Martu marvel exhibits in Perth

The solo work of a highly acclaimed Hedland artist will be on display at a new FORM exhibition opening in Perth this week.

Gloria, a Martu artist working out of Spinifex Hill Studios in South Hedland, will open tomorrow at The Goods Shed in Claremont.

Gloria took out the award for best indigenous artist at the highly prestigious 2017 Hedland Art Awards and was also named winner of 2017’s Merenda Gallery Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prize at the As We Are Awards.

Her style has been described by Hedland Art Awards judge Emilia Galatisas energetic, vibrant and full of energy.

Spinifex Hill studio manager Greg Taylor said the exhibition would see Gloria travel from South Hedland to Perth to celebrate the showcasing of her 22 acrylic paintings.

Mr Taylor said her style, which had significantly refined over the past 12 months, was similar to that of some of the desert bush painters including Nora Wompi and Nora Nungabar.

The artist paints at Spinifex Hill Studios on one day per week.

“We see a lot of artists in the studio and Gloria’s mark making is really exceptional,” he said.

“Working ‘wet on wet’ as she does can be technically difficult but it’s something that Gloria seemed to have understood from the beginning.

“We began to marvel at Gloria’s sense of colour and her talent for bringing the work into a ‘oneness’.”

He said it was a mysterious thing a lot of artists strive for their whole careers. The exhibition will also feature a collection of limited-edition cashmere modal scarves adapted from Gloria’s artwork.