Bernard Ollis
“I want to step beyond the conventional viewpoint because this for me is dull and obvious and I want to excite and challenge the viewer.”
Bernard Ollis OAM is a celebrated British -Australian painter renowned for his vibrant and whimsical compositions, which blend expressionist, realist and surrealist traditions. His richly layered works explore imagined and real environments, from the streets of Paris to exotic locales such as Cairo and Marrakesh, crafted with candy-bright colours, playful distortions and dreamlike perspectives.
Having studied at Cardiff School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London under mentors including David Hockney and Sir Peter Blake, Ollis migrated to Australia in 1976. There, he quickly became a key figure in art and arts education. As Director of the National Art School in Sydney from 1997 to 2008, he left a lasting legacy in Australian visual culture.
Having held over 80 solo exhibitions worldwide, with works held in major collections such as the National Gallery of Australia and the Royal College of Art, Ollis was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2023 in recognition of his contribution to the arts. Currently dividing his time between Sydney and Paris, he continues to create immersive visual worlds that blur the line between fantasy and reality.
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Studies
1973 – 1976 Master of Art (Painting), the Royal College of Art, London UK (MA RCA London)
1970 – 1973 Diploma of Art and Design, Cardiff College of Art and Design, Wales UK (Dip AD)
1969 – 1970 Foundation Studies Cardiff College of Art and Design, Wales UK (BA Hons)Lecturing and Administrative Experience
1998 – 2009 Director
National Art School (Sydney)
1997 – 1998 Head of Studies
National Art School (Sydney)
1996 – 1997 Head of Painting Department
National Art School (Sydney)
1994 – 1996 Senior Lecturer/Head of Fine Art
La Trobe University (Victoria)
1982 – 1994 Head of Painting
La Trobe University (Victoria)
1982 Acting Head of Visual Art Department
Darwin Community College (University Northern Territory)
1978 – 1982 Head of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture Section
Darwin Community College (University Northern Territory)
1977 – 1978 Lecturer Fine Art
Darwin Community College (University Northern Territory)
1974 – 1976 Visiting Lecturer
Various British Art SchoolsSolo Exhibitions
2025 An Imaginary World, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2025 From the Inside, Looking Out, Mitchell Fine Art Galleries, Brisbane
2025 Time Travelling, Aarwun Gallery, Canberra
2024 Postcards from Paris, Linton and Kay Gallery, Perth
2024 Snakes and Ladders, Museum of Art and Culture, Lake Macquarie, Yapang, NSW
2024 Fascinating Places, Harvey Galleries, Seaforth, Sydney
2023 Different Worlds, Mitchell Fine Art Gallery, Brisbane
2023 Locations, Aarwun Galleries, Canberra
2022 An Opulent World, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2022 Artist Gardens III, Linton & Kay Galleries, Perth
2021 Being There, Aarwun Galleries, Canberra
2021 Artist Gardens, Mitchell Fine Art Galleries, Brisbane
2021 Crossroads, Linton & Kay Galleries, Cherubino Wines Margaret River, Perth
2021 From the Studio: Under 5k, Online Exhibition, Harvey Galleries, Seaforth, Sydney
2021 The Artist Gardens Part 2, Harvey Galleries, Mosman, Sydney
2020 The Artist Gardens Part 1, Harvey Galleries, Mosman, Sydney
2019 The World Traveller, Linton and Kay Galleries, Perth
2019 Departures, Aarwun Galleries, Canberra
2019 The Traveller, Mitchell Galleries, Brisbane
2018 Bernard Ollis, Anala Art Advisory, Glenbrook, Blue Mountains
2018 Being There, Harvey Galleries, Mosman and Seaforth
2018 Traveler’s Tales: Paris and Morocco, Linton & Kay Galleries, Perth
2017 Paris & Other Stories, Aarwun Gallery, Canberra
2017 Observations, Mitchell Galleries Brisbane
2017 Favourite Places, Harvey Galleries Seaforth and Mosman, Sydney
2016 Run Ya Artspace, Linyi China
2016 Cultural Exchange of Australia and China, Linyi Arts Centre Shandong
2016 Storytelling about China – Shanghai Cultural Centre & Art Gallery China
2016 Open Studio – Travel Paintings, Linton and Kay Galleries, Perth WA
2016 Travels to Paris, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Seaforth, Sydney NSW
2015 Brisbane and Beyond, Mike Mitchell Fine Art Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland
2015 Bernard Ollis: 54 Works at Michael Reid Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2015 Observations of Paris, NG Gallery, Sydney
2015 Theatre of Life, Buratti Fine Art, Perth, WA
2015 Antarctica- Shackleton, The Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney
2014 Bernard Ollis, Kenthurst Galleries, NSW
2014 Le Regard de deux Australiens, L’Espace Beaujon, Paris, France
2014 Traveller’s Tales, Tweed River Regional Gallery, NSW
2013 A Town Like Paris, Muk Muk Fine Art, travelling show to Alice Springs, Darwin, Brisbane
2013 Paris Work, Buratti Fine Art, Perth
