Sally Anderson

Sally Anderson spoke about how the deeply autobiographical, the metaphorical and the observed intertwine in her painting practice.

JACQUI STOCKDALE | Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture

OLSEN Gallery congratulates Jacqui Stockdale on her selection as a finalist in the Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture with her work Matilda. The Olive Cotton Award for photographic portraiture is a $20,000 biennial national award for excellence in photographic portraiture dedicated to the memory of photographer Olive Cotton. The winning work is acquired for the Gallery's Collection. The Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture Exhibition opens on 12 July 2019 ? 22 September 2019.

JACQUI STOCKDALE | 2019 LEN FOX PAINTING AWARD

OLSEN Gallery congratulates Jacqui Stockdale on her selection as a finalist in the 2019 Len Fox Painting Award with portrait Brother Nature. The Len Fox Painting Award is a highlight of the Castlemaine Art Museum 2019 Exhibition Program. The Len Fox Painting Award Exhibition opens on 8 June 2019 to 1 September 2019.

FRIENDS STUDIO TOUR: JOHN YOUNG | AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

Join the Friends of the Australian Tapestry Workshop for an exclusive visit to the studio of leading Australian artist John Young. John has collaborated with the ATW on two significant tapestries, Open World (2005) and Finding Kenneth Myer (2011). John Young was born in Hong Kong and moved to Australia in 1967. He read philosophy of science and aesthetics at the University of Sydney and then studied painting and sculpture at Sydney College of the Arts. He is well known for his series of paintings that are inspired by transcultural concerns and a bicultural experience. His works have been shown in more than 60 solo exhibitions and more than 160 group exhibitions across Australia, Asia and Europe. Join the artist on a tour of his studio, and to learn more about his practice and recent projects and exhibitions. Refreshments will be provided at the conclusion of the tour. 

Click here to join the Friends of the ATW For more information, contact the ATW on 9699 7885 or email contact@austapestry.com.au

Congratulations to Sylvia Ken winner of this years WYNNE Prize

Established in 1897 the Wynne Prize is awarded annually for 'the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists?. Sylvia Ken is from the Amata community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia. Her family are traditional owners for significant sites where the Seven Sisters story takes place. This painting refers to this story, the landscape that the story takes place in, as well as the characters in the story.

"I listen to the old people's stories and I think about these stories and then the ideas come for my paintings" I listen when they are talking about tjukurpa and telling creation stories, and when they say to me, "No, you should paint this way, the Seven Sisters"

CONGRATULATIONS to McLEAN EDWARDS this year's winner of the Sir John Sulman Prize.

Established in 1936 the Sulman Prize is awarded to the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project by an Australian artist. Edwards? explains that this work is about romantic engagement. ?My protagonist holds an apple/phone and is surrounded by new-growth leaves. There is a tree stump, stripped bare; febrile and baleful with one eye open. My hero?s coat is of the 'look at me?' variety, a map of roads, the pattern a bitumen colour and rather uneven?. Edwards has a forthcoming exhibition ?Everything Once? opening on May 22. 

'The first girl that knocked on his door', 2019 oil on canvas 153 x 122.5cm Edwards.

The secret to sculptor Anna-Wili Highfield's success: break the mould

Anna-Wili Highfield has eschewed the traditional gallery system with a trajectory that has taken her work from a local designer’s living room to the boutiques of Tiffany and Hermès.

Anna-Wili Highfield remembers the moment she realised she was staring a whole new world in the eye. It was early 2011, she was 30 and she had, she happily admits, lost control of her life. Newly pregnant, she was in the living room of her house in Sydney's inner west with her daughter, Matilda, who had just turned four, and her cousin, Xanthe Highfield. Not that maternity was the immediate issue. Matilda was the original love child, conceived shortly after Highfield and her partner, Simon Cavanough, met at Opera Australia, where she was an apprentice scenery painter and he a prop maker. The couple's son, Claude, was a long-planned addition to the family. 

Olsen's creative legacy crosses generations

Two more generations of artists are following in the footsteps of patriarch John Olsen - and they're not shy when it comes to giving each other feedback.

