OLSEN Gallery

Olsen Gallery is delighted to present two new exhibitions: ΧΆΟΣ ΜΑΝΊΑ ΔΑΚΡΎΩΝ by Charlie Sheard Life Scapes by James Coe
 Opening Celebration: Wednesday 27 August, 5–7pm On view until 20 September 2025 For more information, please contact us at [email protected].

Holly Greenwood, whose work hums with the everyday poetry of pub corners and bathroom mirrors, speaks of process as ritual, of gouache sketches that evolve into bold, oil-drenched scenes. Holly's recent work, I'll Be Your Mirror, features women doing makeup in public bathrooms, exploring themes of intimacy and shared spaces. Jones, a kindred spirit, leans into the imperfect beauty of creating as they discuss the music that inspires them, from hip hop to Bach. In a quiet moment between brushstrokes, artists HOLLY GREENWOOD and LAURA JONES sit down to talk art from their shared Sydney studio — not just about the finished product, but the chaos, the colour, and the community behind it. The conversation drifts between memory, mistakes and momentum – two artists connected by a love of the in-between. Article featured in RUSSH Magazine HOME Issue 04 

We’re thrilled to share that Astrogaze—a visionary project by artist and filmmaker Tim Georgeson, in partnership with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra— has received major funding support from Creative Australia. ASTROGAZE: Ancient and Future is a groundbreaking, non-linear cinematic and sonic experience about the conservation of Lutruwita / Tasmania's dark sky sanctuary regarded as one of the darkest skies in the world. Astrogaze explores ancestral star mapping, songlines, and voice across the night skies of Lutruwita/Tasmania. This immersive work invites audiences into the vast, rarely witnessed cosmology of dark skies—at once ancient, urgent, and vital to our ecological future. A cross-disciplinary collaboration featuring: Theresa Sainty (Palawa scholar) , Georgia Scott (Composer), William Barton (Music Advisor), Bob Scott (Sound Designer), Bernard Garry (Editor), Jordy Gregg (Creative Producer), Jamil Hassan (Executive Producer), Miriam Shevland (Dark Sky Advisor). Launching in March 2027 at Ten Days On The Island, Astrogaze will be accompanied by a publication from Berggruen Press and an exhibition at Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. Screen renders : Imagery captured in Tasmania 

The exhibition “Gather in the Golden Grain” by Peter Graham opens on July 30th. In the words of the artist: I think of golden grain like granules of the sun—or the particles that comprise us—being illuminated. I have long envisaged a “human animal” in its earliest mythic mindset and generic form, encountering its environment in a first state of awakening, transforming its surroundings through the wonderful capabilities of mind. Fundamentally, this concept has inspired much of what I do, both in terms of subject and as an imagined ideal approach to working. In this group of large figurative paintings in which I imagined the “shadow-form” of my own body projected into a newly awakened state of consciousness, as if it were witness to the first light of a waking dream. I imagine this source of light to be similar to that which illuminates behind closed eyes—an unearthly glow that penetrates the surface of physical things and exposes the substructures of the environment surrounding us. In this state of primal awareness, I depict my own shadow as a kind of “nature spirit” (a magical creature) with enlivened senses, like a spore cross-pollinating with other receptive organs, transmitting song throughout a state of wilderness—so that its environment becomes enchanted. It emits radiant exhalations and is beholden by the birth of its own song, like a dawn chorus. When I depict a figure that relates to the actual scale of the body, it somehow seems as if that depiction has been extracted from the body itself—like a luminous shadow projected upon the surface. In depicting the form of a body within a painted space, it is as if the paint becomes a literal skin: a cladding for the body of a spirit that resides in another realm, like an interdimensional being. The figures in the paintings appear frieze-like, as if they were cross-section diagrams of psychic beings for a biology illustration. They harvest nutrients in an Arcadian shadow-orchard on the other side of consciousness. They are images of a body awoken within a dream—of a king-harvest in the fertile ground of my own shadow, under a midnight sun. The first impression of the works seen together may be one of abundant garden growth—and in this sense, the pictures have many traditional precedents, presenting “paradise” as a fictitious state of glory, perhaps with the seeds of foreboding that are yet to upend our innocent hopes and longings.

