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.
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.
''It's got this kind of optimistic glow,'' he said. ''There's so much naysaying in the world…we're apt to forget that there is optimism.
''There is a spring after every winter and we've got to keep on this positive side of life. That's what I'm trying to do here with the sun.''
The King Sun is one of the biggest commissions of the 85-year-old's career, second only to his Salute to Five Bells mural at Sydney's Opera House.
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Personally selected by Lang Walker, owner of Collins Square, where The King Sun is now on display, the irrepressible Olsen – who still paints almost every day – worked on the mural for three months from March to June.
But before he was able to sign his name on the finished piece, which he painted by using brushes attached to long poles, walking across its wooden panels, he had a heart attack at his NSW southern highlands home and collapsed, spending about 10 days in hospital.
Now fitted with a pacemaker, he says he's feeling ''better than ever'' and will travel to London in September, where he will feature in a major retrospective of Australian art at the Royal Academy and later stage his own exhibition of new, original works. On Saturday, just half of The King Sun had been installed after a full day of work. The remaining four panels were completed on Sunday, and will include a charcoal-coloured frame, which is the only other nod to the the colour scheme of ''Tower B'' at the Collins Street complex.
Besides the snaking tendrils of sunlight emanating from a bright heart of colour at the painting's centre, Olsen has included three spritely green frogs – a common motif in much of his other work.
The King Sun is the signature commission for the billion-dollar Collins Square development, which is also soon to feature a large geometric sculpture by Sydney artist Dion Horstmans. While there will be other, smaller commissions in the future, they will all relate to Olsen's work.
