John Olsen at the Opera House
SOH Talks and IdeasJan 19, 2016
Living treasure John Olsen spoke at the Sydney Opera House about his largest commission, "My Salute to Five Bells" which is located in the Northern Foyer of the Concert Hall. The Australian artist spoke about his art making practice, love of cooking and why he'll never retire.
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Bird watching has never been more fun
SmithsonianJeff Campagna
3 Nov 2015
Who's a pretty boy, then?
The Times MagazineMonique Rivalland
31 October 2015
Leila Jeffreys’ remarkable portraits of rescue bird.
For Wonder, a rare albino turkey vulture, life can be trying. His terrible eyesight means that “he is afraid of his own shadow”, says Australian photographer Leila Jeffreys. He was found face down in the snow in Michigan and is now at a Californian rescue centre, where Jeffreys took his portrait. “There is a gentleness to him that makes me melt,” she says.
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Sophie Cape - Into the Shadows
The Sydney Morning Herald - SpectrumJohn McDonald
10 October 2015
"A mother and daughter turn to paint and canvas to comprehend a family tragedy".
In light of World Mental Health Day, John McDonald reviews Ann and Sophie Cape's current exhibition 'An Unending Shadow: Works Exploring Dementia' at Mosman Art Gallery.
Furnace - a photographic essay
Museum MagazineLaura Bannister
8 October 2015
Museum visits the ceramics studio of Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize finalist Stephen Bird.
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Stephen Bird: Bastard Son of Royal Doulton
cfileRobyn Phelan
September 2015
Put all shame and modesty aside when visiting Stephen Bird’s exhibition Bastard Son of Royal Doulton. Autobiographical in much of its content, this show features sensational artworks with explicit scenes of sex in the bush, petrol sniffing, and decapitation alongside the banal, stuff of everyday life. This is a survey show of Bird’s ceramics and works on paper from 1992 – 2014. The artist sees the show as a celebration of these 22 years of his career and a creative document of his journey from Scotland to Australia.
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Paul Davies
Art Almanac29 September 2015
“My work is driven by friction between opposing forces of built and natural environments, design and art, abstraction and figuration.” We chat to Davies about his new exhibition ‘Other Desert Spaces’ and the direction his move to Los Angeles has steered his work.
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From World War II to the Archibald: landscape master Guy Warren going strong at 94
Sydney Morning HeraldElla Rubeli
21 September 2015
Guy Warren denies being Australia's oldest working and exhibiting artist, but he's willing to concede that he may be our best looking. At the grand age of 94, he still paints and draws several days a week in his Leichhardt studio.
"I feel 40," he says. "What the hell, age doesn't really matter."
In the past 18 months, Warren has been travelling in Ecuador, Alice Springs and remote NSW. The Dust of Memory, his exhibition of landscape paintings drawn from his travels, opens this weekend at Olsen Irwin Galleries.
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Storm could not wash away inspiration
Daily TelegraphElizabeth Fortescue
27 August 2015
AIn April this year, the day after Sydney's spectacular storms, artist Alan Jones arrived at his Alexandria studio to find 17 of his new paintings floating in melted hail.
William Delafield Cook: the amazing realism of an Australian landscape artist
Australian Financial ReviewSimon Gregg
15 August 2015
This artist, who died In England in March, left a legacy of work that identifies him as one of the most significant Australian landscape painters.
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LA Love Story
SMH Daily LifeGeorgina Safe
9 August 2015
Many people find the concrete and glass sprawl of LA to be ugly and isolating, but Paul Davies sees the city as a work of art. "You have this incredible built environment of modernist architecture right within a natural environment of sunshine, canyons and oceans," he says. "You can't help but be inspired."
