Dorothy Braund, Barbara Brash, 1967. Oil on Masonite board, 91.5 x 122cm. Courtesy: the artist’s estate, the Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art, The University of Western Australia, and Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, Perth.

Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery presents BLAZE: people made known, featuring portraits drawn from the Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art. The exhibition highlights the recent acquisition of work by artists Virginia Ward, Rhonda Sharpe, Angela Brennan, Virginia Fraser and Elvis Richardson.

It also pays special tribute to Susan Cooper Wyatt, a Maduwonnga and Wongatha leader and artist, whose practice celebrates the significant impact of Aboriginal leaders. Cooper Wyatt’s paintings are public statements of agency and visibility. Among the featured portraits is a full-length depiction of Doris Pilkington Garimara, renowned author of Follow the rabbit proof fence (1996) and Under the wintamarra tree (2002), recognised for her powerful writing that describes the ongoing impact endured by generations of her family as part of the Stolen Generations.

BLAZE: people made known is an evocative and thought-provoking exhibition, offering visitors an opportunity to recognise the agency of these remarkable artists and their sitters.