Greeny Purvis

Greeny Purvis Petyarre was born some time around 1935 and resides at the small community
of Boundary Bore (Atneltye) in the Utopia Homelands, Central Australia. He is an Anmatyerre
man and an elder within his tribal group. Greeny is the senior custodian of several Dreaming
stories connected to his country, and has been painting since the late eighties. As an artist,
Greeny has an enviable lineage, his Aunt was the late Emily Kngwarreye, one of the most
famous painters to emerge from Utopia. His sister, Evelyn Pultara is also an artist, and was
the recipient of the General Painting Award in the 2005 Telstra Awards, an event in which
Greeny’s work has been exhibited several times. Furthermore his wife Kathleen Kemarre and
their daughters are also talented artists whose work is instantly recognisable. Greeny has
been honoured with several solo exhibitions of his work and was selected to represent artists
from Utopia at an exhibition held by Nevill Keating Pictures, London, November 2005. His
paintings form part of two prestigious Australian Collections, Artbank and The Art Gallery of
South Australia. Greeny’s primary theme is his plant totem the Bush Yam (atnwelarr),
expressing the same songs and stories as his sister Evelyn and their Aunt (Emily) before
them. It is said that his recent, vibrant linear works track seasonal changes in the
development of the yam plant and its intricate edible root system that has provided a source
of food and water for the Anmatyerrye people since time immemorial.