This work of art is on long term loan from the National Gallery of Australia with support from the Australian Government as part of Sharing the National Collection, #artacrossaustralia.
To celebrate the opening of Margaret Olley: Shapes of Stillness, the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre is thrilled to be welcoming White still life 1977 by celebrated artist Margaret Olley AC (1923–2011).
The loan is part of the Sharing the National Collection program, funded by the Australian Government's National Cultural Policy Revive.
At the recent announcement, The Hon Tony Burke MP, Federal Minister for the Arts, said the loan of White still life 1977 will enrich the Tweed Regional Gallery's homage to Olley: "There's no more appropriate place for this work of art than the Margaret Olley Art Centre," he said.
White still life 1977 will join 3 other works by Margaret Olley, and one by Giorgio Morandi, (Natura morta [Still life] 1956) which are currently on loan to the Gallery through the Sharing the National Collection program.
Painted in the kitchen of Olley's friend, artist and printmaker David Strachan (1919–70), White still life 1977 represents a period of intensive exploration into form, when Olley was restricting her colour palette and experimenting with the effects of light over differing times of the day. In this work, Olley successfully uses artificial light and a careful arrangement of objects to create a contemplative scene exuding a quiet reverence.
The exhbition Shapes of Stillness spans 3 decades of Olley's remarkable career. Through the presentation of exceptional works, this exhibition is a unique opportunity to consider important still life paintings by Margaret Olley alongside Natura morta [Still life] 1956 by Italian painter and printmaker Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964), an artist Olley greatly admired.
Shapes of Stillness is a reminder that Margaret Olley's constructed worlds typically evolved from lived-in spaces, gathered utilitarian vessels, decorative objects, fruit, flora, house-hold furniture. Through her generous and sensitively rendered works that deftly evoke a profound sense of reverence and stillness – words that Olley once used to describe Morandi's work – we are invited to reflect on an extraordinary career.
The exhibition showcases important loans from private and public collections as well as significant objects from the Tweed Regional Gallery collection. It also features Olley's beloved possessions – pieces that Olley collected for their shape and colour as potential subject matter for her striking still life and interior paintings.
Ms Hedgcock said,
"We have received incredible support from private collectors and public institutions across the country, including Rockhampton Museum of Art, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, New England Regional Art Museum, the Australian National University, as well as Philip Bacon Galleries, all of whom have made this wonderful exhibition possible.
"Shapes of Stillness is a celebration of Margaret Olley's practice – her unwavering devotion to the genre of still life: to placement, proportion, light, form and the enduring presence of the everyday."
To celebrate the opening of Shapes of Stillness, the Friends of the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre are hosting 'Margaret Olley: Shapes of Stillness Panel Discussion'. Panelists will explore Italian painter and printmaker Giorgio Morandi's influence on the still life tradition and why renowned interior and still life painter Margaret Olley so admired his work. Guests will also hear how thousands of objects from Olley's Sydney home studio were packed, transported and re-created at the Gallery in 2014.
Your ticket includes refreshments as well as the exclusive opportunity to purchase postcards from Margaret Olley's private collection, gifted to the Friends of the Gallery by the Margaret Olley Estate.
Guest speakers include Panel Chair Alison Kubler, Curator and Editor in Chief, VAULT magazine in conversation with David Greenhalgh, Curator International Art, National Gallery of Australia; Sally Waterson, Museologist who managed the re-creation of Margaret Olley's home studio (2012-14); and Emily Gray, Curator Margaret Olley Art Centre & Collections Manager.
When: Friday 18 September, 4:30pm – 6:30pm AEST
Where: Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre
Tickets: Friends Members $35 / General $40 + booking fee
Tickets limited. To book your ticket today, visit events.humanitix.com/mosspd
Margaret Olley: Shapes of Stillness will be on display at the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre from 18 September until 7 March 2027.
A Tweed Regional Gallery initiative.
This exhibition includes works of art on long term loan from the National Gallery of Australia with support from the Australian Government as part of Sharing the National Collection. #artacrossaustralia
This exhibition is made possible with the support of the Friends of the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre Inc.
