Portrait of the piss artist as a young man
The SpectatorRoss Fitzgerald
19 October 2020
Being the son of the revered John Olsen has often been intriguing, and sometimes difficult.
Olsen, 92, is arguably Australia’s greatest living artist, and is still painting. His son, Tim, 58, the author of this fine memoir, runs one of Australia’s leading art galleries in Woollahra, Sydney.
Is Damien Hirst's Latest Series a Ripoff of an Aboriginal Australian Artist? See the Works Side-by-Side
Artnet.comSarah Cascone
March 30, 2018
Damien Hirst's new work looks a lot like the paintings of famed Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye.
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SHARING COUNTRY curated by Adam Knight
9 New Galleries That Opened in New York City in 2017
Hyperallergic.comElena Goukassian
12 January 2018
Don’t focus on the closings. Three cheers for new galleries!
Image: OLSEN GRUIN installed with its summer show, Wesley Martin Berg and Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri (courtesy OLSEN GRIUIN)
Art galleries are kind of like restaurants. It’s a hard business, and although it’s always sad when one closes (especially after many years serving the neighborhood), when a new one opens, it brings new promise. While 2017 saw the closing of venues like Envoy Enterprises, CRG Gallery, and Sandra Gering Inc., it also witnessed the opening of several brand new galleries in New York City. Here are a few of them [extract]
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Jens Einhorn Raw Vision
The Olsen Gruin Gallery, Manhattan, New York
Vacations & Travel MagazineDaniel Resnik
December 1, 2017
Olsen Gruin is a contemporary art gallery in New York featuring established and emerging Australian and international artists.
‘If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere...'
As the song goes, if you can make it in New York, especially in the competitive world of art dealing and gallery proprietorship, then you really have made it.
To then take it to the next level and successfully remain there takes precise planning mixed with boundless enthusiasm, talent, charm and commitment. And that's exactly what Aussies Tim Olsen and Emerald Gruin, the savvy proprietors of the Manhattan Art Gallery the ‘OLSEN GRUIN' have in abundance.
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Leila Jeffreys Ornithurae Volume 1
Aboriginal art $2.1m auction breaks record
SBS.com.auNovember 2017
A painting by Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye has sold for $2.1 million, a record for the highest auction price for an Australian female artist.
A painting by the late Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye has sold for $2.1 million, marking a new record for the highest price achieved at auction for an Australian female artist.
Her contemporary painting, Earth's Creation I, was sold on Thursday night to art dealer Tim Olsen, who recently set up a gallery in New York.
The painting has an impressive exhibition record. It has been shown at the National Gallery Japan, National Museum of Osaka and the Venice Biennale, National Museum of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Fine Art Bourse and CooeeArt Marketplace organised the online auction, which had to be postponed when a server crashed as thousands of people worldwide tried to log in to watch the sale.
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Emily Kngwarreye Paintings and Prints from the Thomas Vroom Collection
ART REVIEW: Tim Olsen
Vogue LivingTim Olsen
November 2017
Two prominent gallerists share their views on contemporary art and their own personal collections.
Tim Olsen is a leading galleriest in Australia, running Olsen Gallery, Olsen Annexe and Limited in Sydney's Woollahra. Born into the arts dynastically, he is the son of the great painter John Olsen. He recently launched Olsen Gruin gallery in New York - taking Australian art international.
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Stephen Ormandy Ideography
Best New Art Spaces to Visit This Fall
observer.comMargaret Carrigan
28 September 2017
Opened in New York’s Nolita neighborhood in March 2017, this gallery is a collaboration between Tim Olsen, a former Sydney-based gallerist, Emerald Gruin and her partner, Adrian, who were previously involved with Rox Gallery that shuttered its Lower East Side space in 2014. Their roster of artists includes some of Australia’s biggest contemporary exports, including TV Moore, George Byrne and Leila Jeffreys, along with American artists such as KOAK. Their venue is also a platform for contemporary Aboriginal artists to reach U.S. markets, and they recently held a group show organized by Adam Knight, vice president of the Aboriginal Art Association of Australia, featuring 15 artists. The gallery is presenting new works by Sydney-born, L.A.-based photographer George Byrne this fall.
