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Her house was a living part of her art…
She was exactly where she wanted to be, in the midst of her art and her life, and it was here that she produced some of her best work. *
– Christine France, Margaret Olley biographer
Margaret Olley (1923–2011) lived a life dedicated to art and artists. Drawing inspiration from influential modern French and Italian masters – Bonnard, Matisse, Morandi, Gauguin, Cézanne – Olley understood the importance of experiencing great works that inspired her art practice.
As a legacy of this and Olley's generous support for fellow artists, the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre (TRGMOAC) presents an exclusive program of exhibitions that stimulate the creation of new work and generate conversations around the genre of still life painting in Australia today.
For A Dictionary for Painting: Margaret Olley, Robert Malherbe and Keith Burt, contemporary painters Malherbe and Burt were invited to undertake a residency at the Gallery's Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio and create new work in response to objects featured in TRGMOAC's recreation of Margaret Olley's home studio.
This popular residency program gives the Tweed Regional Gallery a unique edge as a creative hub that stretches beyond the exhibition.
Brisbane-based artist Keith Burt said the residency had given him unique insight into Olley's world.
"Having access to the Margaret Olley Art Centre and selecting objects from her home studio was an exciting and unique way to approach a new series of works," Burt said.
"I believe that still life painting is a look into the mind of an artist and their studio and to have the opportunity to work directly with Margaret's personal objects gave me a unique insight into her world."
Margaret Olley's Duxford Street home studio in Paddington, Sydney was both site and subject matter for her painting for nearly 50 years. The home studio was an ecosystem of art and life: its re-creation at TRGMOAC serves as a rich and evocative portal into the much-loved artist's practice.
Blue Mountains-based artist Robert Malherbe relished the opportunity to delve deeper into Olley's work.
"Margaret Olley understood that in painting, simple objects can vibrate with a poignant life," he said.
'There's pleasure in arranging ordinary objects onto a tabletop as if they were repertory actors on stage."
Alongside superb paintings by Margaret Olley from private and public collections, new and exciting works made by Malherbe and Burt affords visitors not only the opportunity to see Olley's work from various decades of her enduring career but also consider them in a fresh, new contemporary context.
