress from the traditional ochre colours and he paints with the use of lines, medium size dots and also very fine dots. On occasion he has been known to use very large, splash type dot work during a period of collaborations with Emily Kame Kngwarreye (Greeny being the eldest nephew).

The colours Greeny uses usually indicate different stages, seasons or time. e.g. Yam Seed Dreaming – before germinating, after germinating, when bearing fruit and sometimes after it has borne fruit. His paintings appear to reflect his unpretentious personality – quietly unassuming but with that feeling of endurance and respect.

Greeny passed away on the 3rd of May 2010 and leaves behind his wife, Kathleen Purvis, daughters Judy, Maureen, Jedda and Jennifer, his granddaughter Katrina Greeny and many extended family including Lindsay Bird, Gloria Petyarre and Annette Davis, who are all other Utopian artists.
Collections

Mbantua Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Exhibitions

1995 Dreamings, DACOU Gallery, Adelaide

1995 From Beneath the Earth - Utopian Artists, DACOU Gallery, Adelaide

1997 Utopia: Contemporary Aboriginal Works, Quadrivium Gallery NSW

1998 Dreamings, Spazio Pitti Arte, Florence.

1998 Dreamings, Vlaams-Europeesch Conferentiecentrum Brussels, Belgium

1998 May/August - Moseum Dorestad, Wijk bij Duurstede, the Netherlands

1998 March/August - Private Art Galleries, France

1999 Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, N.T. 2000 Mar-April – ‘Artists of Utopia’, Tandanya, S.A

2000 ‘Utopia: Tradition and Innovation - Recent work by the artists of Utopia’, Hogarth Galleries, Northern Territory

2002 ‘Anmatyerre Men’, World Vision, Walkabout Gallery, Sydney

2002 Light Over Utopia, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA

2002 Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A

2002 The Cove Gallery, Portland, Oregon U.S.A (Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)

2002 Urban Wine Works, Portland, Oregon U.S.A (Benefit – OHSU Heart Research Centre)

2002 Mary's Woods, Portland, Oregon U.S.A (Benefit – OHSU Heart Research Centre)

2002 New City Merchants, Knoxville, Tennessee U.S.A

2003 Hogarth Galleries, Paddington, NSW

2003 Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee U.S.A

2003 The Cove Gallery, Portland, Oregon U.S.A (Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)

2003 Contemporary Aboriginal Art Event, Umpqua Bank, Portland, Oregon U.S.A (Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)

2003 Mary's Woods, Portland Oregon U.S.A (Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)

2003 Art From The Dreamtime, Portland Art Museum, Portland Oregon U.S.A (Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)

2004 Addison Road Gallery, Marrickville, NSW

2004 Aug-Sep - Mbantua Gallery USA exhibition; Portland, Nashville, Knoxville, Greenwich, New York and Philadelphia

2004 The Utopia Men, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs

2005 March - Yam Dreaming – Atnwelarre, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, N.T

2005 May-June – Small Wonders (A collection of 1’x1’ and 1’x1½’ paintings), Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, N.T

2004 Evolution of Utopia, Mbantua Gallery Cultural Museum, Alice Springs