Lucky Morton Kngwarreye

Lucky has featured in many group exhibitions since beginning her artistic career in 1977. The oldest daughter of fellow Utopian artist Mary Morton Kemarre, Lucky participated in batik workshops that were held in Utopia from 1977 to 1987 with her mother and younger siblings. Her work is represented in the Holmes á Court Collection which was exhibited extensively within Australia and abroad.  Like most other batik artists living in Utopia, Lucky made the transition to painting in the summer of 1988-9 as part of CAAMA’s ‘The First works on Canvas, a Summer Project’. With a more adaptable and effortless medium, Lucky continued to paint with acrylics and has travelled both to Sydney and Melbourne for exhibitions featuring her work. Lucky has also worked briefly with wood sculpture.  When Lucky was growing up she attended a bush school near Hatcher’s Creek which is North East of Utopia and spent her childhood years growing up around Kurrajong Camp in Utopia and MacDonnell Downs Station. For many years Lucky attended Bachelor College in Alice Springs which has seen her travel to Darwin and Tennant Creek for further education.  Lucky paints an extraordinary variety of stories which she says comes from two Countries, Ngkwarlerlanem and Arnkawenyerr.  Lucky can paint the ceremonial body paint designs belonging to these countries and also her mother’s country, Antarrengeny. Collections: Mbantua Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs Powerhouse Museum, Sydney The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra The Holmes á Court Collection, Perth Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane Exhibitions: 1989   Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney 1990    Utopia- A Picture Story, an exhibition of 88 works on Silk from the Holmes á Court Collection by Utopia artists that toured Eire and Scotland 1990   Balance 1990: views, visions, influences QAG, Brisbane 1991   The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin. 1991    Australian Perspecta, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 1998   Dreamings, Spazio Pitti Arte, Florence, Italy and Vlaams- Eurospeech Conferentiecentrum, Brussels, Belgium 1998    Exhibition in Art Centre Meerzigt, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands. 1998    Art Gallery “Culture Store “, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 2002    Queensland Museum for NAIDOC, Hervey Bay Regional Gallery, Gladstone Regional Art Gallery, Duaringa Shire Gallery, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Noosa Regional Gallery, Cooloola Shire Public Gallery 2002   Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions: New City Merchants, Knoxville, TN; Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, TN; 'The Cove Gallery' Portland, OR; Urban Wine Works, Portland, OR; Mary's Woods, Portland, OR 2003   Mbantua Gallery USA exhibitions: New City Merchants, Knoxville, TN; Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, TN; 'The Cove Gallery' Portland, OR; Mary's Woods, Portland, OR 2004    ‘Last of the 20th Century’, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs 2003    National Museum of Australia, Canberra 2004    Mbantua Gallery USA exhibition; Greenwich, Connecticut 2004-2006 Evolution of Utopia, Mbantua Gallery Cultural Museum, Alice Springs 2005    ‘Small Wonders’ (A collection of 1’x1’ and 1’x1½’ paintings), Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, N.T Further References: Brody, A. Utopia: a Picture Story, 99 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Heytesbury Holdings, Perth, 1990. Latz, P.     Bushfires and Bushtucker, IAD Press, Alice Springs, 1995.