Had the opportunity this week to spend a couple of hours at the Art Gallery of NSW to see the John Olsen Exhibition "The You Beaut Country" an experience I can totally recommend!!

This exhibition provides a wonderful survey of John Olsen's career from his first exhibition in 1955 to his recent works and includes commissioned ceiling paintings, tapestries and decorated ceramics.

John Olsen's work has a very distinctive and personal style that definitely captures the uniqueness and energy of the Australian landscape.

I came away delighted with joyous use of yellow, the expressive connecting lines and the way he combines a wide overview of the landscape with the minute detail of it's components like fish, plants, insects ......

I love the yellows in works such as 'Sydney Sun' and 'Summer in the You Beaut Country' and 'Seafood Paella' below ... on the cover of the catalogue ... another terrific exhibition publication which I have added to my collection.

The use of expressive line is another outstanding feature of his work that is captivating.. it is sometimes bold and exuberant ... sometimes fine and delicate .... sometimes dominating the work .... sometimes providing intricate detail at the edges of the work. It seems to me that this is in part how he captures the vastness of the Australian terrain as well as the character of the specific environment. There is so much to discover and enjoy in these paintings.

The exhibition also includes tapestries, decorated ceramics and some of the many journals he maintained over 5 decades. These include his writings, sketches, photographs and ephemera - tickets, postcards, bird feathers! and provide a glimpse into the artists world.

The exhibition runs until June 12 at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Have you seen the exhibition? What was your reaction?

Thanks for dropping by .....CC