"Your grand-père is going to be watching!â?� booms John Olsen to his 20-year-old granddaughter Camille Olsen-Ormandy as the pair pore over an art book and discuss the importance of learning to draw. Laughter erupts from one of Australiaâ??s greatest living artists, as it does from his daughter Louise Olsen and her husband, Stephen Ormandy, the co-founders of Dinosaur Designs and artists in their own right. â??No pressure, no pressure,â?� quips Louise. â??He is watching, he is watching us all!â?�

Philjames: Modern Masters

Pop culture and high art are unexpected sparring partners in the work of Philjames. Vault checks in with the Sydney artist whose practice owes as much to Tyler Durden as it does to Marcel Duchamp.

Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 20th anniversary

The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship turns 20 this year and Steve Dow took this opportunity to talk to three recipients, Tom Polo, Mitch Cairns and Sally Anderson, about travelling to Paris and the impact of the scholarship on their painting practices.

Alan Jones | Dobell Drawing Prize

Congratulations to OLSEN Gallery artist Alan Jones whose work The Fire Trail 1 has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious Dobell Drawing Prize.

A Fine Feathered Fascination

JACQUI STOCKDALE | FINALIST IN RAVENSWOOD AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S ART PRIZE 2019

OLSEN Gallery wishes to congratulate Jacqui Stockdale on the selection of her work Duel of the Mount 1 as a finalist in the prestigious Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize. The Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize is an annual prize that was launched in 2017 to advance art and opportunity for emerging and established female artists in Australia. There are two prize categories, including a $35,000 prize ? the richest professional art prize for women in Australia. Artwork judging will be overseen by Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize Patron and acclaimed artist, Jennifer Turpin, and announced at the exhibition opening on 31 May, 2019. Join us as we celebrate the finest female talent in Australia.

The Art of Colour

You can introduce colour to your home in so many different ways, but one strong piece of art will make the most impact. We talk to eight of our favourite Australian artists to find out how colour influences their work.

Journey through landscape where real meets imagined

OLSEN Gallery artist George Byrne appears in The Daily Telegraph. 

SALLY ANDERSON AND ALAN JONES

Sally Anderson and Alan Jones' work is currently on display at S.H. Ervin Gallery as part of the The Whiteley at 20: Twenty Years of the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship.? The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship was established by Ms Beryl Whiteley who generously allocated funds for the scholarship in memory of her son, Brett Whiteley, to provide young painters the opportunity to travel to Paris and explore Europe in order to develop their artistic practice.? Since its inception in 1999, 20 young painters have followed in the footsteps if Brett Whiteley who won the Italian Government Travelling Scholarship in 1959. The exhibition features works of the 20 scholarship winning artists, many of whom are well-known, alongside those of Brett Whiteley. Presented with the support of the Art Gallery of New South Wales through the Beryl Whiteley Bequest.

PAUL DAVIES Centennial Gifts: Recent Additions to the Permanent Collection at Laguna Art Museum

OLSEN Gallery artist Paul Davies' work Landscape in open-plan is on show at the Laguna Art Museum group exhibition Centennial Gifts: Recent Additions to the Permanent Collection March 3 - May 27, 2019. This is the first exhibition to be shown in the museum's newly remodeled lower-level galleries. 

MARIE HAGERTY FINALIST IN THE 2019 GUIRGUIS NEW ART PRIZE

OLSEN Gallery wishes to congratulate Marie Hagerty on her selection as a finalist of the 2019 Guiruis New Art Prize. "Administered by Federation University Australia, in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ballarat the Guirguis New Art Prize (GNAP) is generously sponsored by local surgeon and philanthropist, Mr Mark Guirguis. In its fourth iteration, GNAP19 promises to inspire and surprise audiences with a bold mix and unique snapshot of Australian art created by artists selected from the Northern Territory, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Reflecting a myriad of historical and contemporary influences, artists explore ideas ranging from Australian cultural and social history, self-portraiture, identity and transformation, to a humorous perspective on skullduggery and office culture and theories surrounding the fourth dimension, expressed through diverse media including sculpture, video, painting, textiles, ceramics and installation. GNAP19 is presented at FedUni's Post Office Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ballarat." To view available works by Marie Hagerty click here.

The Painter's Palette

Artist Zoe Young is inspired by everyday life at her home in NSW's Southern Highlands. 

Locale: Paul Davies in Los Angeles