There will be no exhibition in the MOAC from Wednesday 1 May to Sunday 5 May. The MOAC home studio re-creation and all other exhibitions will remain open during this time.
Wednesday – Sunday, 10 am – 4 pm.
23 August 2024 - 2 March 2025
Margaret Olley (1923 – 2011) Still life with cornflowers 1995 oil on board, 66.9 x 90.1 cm Donated through The Hon R P Meagher bequest, 2011 University Art Collection © Margaret Olley Art Trust
Margaret Olley’s famous Duxford Street home studio was both her site and subject matter for painting for nearly 50 years. It contained a trove of objects for still life painting – vases, bottles, teapots, fabrics, flowers and furniture. Today, the re-creation of her home studio is on permanent display in the Margaret Olley Art Centre and is a source of inspiration to contemporary artists working in the genre of still life painting.
By invitation, contemporary artists Robert Malherbe and Keith Burt have created new work in response to Olley’s practice and objects contained in her home studio – described by Olley’s friend and biographer, Christine France as ‘a dictionary for painting’.
A Dictionary for Painting includes superb examples of Olley’s work on loan from public and private collections – some of which have not been on public display for many years. Exhibited alongside the contemporary responses by Malherbe and Burt, and the objects from the home studio re-creation, the exhibition offers audiences a fresh perspective of Olley’s incredible legacy in the history of Australian art.
A Tweed Regional Gallery initiative.