The light and shade behind John Olsen’s genius
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The light and shade behind John Olsen’s genius
“The first time John Olsen applied for Sydney’s National Art School, he failed the entry test. That was in 1945 as a teenager. In 2021, aged 93, he told this story with great relish to the opening night audience at what was to be his last major exhibition, John Olsen: Goya’s Dog. It was in the NAS Gallery at the National Art School, where he did eventually get in to study in the early 1950s, and later taught after returning from several years in Spain in the early 1960s.”
Steven Alderton, Director and CEO of NAS, writes for the Financial Review on the passing of NAS Alumus and fellow John Olsen.
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Friday 29 May 2026
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Friday 29 May 2026
The Makers Exhibition brings together works by NAS staff across teaching, technical, curatorial, administrative and library areas, celebrating the diverse creative practices that shape the school community. Presented as the launch exhibition for Third Space, the exhibition highlights making as a shared and ongoing part of life at NAS. Third Space will be open for the duration of the show from 11…
Friday 29 May 2026
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Friday 29 May 2026
Please see below for current and forthcoming exhibitions and events featuring our staff and alumni. Oliver Abbott: Processing This exhibition explores how personal and collective histories are constructed by revisiting relics of architecture and infrastructure unique to the Tweed. In Processing, Abbott reveals parallels between the construction of a painting and the way memory distorts, rearrange…
Thursday 28 May 2026
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