Judging by the bulging band of celebrity chefs cooking up a storm on the telly, Australia has become a nation of foodies. But long before the popularity of MasterChef, Jamie Oliver and the luscious Nigella, iconic Australian painter John Olsen was getting busy in the kitchen.

Like many blokes of his generation, Olsen was a meat and spuds man who lacked sophisticated culinary skills. But in the late 1950s, he visited Spain and developed a passion for eating and cooking that reverberates through his solo show, Culinaria – The Cuisine of the Sun.

At first glance, the paintings in Culinaria seem like standard Olsen fare: all hyperactive squiggles and spatters radiating out of massive organic blobs, peppered with ambiguous calligraphic marks. However, close inspection reveals that Olsen's semi-abstract compositions actually depict the ingredients for a feast.

In Seafood BBQ, the central orb of Olsen's signature style morphs into an off-kilter Weber, complete with spindly legs and a grill jam-packed with wriggling red fish, squid and prawns.

Olsen's Duck a L'Orange is indeed orange and also yellow, green and red. Several ducks, webbed feet and all, seem to be drowning in a soup of energetic noodles.

In Squid with its Own Ink, the wily cephalopod seems to have leapt out of the pan, leaving a trail of purple blotches.

Olsen's paintings are not illustrations of recipes. If they were used as a step-by-step cooking guide, everything would get tossed in the blender and end up splattered across the kitchen. Instead, Culinaria captures the piquant appeal of Olsen's favourite dishes.

JOHN OLSEN: CULINARIA — THE CUISINE OF THE SUN
Daily, until March 21, Tim Olsen Gallery, 63 Jersey Road, Woollahra, 9327 3922.