1928-2019

Mirka Mora was a french-born Australian artist and cultural figure who contributed significantly to the development of contemporary art in Australia. Her media included drawing, painting, soft-sculpture dolls and mosaic. A beloved and central figure in the cultural life of Australia, Mirka Mora long captured the public imagination with her distinctive art and inimitable personality.

Anthropomorphic characters floating and playing in semi-abstract forests and interiors, are organic and lyrical in style, with illustrative, continuous compositions that could be tapestries or textile prints.

The artist preferred to paint from her imaginary world, depicting joyful gatherings of children and mythical beasts, a form of escape, or therapy, from the harsh reality of her european refugee background, having been a child herself as a Holocaust survivor.

Fairy tales, folk art, surrealism and the artist’s vivid daydreams intermingle in her artworks,  however the viewer may interpret, amongst the layered, colourful and decorative imagery, a revealing portrait of Mirka’s innermost self.