In his poem In Memory of W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden wrote, in regard to the role of art in civilisation, “In the prison of his days/Teach the free man how to praise”. The arts must facilitate a renaissance for all things positive and joyous about life and enliven a world in distress. As my father used to say to his art students when looking at their blank canvas, “Where there is white, there is hope”.  When the world feels empty, enlightenment through young talent and excellence must win through. What else do we have left? Tim Olsen for Harpers Bazaar Australia June/July 2025

Catherine Clayton-Smith paints with a diaphanous touch—layered gestures, shifting tones, and fragments of memory conjured into sensual abstraction. Her works hover between the intimate and the metaphysical, emerging like whispers: veiled, luminous, and finely attuned to the intelligence of gesture. 1. Theyes Rap Roun, 2022 acrylic on canvas 132 x 132 cm $10,000 2. By the Sword, 2024 acrylic on canvas 183 x 168 cm $13,000 3.Expulsion, 2024 acrylic and charcoal on linen 183 x 153 cm $12,000 3. Self-Luminosity, 2023 acrylic on canvas 102 x 135 cm $7,500 5. Harmony in Hooker's Green, 2023 acrylic on canvas 92 x 102 cm $7,000 6. From Hard, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 122 x 112 cm $8,000 To inquire about these available works, please contact [email protected].

Recently at OLSEN, time softened. Artists and collectors gathered to tune in to the hush between brushstrokes. Bathed in the glow of John Olsen’s luminous landscapes, we gave ourselves over to a sound bath of quartz crystal bowls—led by breath, sensation, and the slow unfurling of presence. What followed wasn’t just stillness, but something more electric: a quiet ecstasy, a shared reverence. A reminder that galleries can be temples—and art, a kind of worship felt through every cell. Thank you to those who joined us in this intimate communion. We’ll do it again.

Congratulations to Yaritji Young, recipient of the 2025 Kings School Art Prize. Yaritji’s powerful work shares the story of the Tjala—or honey ants—who live deep beneath the mulga trees in intricate tunnel systems known as nyinantu. These ants, and their larvae (ipilyka-ipilyka), are not only a prized food source but also hold profound cultural and spiritual significance for the Pitjantjatjara people. This ancestral story stretches across the Northern Territory and into South Australia, connecting mythology, ecology, and identity. In honouring the Honey Ant Ancestors, Yaritji’s painting is both a celebration of Country and a reminder of the vital interdependence between people and place. A heartfelt congratulations, Yaritji—your work continues to illuminate and inspire. Image 1: Yaritji Young 2. Tjala Tjukpurpa - Honey Ant Story 2023 Acrylic on canvas 196 x 196 cm 3. Honey Ant Story - Ceramic (1) (591-24AS) 2024 glazed ceramic 44 x 25 x 25 cm 4. Tjala Tjukurpa - Honey Ant Story 2023 acrylic on canvas 240 x 200cm To view available works by Yaritji Young, please visit our website or email us at [email protected]

📘 New Release: John Young – The History Projects We’re thrilled to share the publication of a landmark book on the Hong Kong-born Australian artist John Young and his powerful body of work, The History Projects—an expansive series of 11 projects that engage deeply with diasporic memory, transcultural identity, and what Young calls “an ethical responsibility to the past.” Spanning over 400 images and a dynamic range of texts—new essays, key interviews, republished articles, poetry, artist reflections, and diary excerpts—this book is a definitive guide to one of the most critically engaged practices in contemporary Australian art. Young’s work doesn’t just depict history—it reckons with it, treating it as unfinished business, and asking how we carry the stories of those who came before us. A must-read for anyone interested in art, memory, migration, and the ways we reimagine history through image and reflection. Follow the link to secure the book. https://lnkd.in/g5CTMT4W