_continue readingINSIDE TIM OLSEN'S WOOLLAHRA HOME | THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
The Weekend AustralianLisa Allen
August 19 2017
Meet the Australians Shaking Up New York's Art Scene
Art ZealousMichael Wolf
August 7, 2017
Olsen Gruin gallery first opened its doors on the Lower East Side less than a year ago. Since then, it has already outgrown its original space and is relocating to a new gallery space on Orchard St. that is three times the size of the current location. Olsen Gruin Gallery is the collaborative venture of Tim Olsen and Emerald and Adrian Gruin.
_continue readingOLSEN GRUIN 'SHARING COUNTRY' | The 30 Hottest Group Shows to See in New York this Summer
ArtnetSarah Cascone
July 3 2017
Congratulations OLSEN GRUIN on being featured as #10 in Artnet's 30 hottest group shows to visit in New York this summer.
'Sharing Country' curated by Adam Knight continues until July 23 at 211 Elizabeth Street.
To view the full exhibition, please visit the OLSEN GRUIN website here.
Related exhibition
SHARING COUNTRY curated by Adam Knight
Tim Olsen takes the leap into the cut-throat New York art world
Sydney Morning HeraldAndrew Hornery
27 January 2017
Sydney art dealer Tim Olsen is about to open the doors on one of his most ambitious projects yet: his own gallery in the thick of New York's cut-throat contemporary art gallery scene.
Located on Elizabeth Street in Soho's established gallery enclave, Olsen told PS he was confident the move would be a success, with a long list of Australian and international artists set to grace its walls.
_continue readingHow gallery owner Tim Olsen found out who he really was
The Australian Financial ReviewSally Patten
27 August 2016
I had hoped that by asking Tim Olsen to have Lunch with the AFR, we might discuss the state of the contemporary art market, the amusing and less amusing side of life as an art dealer and growing up as the son of one of Australia's most successful painters.
_continue readingTim Olsen Man in Black
Messenger CollectiveJade Dunwoody
March 8 2013
Tim Olsen's presence is nothing short of colourful as he welcomes us with open arms into his gallery - except it doesn't feel like a gallery as much as it does a home, with Tim ushering us to the lounge as he makes us tea. We don't have to look took far to see a painting or two. Here is where I should mention were not in the crisp white oblong space that is the stunning Tim Olsen Gallery. We're upstairs in Tim's office, albeit it’s not what I expect.
_continue readingState of Art
The Sydney MagazineElissa Blake
February 22nd 2013
With Sydney's commercial galleries struggling to get people through the door due to the rise of online trading, attitudes to selling in the art world are being forced to change. Elissa Blake speaks with art dealers and artists about their survival strategies.
_continue readingSmall joy flows from a lake of tears
The Daily TelegraphElizabeth 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.
_continue readingOlsen offers painting in honour of ABC's Lockyer
The AustralianSallie 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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Australia Day: The nation in landscape
The Sydney Morning HeraldLeo Robba
26/1/2012
The Herald invited 12 artists to share a glimpse of the country through their eyes.
_continue readingCouples have wedding registries down to a fine art
The Sydney Morning HeraldLouise Schwartzkoff
Monday, October 10, 2011
By the time Felicity Smith and Paul Lowe decided to get married, they owned a house in Darlinghurst and had enough kitchenware and manchester to last them decades. Rather than risk an avalanche of salad bowls and steak knives on their wedding day next month, the couple have asked guests to contribute towards at $12,000 abstract painting.
Following his Art: Tim Olsen's life was mapped out from birth
The Daily TelegraphJenny Ringland
November 2009
Tim Olsen is one of Australia's best known art gallery owners; he is
also the son of one of Australia's most
celebrated living artists, John Olsen. Given his artistic heritage, Tim
always knew his life would be intertwined in the art world; it was just a
question of how. "I went to art school, but I was intimidated by having
a famous father," he says. "I did a degree in art education to teach
children and the art gallery thing evolved. I like the lifestyle of
dealing with artists, who are like second nature to me."