Born: 1941

Died: 2022

Language Group: Anmetty

Region: Mulga Bore, Utopia

Cowboy Louie Pwerl was a highly respected Anmattyerr Elder of the Utopia community and a an important leader for his people. He was a close friend of the Chalmers family like his father who was especially close to Charles Chalmers who first settled among the Anmattyerr and Alyawarr people a century ago in 1926. Cowboy Louie was born in 1941 on Old McDonald Station in central Australia. Cowboy’s traditional country stretched from the Sandover River on Utopia through to the west on to Mt Skinner Station. He lived at Mosquito Bore, Utopia central Australia with both his partners Carol and Elizabeth Kngwarrey and extended family. 

Cowboy was a fine painter and senior custodian of a series of dreaming sites many of which are depicted in his paintings. The Bush Turkey Ancestor was a major influence in his work as well as the Emu (Ankerr) and Lizard (Arlewatyerr).

His intricate work is characterised by his use of dark earthy colours and geometric shapes outlined in dots. These represent the tracks of the Bush Turkey roaming across the bushland as it searches for tucker. Viewed from a topographical point of view his works have a dark intensity and depth, recalling the relief and colours of his country. His works can be viewed as an Indigenous atlas mapping the route of the Bush Turkey, Lizard and Emu Ancestors as they travel over the land to their final resting place.

His work has been exhibited in galleries all over the world. He had the lead role in Utopia Generations, Sandover Films directed by Viviana Petyarre.

Collections

Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 

National Gallery of Victoria 

Museum of Victoria, Melbourne 

The Coventry Collection, Sydney 

Art Gallery of South Australia 

Benalla Art Gallery

Stichting Sint-Jan, Brugge, Netherlands 

Major private collectors in Australia and internationally

Exhibitions

2017  The Golden Age of Utopia, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin gallery, Brussels, Belgium 

2016  Camel Camp & Beyond, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA

2015  Aboriginal art, Wimbledon Fine Arts, London

2014  Dot Code: Desert Artists, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA

2014  Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne, VIC

2012  Belongings, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore

2011  Aboriginal Art from Utopia, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne

2010  Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show, London 

2010  Salon des Refuses, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW 

2010  59th Blake Prize, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, NSW

2010  The Utopia Story, Australasian Arts Project, Singapore 
2009  An Individual Perspective: From the Collection of Lauraine Diggins, Deakin University Art Gallery, Burwood, VIC

2009  Blake Prize, The Blake Society, National Art School Gallery, Sydney (finalist) 

2008  Power of Place, Paintings and Sculpture from the Eastern Desert, Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc, Adelaide 

2008  Annual Collectors’ Exhibition, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, VIC

2008  Sydney Art & Antiques Fair 2008, Sydney NSW

2008  Moscow World Fine Art Fair, Manege, Moscow, Russia

2008  Impulse to Paint: The Artists of Iylenty, Utopia, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

2007  Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane 

2007  Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay, Sydney

2007  ArtParis 2007, Grand Palais, Paris FRANCE 

2007  Visions of Utopia, Cooee Aboriginal Art, Sydney NSW

2007  Memory As Landscape, Masterpiece @ IXL, Hobart TAS

2007  Utopia Today, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, VIC

2006  ArtParis 2006, Grand Palais, Paris FRANCE

1997  William Mora Gallery

1993  Aptos Cruz Gallery, Adelaide 

1993  Hogarth Galleries, Sydney 

1992  Aptos Cruz Gallery, Adelaide 

1992  Hogarth Galleries, Sydney 

1992  Aptoz Cruz Gallery, Adelaide 

1991  Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne 

1991  Eastern Desert Art, Brisbane 

1990  Deutscher Gallery, Melbourne