Louise Olsen Art for Sale and Sold Prices

Biography

In art school, Louise Olsen kept herself in paints selling colourful t-shirts and resin jewellery at Paddington Markets, heeding the work ethic of her father, the celebrated artist, John Olsen whose creed was: "Be lovers, not others, be givers, not takers, us Olsens are workers."

Dinosaur Designs, the brand she co-founded with fellow student artist and partner, Stephen Ormandy in 1985, is now a multi-million dollar enterprise with stores in New York and London.

All the while Olsen has discreetly maintained her individual practice, exhibiting painting, sculpture and tapestry work alongside Ormandy or in group exhibitions, never brave enough to chance comparison with her famous father in a solo show.
"You know the beauty of getting older is that I don't mind what people think so much anymore," Louise Olsen says of her first solo show.

"You know the beauty of getting older is that I don't mind what people think so much anymore," Louise Olsen says of her first solo show. Credit:James Brickwood

"I've always kept a sketchbook alive and always quietly done my thing," Olsen says. "I was shy and nervous about it, I guess. I knew that anything that I did would come under scrutiny which made me feel quite vulnerable and insecure. All those voices from childhood, saying, 'Is she up to it?' and 'Does she have the touch of her parents?'."
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Olsen will debut Pollination on March 4 at her brother Tim's Sydney gallery, comprising 17 large scale works that take inspiration from the artist’s observations of nature, and its regenerative power.

"You know the beauty of getting older is that I don't mind what people think so much anymore," she says from her office in Dinosaur Design's Redfern studios. "There are people who are going to love it and there are people who are going to hate it, but I don't mind because I'm just drawn to painting, for no other reason than I love it. It's a passion and a life force."

Olsen's softer, more delicate aesthetics contrast with her father's overarching interest in landscapes, Lake Eyre being a recurring subject, experimental mark-making and intense bursts of colour.