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Alan Jones wins the Mosman Art Prize
July 2015Olsen Irwin artist Alan Jones has been awarded the coveted Mosman Art Prize. The Mosman Art Prize is the longest continuously running municipal art prize in Australia and has a rich tradition of fostering emerging and established artist. Painting 131 (North Coogee) won against a competitive field of 104 finalists to claim the illustrious $30,000 prize. Jones' work explores notions of identity and the human experience within the landscape. Katrina Cashman, Mosman Art Prize Coordinator & Senior Curator, commented on Jones' work.
"Alan Jones is one of the most interesting artists of his generation and his artwork Painting 131 (North Coogee) will make a very strong statement within the Mosman Art Collection."Olsen Irwin is incredibly proud of Alan's achievement and is looking forward to his upcoming show Paintings from Coogee 26 August - 13 September 2015. The Mosman Art prize runs from the 25th of July to the 30th of August and is free. There is also a meet the artist public program from 3-4pm on Sunday 16th of August. If you're interested to see more works of Alan Jones's please see our stockroom
TURN TURN TURN: The Studio Ceramics Tradition at the National Art School
July 2015TURN TURN TURN celebrates many of the key styles and movements that evolved over 60 years in the studios of the internationally renowned ceramics course at the National Art School. Curated by Glenn Barkley. The exhibition has a focus group of twelve artists whose work represents a diversity of ceramics production at NAS, and by NAS graduates, across more than six decades of education and creative production. The artists include Stephen Bird, Louise Boscacci, Lynda Draper, Merran Esson, Steve Harrison, Patsy Hely, Juz Kitson, Janet Mansfield, Alan Peascod, Peter Rushforth AM, Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher Jones AO and Toni Warburton. The Exhibition also features the works of another 50 artists with connections to the NAS. Olsen Irwin's own Brett Stone is a notable feature with his Staged Stack making mention in the the Australian's review of the exhibition. The Exhibition runs until August 8th
Bill Callahan and Paul Ryan
Sydney Morning HeraldElissa Blake
May 26 2015
When the painter meets the musician this week at the Vivid Sydney festival, it will be a meeting of the senses.
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William Delafield Cook: Artist hailed as one of Australia
IndependentFrank Field
13 May 2015
Delafield Cook's name was put firmly on the British art map when Elton John bought almost an entire show.
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Former medical student swaps scalpel for brush
Sydney Morning HeraldRose Powell
May 2015
Julian Meagher's latest exhibition is oddly contemplative for a painted study of masculinity and Australia's drinking culture, especially by someone whose main training was in medicine.
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Anh Do paints big lives for his first solo exhibition at Olsen Irwin Gallery
Sydney Morning HerlandAndrew Taylor
April 9 2015
With a portrait in last year's Archibald Prize exhibition and as a finalist in several other art shows, Anh Do's artistic credentials would seem to be beyond doubt.
But Do's gallery dealer Rex Irwin has been a tough judge to please.
"He came before last year's Archibald and he looked at all the work and he went 'This is pretty much all not good enough'," Do says. "And I said 'What about that one? That's my dad and I'm going to put him in the Archibald' and he said 'No, not very good'."
Sophie Cape: Getting the art fix
Artist ProfileOwen Craven
19/2/15
Sophie Cape is a former professional athlete who retired from competitive sport ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to injury. She dabbled in art from a young age – inspired by her artist grandmother (Gwenna Thatcher) and mother (Ann Cape) – but it was when her sporting career came to an abrupt end that her art making became the perfect outlet for her restless, athletic energy and her love of being outdoors. Cape immerses herself physically and emotionally into the landscape. It’s here that she has discovered and developed her unique visual language, making large-scale, visceral artworks composed predominately outside, on the ground in seclusion.
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Into the wild
BelleHarry Roberts
Feb 6 2015
Life works. Blood, sweat and tears are embodied in the creations of every one of these visionary artists.
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Things Collectors Need to Know 2015: Curators's Radar
Art CollectorSasha Grishin
Jan 7 2015
Curator's Radar
Our writers look at those artists who are currently attracting curatorial interest from public institutions through inclusion in exhibitions or major acquisitions.
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