OLSEN Gallery

OLSEN Gallery Leading contemporary art gallery in Sydney, Australia Foremost in the gallery's stable is John Olsen, now regarded as Australia's most esteemed living artist.

OLSEN, known previously as Olsen Irwin and Tim Olsen Gallery, was established in 1993 and exhibits a broad spectrum of Australian and international art, in the gallery, online, and at art fairs. Gallery founder and director Tim Olsen has cultivated a stable of artists that he feel presents a comprehensive and poignant view of the contemporary arts in Australia. With a continually changing exhibiti

on calendar we showcase the work of both emerging and established artists. We have nurtured the careers of artists from their first exhibition out of art school and proudly see them now as leading lights in the Australian art scene. In addition to the staging of countless critically acclaimed exhibitions the gallery has hosted the launch of many books devoted to his unique and ingenious art making. Tim has also negotiated the sale of some of the most significant paintings in Olsen's oeuvre to both private and institutional collections. Tim's enthusiasm for works on paper has also inspired a specific works on paper space the ANNEXE, which now resides directly behind the main gallery at 74 Queen Street, Woollahra. With a definite focus on the work of Australian artists, we are actively fostering a dialogue between Australia art and our international colleagues with exhibitions of leading contemporary artists from Europe, Asia and America being planned for the coming years. OLSEN draws on these international partnerships for the collection development of our private and institutional collectors. OLSEN GALLERY
63 Jersey Road
Woollahra NSW 2025

OLSEN ANNEXE
74 Queen Street
Woollahra NSW 2025

'An orchid is a flower that has no thorns (pain)' (2025) by Sydney artist Hal Witney is our stockroom highlight this wee...
29/08/2026

'An orchid is a flower that has no thorns (pain)' (2025) by Sydney artist Hal Witney is our stockroom highlight this week.

Exploring image culture and material consumption, Hal uses a bold visual language developed across painting, drawing, and printmaking. This work in particular, traces intimacy, symbolism, and the porous edges of the self.

An orchid is a flower that has no thorns (pain), 2025
pigment, paper pulp
152 x 106cm
#41379
$6,750 framed



To view this work in person or to find out more information, contact our team at [email protected] or call 9327 3922.

We’re delighted to announce our upcoming Sydney Contemporary program, featuring a series of talks with our artists throu...
28/08/2026

We’re delighted to announce our upcoming Sydney Contemporary program, featuring a series of talks with our artists throughout the fair. Including talks by Stephen Bird, Joseph McGlennon, Evie Adasal and Stephen Ormandy.

.adasal

Kicking off the program is Emma Itzstein, who will join us tomorrow at the gallery for a special talk accompanying her newly opened exhibition, Excursions Outside the Orangery.

Join us from 11:45am as Emma discusses the exhibition, her practice, and the ideas behind this new body of work.

We look forward to welcoming you.

📍 Olsen Gallery
🗓️ Saturday 29 August
⏰ 11:45am

Olsen Gallery is excited to announce our booth (D13) at the Sydney Contemporary will feature new works from gallery-stab...
28/08/2026

Olsen Gallery is excited to announce our booth (D13) at the Sydney Contemporary will feature new works from gallery-stable artist Stephen Ormandy as part of our curation focused on multimedia & primary colour, an exciting glimpse of his monumental upcoming exhibition in October.

Ormandy is inspired by the natural world and informed by a strong design aesthetic based on colour and form. There is a discernible dialogue between his large-scale oil paintings and sculptural work, with line, shape and surface each informing the other.

Kodama, 2026
oil on linen
240 x 180cm
#43243



For more information please contact the team at [email protected] or call us on 9327 3922.

24/08/2026

OLSEN Gallery is proud to present an exciting selection of represented artists for the 10th edition of Sydney Contemporary, featuring the work of London-based photographer Joseph McGlennon, Paris-based Australian painter Babette Robertson, Sydney-based ceramicist, sculptor and painter Stephen Bird, Sydney-based sculptor Aaron Crothers and Sydney-based painter Evie Adasal.



Bringing together five distinct voices from the gallery stable, the presentation explores themes of storytelling, imagination, memory and transformation through a diverse range of media. From McGlennon’s meticulously detailed photographic tableaux and Bird’s exuberant, satirical ceramics, to Robertson’s atmospheric paintings, Adasal’s bold visual language and Crothers’ dynamic sculptural forms, the exhibition highlights the breadth and vitality of contemporary practice across both Australian and international contexts.

Follow the link in our bio to join the preview list!

Australian contemporary artist Kate Shaw's 'Observer Effect' (2026) is our stockroom highlight for the week. Shaw’s rich...
23/08/2026

Australian contemporary artist Kate Shaw's 'Observer Effect' (2026) is our stockroom highlight for the week.

