Greeny Purvis Petyarre
Born:c.1930/1940
Country:Utopia (Boundary Bore)-NT
Skin:Petyarre
Language group: Eastern Anmatyerre
Greeny Purvis is a highly respected ceremonial leader in his community and he is the nephew of Emily Kngwarreye and is married to Kathleen and has four daughters.
Greeny depicts stories from his traditional country of Atneltyeye, including the Emu, Turkey, Yam and Kangaroo. He commenced painting in the mid 1980’s but stopped for approximately 3 years before recommencing.
Greeny often uses lines to depict the root system of bush tucker plants and colourful dots to depict the wildflowers that can be found. He uses bright, vibrant colours which reflect the love he has for the land, and as a result his paintings are easily distinguishable. His colours usually indicate different stages, seasons or time. For example, in Yam Seed Dreaming – seed before germinating, after germinating, when bearing fruit and after it has borne fruit.
Greeny’s works are held in collections all over the world and has been exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally.