John Olsen
Sam Rigney
22 January 2017
ABOUT a year ago, iconic Australian artist John Olsen agreed to create an iconic painting that would capture the essence of his birthplace.
It was a deeply personal work, a reflection on his beginnings.
Unfortunately, illness meant he couldn’t be there when the exhibition opened in November last year.
But on Saturday at Newcastle Art Gallery – just a short distance from his childhood home – Olsen got to share a piece of that work, a slice of the Hunter, with hundreds of other art lovers.
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A great Australian artist John Olsen
John Olsen, is a lover of many things: people, food, literature, and the
natural world. Above all, Olsen is a lover of art and life. Listen in
as Olsen tells stories of his life, work and an enduring passion for
capturing the spirit of the Australian landscape.
Related exhibition:
The You Beaut Country, National Gallery of Victoria
John Olsen: The You Beaut Country offers an unparalleled opportunity to examine Olsen?s consummate place in Australian art history. His You beaut country series, which followed his return to Australia in 1960 after three years travelling in Europe, began what would be a lifelong interest in representing the landscape and Australian identity. These works are presented alongside his more recent paintings, prints and watercolours, including those inspired by the filling of Lake Eyre. The exhibition reveals an artist who at 88 years of age has lost none of his passion for his subject matter, nor his creative vitality and retains a unique ability to capture the spirit of the Australian landscape.
Explore John Olsen's 'You Beaut Country' at the NGV
Daily ReviewNGV
October 2016
John Olsen is one of Australia's greatest living artists. Daily Review was fortunate to chat with exhibition curator David Hurlston and see Olsen's distinctive works which are on display at The National Gallery of Victoria Ian Potter Centre through until February 2017.
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SON OF THE BRUSH
Vogue AustraliaTim Olsen
October 2016
John Olsen is one of Australia's greatest living artists. Here, his son, gallerist Tim Olsen, who helped curate a new retrospective, reflects on his bohemian childhood and gives a rare insight into his father's powerful ability and influenc. For Vogue Australia’s October 2016 issue, Olsen Irwin
Director Tim Olsen, who helped curate his father John Olsen’s new
retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria, reflects on his
bohemian childhood and gives a rare insight into his father’s powerful
ability and influence.
“In many ways, John’s paintings have the ability to distort and play with time.” – Tim Olsen
John Olsen: You Beaut Country exhibition
Sydney Morning HeraldSeptember 2016
Arguably Australia's greatest living artist, Olsen is about to launch his largest ever retrospective at the NGV.
John Olsen is known for his energetic painting style and masteful depiction of the Australian landscape...
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Hannah Francis
14 September 2016
If painting is dead, as some art critics say, nobody told John Olsen. "I'd like to know the time of death," he says with the brightest of glints in his eye. "I'm alive. So painting isn't dead."
At 88 years old and widely considered Australia's greatest living painter, Olsen is about to launch his largest ever retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria.
John Olsen's You Beaut country
ABC.net.au (late night live)Presenter: Philip Adams
September 13, 2016
He is regarded as Australia's greatest living artist - for over 60 years John Olsen has been showing us new ways to look at the country's landscapes - from Hill End to Lake Eyre. At the opening of a retrospective of his paintings, murals, works on paper, ceramics and weavings at the National Gallery of Victoria, John Olsen sat down to talk to Phillip about his long, rich, colourful life.
This episode was first broadcast on September 13, 2016
Image: John Olsen, Phillip Adams, NGV Edge Theatre (Gail Boserio, RN)
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Ashleigh Wilson
10 - 11 September 2016
John Olsen's second major retrospective, 25 years after the first, is a landmark for our greatest living artist
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Amanda Hooton
3 September 2016
Over lunch at his home in the NSW southern highlands, John Olsen shares with Amanda Hooton a lifetime of insights into landscape, poetry and painting.
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Janet Hawley
23 January 2016
"I'm not old, I'm just aged," Olsen says, beaming, as the sun glints on the lake which laps his studio and sprawling house in the NSW Southern Highlands.
"One great value in being aged is that it allows retrospective thinking. I can now look back at the changes in my lifetime through a mental telescope....
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John Olsen at the Opera House
SOH Talks and IdeasJan 19, 2016
Living treasure John Olsen spoke at the Sydney Opera House about his largest commission, "My Salute to Five Bells" which is located in the Northern Foyer of the Concert Hall. The Australian artist spoke about his art making practice, love of cooking and why he'll never retire.
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LATELINE: John Olsen returns to his hometown, Newcastle
Now at the age of 88, John Olsen has gone home. Arguably Australia's most successful living artist, he is back in the city of Newcastle where he grew up during the Depression. To honour the memories of his early life, he is about to embark on one of his most significant works. It is set to rival his acclaimed 'Salute To Five Bells' mural at the Sydney Opera House.
Philippa McDonald joined John Olsen on his nostalgic return to the Hunter.
John Olsen - King Sun 7:30
"At 85 years young, John Olsen may have created one of his most monumental paintings in a physically-demanding project, complete with dramatic health scare, that has re-energised him." - 7:30, ABC
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The King Sun: John Olsen, ABC
In March 2013, John Olsen, one of Australia’s greatest living artists,
embarked on the second largest mural of his career. He was 85 years old.
In The King Sun,
director Tony Williams and producer Anna Hewgill follow the progress of
John Olsen’s mural from the arrival of the 8 blank panels to the
transportation, delivery and installation of the giant painting in the
Collins Square development in Melbourne.
The film is a record of a
great Australian at work on possibly his final mural. It’s also an
uplifting exploration of a life in art, and a reflection on mortality,
optimism and happiness.
The filmmakers take us inside Olsen’s
Southern Highland home where Olsen opens up about the eastern
philosophies and techniques that have guided his practice, and we hear
from Olsen’s wife, son and daughter. John Olsen is in the autumn of his
life and in The King Sun he reflects on what he was like as a
younger man. We flash back to archival footage of John as a young,
vigorous and driven artist working on Salute to Five Bells, and winning the Archibald. And we see how much he has mellowed with time.
- ABC1
The King Sun: John Olsen screened Tuesday 17 June at 10pm on ABC1.
Dewi Cooke
30 July 2013
Amid the glass walls and muted tones of Docklands' commercial building clusters, something vibrant and altogether more organic has risen. A quivering sun, its rays unfurling in orange, pink and splotches of green across an immense canvas (six by eight metres) was installed at the weekend under the watchful eye of its creator, famed Australian artist John Olsen.
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Ali Gripper
June 24 2013
In his twilight years, John Olsen is taking on one of the biggest challenges of his career. Ali Gripper steps inside his studio to find an exuberant tribute to the Australian landscape.
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Amy Edwards
25/08/20212
Newcastle born artist John Olsen gathered his emotions as he stood in front of his artwork at Newcastle Art Gallery yesterday evening.
Olsen painted the 1964 ceiling mural titled The Sea Sun of 5 Bells for his friend Dr Ann Lewis and it was unveiled last night as part of the gallery's latest exhibition.
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Elizabeth Fortescue
24/3/12
When Paul Lockyer took off on his fateful tril to Lake Eyre last August, the veteran ABC journalist left a manuscript for his family to read while he was away.
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Sallie Don
24/3/12
John Olsen made the final touches to his latest ainting of Lake Eyre only a few days ago. Approaching Lake Eyre was his memorial to Paul Lockyer, the ABC journalist who died in a helicopter crash alongside cameraman John Bean and pilot Gary Ticehurst at Lake Eyre in August last year.
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Larry Writer
10/1/12
From Lake Eyre to Sydney Harbour the Australian landscape remains a treasured muse for John Olsen, one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists.
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