Shaw’s richly layered works — created through ‘paint pours’, resin, and reflective surfaces — evoke geological and atmospheric phenomena while inviting contemplation on ecological fragility, climate change, and the psychological experience of nature.

Observer Effect, 2026
acrylic and resin on board
60 x 50cm
#41811
$5,000



To view this work in person or to find out more information, contact our team at [email protected] or call 9327 3922.

Olsen Gallery is proud to announce finalists in this year's Fisher's Ghost Award in with works from artists Michelle Caw...
22/08/2026

Olsen Gallery is proud to announce finalists in this year's Fisher's Ghost Award in with works from artists Michelle Cawthorn and Rachelle Lawler named as finalists in the 'Open Category' of the award, and in the 'Contemporary Category' Tim Georgeson's 'Sky Voices, 1, 2026' has been nominated.

Rachelle Lawler
It's All Over You, 2026
Acrylic on canvas
145 x 125 cm
#41918

Michelle Cawthorn
Peter Portrait, 2025
pigment print on archival cotton rag
81.3 x 63.5 cm

Tim Georgeson
Sky Voices I, 2026

The Fisher's Ghost award announcement is Friday 30 October, 2026. Congratulations to our nominated artists!

Congratulations to Michelle Cawthorn! Finalist in The Kedumba Drawing Award 2026 with 'Brown Treecreeper, 2025'. Head to...
22/08/2026

Congratulations to Michelle Cawthorn! Finalist in The Kedumba Drawing Award 2026 with 'Brown Treecreeper, 2025'.

Head to the link in our bio to join Michelle's preview list for her upcoming exhibition at Olsen Gallery from October 21.

Michelle Cawthorn
Brown Treecreeper, 2025
pigment print, ink, and acrylic on archival cotton rag
110 x 80 cm

Hong Kong born, Australian artist John Young's 'Naïve and Sentimental Painting XXVII' (2022) is our stockroom highlight ...
16/08/2026

Hong Kong born, Australian artist John Young's 'Naïve and Sentimental Painting XXVII' (2022) is our stockroom highlight for this week.

https://www.olsengallery.com/art-work/nave-and-sentimental-painting-xxvii/

Deeply rooted in his own bi-cultural experience, Young incorporates elements of Western modernist philosophy, aesthetic theory and art history to consider the sociological impacts of technology; the culture surrounding globalisation and migratory dislocation; as well as academic and social concepts of time, resonance and melancholia.

Naïve and Sentimental Painting XXVII, 2022
Oil on Belgian linen
203 x 270cm
#32115
POA

14/08/2026

Learn more about Emma Itzstein's upcoming exhibition, Excursions Outside the Orangery, opening Wednesday 26 August.

"To sit within Excursions Outside the Orangery is to traverse through the seasons of matresence. Emma Itzstein invites viewers to consider motherhood not as a fixed state, but as a living garden where multiple selves continually unfurl.

The series of paintings are cultivated through intuition and care, a tending of the artists inner world from which seeds of renewal are germinated. Inspired by a trip to Kew Gardens, Itzstein has a unique capacity to depict floral scenes as an expression of motherhood; of yield and yearning[...]." Full text available in the exhibition catalogue.

To join Emma's preview list, follow the link in our bio, email [email protected] or call us on 9327 3922.

Olsen Gallery is honoured to be able to collaborate with Art for Healing and The Royal Hospital for Women with a donatio...
12/08/2026

Olsen Gallery is honoured to be able to collaborate with Art for Healing and The Royal Hospital for Women with a donation of artworks for their Macquarie Ward.

Art for Healing was created and led by the very inspirational Lisa Seiffert, a former Royal hospital for Women oncology patient whose cancer treatment experience highlighted the positive role art can play during periods of uncertainty and healing.

"Art is the highest form of hope. It transforms suffering and allows us to believe in beauty again" Tim Olsen said.

Elise Jennings, CEO of the Royal Hospital for Women Foundation said:
"Art has a unique ability to comfort, inspire and connect us. Through the generosity of Tim Olsen and The Olsen Gallery, patients, families and staff will be surrounded by works that offer moments of calm, hope and reflection. This collection will leave a lasting legacy and help create an environment that reflects the compassion and excellence of care delivered at The Royal every day."

Read more about the story in the Financial Review: https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/john-olsen-works-to-brighten-oncology-after-his-family-s-gift-20260811-p60nbm

Address

63 Jersey Road.
Woollahra, NSW
2025

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+61293273922

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when OLSEN Gallery posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to OLSEN Gallery:

Shortcuts

Share

Category