Emily Kam Kngwarray at PACE Gallery

Who is Emily Kam Kngwarray?

Emily Kam Kngwarray (c. 1910–1996) was a senior Anmatyerr Elder from the Alhalker region of Australia’s Northern Territory. She began working in batik in the 1970s at Utopia homelands and bravely took up acrylic painting in 1988, aged about 78. In just eight years she produced around 3,000 paintings, becoming one of the most prolific and significant Aboriginal Australian artists. Her work is deeply rooted in Country, Dreaming themes and the plant and animal life of her ancestral land.

PACE Gallery exhibition: “My Country”

PACE Gallery in London (in collaboration with D’Lan Contemporary) presents My Country, running from 6 June to 8 August 2025. This is the first solo exhibition of her work in the UK. The show traces her artistic evolution: early organic batik forms, bold dot filled colour fields, and later minimalist compositions that defined her late style. The exhibition also includes historical and contemporary batiks by artists inspired by her pioneering practice.

PACE hosted a public event on 6 June featuring Jennifer Higgie, Tamsin Hong and Amanda Thomson, moderated by Vanessa Merlino. The panel explored Kngwarray’s relationship with land, embodiment and women’s knowledge systems.

Major Tate Modern survey exhibition

Following PACE, Tate Modern opens Europe’s first major solo exhibition dedicated to Emily Kam Kngwarray, from 10 July 2025 through 11 January 2026. Featuring over 70 works from across her brief but extraordinary career, this retrospective highlights batiks, large‐scale acrylic paintings and the renowned 22 panel Alhalker Suite (1993).

Artistic style and inspirations

Kngwarray’s work reflects a profound connection to place. Her motifs reference pencil yam, emu, seeds and ancestral spirits of Alhalker Country, often represented through vivid dotting, rhythmic lines and field compositions. She adapted traditional ceremonial knowledge into abstract motifs that feel modern yet deeply embedded in Indigenous world views.

Her style matured rapidly—from batik dyes into acrylic pigments, evolving balance and subtle minimalism while retaining energetic movement and sensory resonance.

Why these exhibitions matter in London’s art scene

• They bring to London (and to Europe) Emily Kam Kngwarray’s first major solo UK exhibitions, offering significant visibility for Indigenous Australian art

• The exhibitions are timely amid growing appreciation of Indigenous voices in institutions such as Tate Modern, Camden Arts Centre and Fruitmarket, reflecting a broader shift in cultural representation

• Tate’s director emphasised that Kngwarray’s peak creative period began later in life, joining narratives of older female artists gaining recognition later—invoking resonances with artists like Bridget Riley and Paula Rego