2012 – 2013 Modern Living: Bernard Ollis. A survey of the work of Bernard Ollis, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Sydney
2012 Paris Considered, NG Art Gallery, Sydney
2012 Parisian Reflections, Letham Galleries, Auckland, NZ
2011 Paris Revisited, NG Art Gallery, Sydney
2011 Major Works, Buratti Fine Art, Perth
2010 Italy 19Karen Contemporary Artspace Gold Coast, Queensland
2009 The Grand Tour, United Galleries Perth WA
2009 Journeys through Italy and Egypt, NG Art Sydney NSW
2008 Urban Myth, United Galleries Perth WA
2008 Incognito NG Art, Chippendale Sydney NSW
2006 The St Peters Suite Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney NSW
2002 Stella Downer Galleries, Sydney NSW
2001 Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney NSW
2000 Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney NSW
1998 Mary Place Gallery, Sydney NSW
Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney NSW
1997 Hot Bath Gallery, Bath UK
1996 Australian Galleries, Melbourne Victoria
1994 Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
1993 Botanical Gallery, South Yarra Victoria
1992 Retrospective Paintings and Pastels
Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1991 Powell Street Gallery, South Yarra Victoria
1990 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1989 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1988 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
Roz McAllen Gallery, Brisbane Queensland
1987 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
Powell Street Gallery, South Yarra Victoria
1984 – 1986 Visual Arts Board, “Bernard Ollis” The Australian Tour; exhibited at:
Under croft Gallery for the Perth Festival University of Western Australia
Hawthorn City Art Gallery, Victoria
Warrnambool Art Gallery, Victoria
Ararat Gallery, Victoria
Mildura Arts Centre, Victoria
Shepparton Regional Art Gallery, Victoria
Muswellbrook Art Gallery, NSW
Bathurst Regional Gallery, NSW
Orange Art Gallery, NSW
Benalla Art Gallery Victoria
Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW
Bendigo Art Gallery Victoria (extended survey exhibition)
1984 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1982 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1981 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1978 Warehouse Galleries, South Melbourne Victoria
1976 The Africa Centre Covent Garden, London UK
The Royal Commonwealth Society, London UK
1974 – 1975 Commonwealth Institute Gallery, London UK
1972 – 1973 College of Art Gallery, Cardiff WalesSelected Group Exhibitions
2023 ‘Affordable Art Fair’, Sydney
2022 ‘Captivate: 100 Years of the National Art School’, NAS Gallery, Sydney
2022 ‘Crossing: Sino-Australian Artists Group Exhibition’, Sydney
2020 ‘Dark Places’, 5 – 26 March 2020, See Street Gallery Meadowbank TAFE, Sydney.
2019 ‘Connections’, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, NSW
2018 ‘Elsewhere – Travels Through Morocco, Egypt, Syria Iran and Central Asia’, exhibition with Bernard
Ollis, HR Gallop Gallery, CSU Wagga Wagga – 13 August to 7 September 2018
Griffith Regional Art Gallery – 29 September to 4 November 2018
Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo: May – June 2019
The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie: 20 July – 29 September 2019
Tamworth Regional Art Gallery: 8 February – 22 March 2020
2018 ‘The Art of Friendship’, Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios
2018 ‘Nature and Life: Images from our Souls’ Bayside Arts Festival 2018, Sydney
2017 ‘Salon des Refuses’, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2017 ‘Bernard Ollis & Wendy Sharpe Etchings’, Firestation Print Studio, Melbourne
2016 Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, NSW
2015 ‘Three Australians’, Gallery 12, Auckland NZ
2015 ‘New Romantics (with Wendy Sharpe and Johnny Romeo)’, Penny Contemporary Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania
2015 ‘Private Lives: Collections’, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2011 ‘Dobell Prize’, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2011 ‘IN[TWO]ART’, Maitland Regional Art Gallery touring exhibition
2010 ‘Salon des Refuses’, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2010 ‘Tales from the City’, Two-person exhibition with Wendy Sharpe, Orange Regional Art Gallery
2009 ‘Every Dog has its Day’, Letham Gallery Auckland NZ
2008 United Galleries, Perth WA
2008 Contemporary Drawing London University of the Arts Wimbledon Art Col, England
2008 ‘Vernissage’ Oxford Street Gallery, Melbourne Victoria
‘Drawcard’ National Art School Gallery, Sydney New South Wales
2007 ‘Fragile Planet’ NG Art Gallery, Sydney New South Wales
‘Salon des Refuses’ SH Ervin Gallery, New South Wales
SCEGGS Redlands Art Prize
Mosman Art Prize
‘There is no place like home’ NG Art Gallery, Sydney New South Wales
2006 Hong Ik University Gallery, Seoul South Korea
2005 ‘Drawcard’ Cell Block Theatre National Art School, Sydney New South Wales
‘Dog Trumpet’ Michael Nagy Gallery, Sydney New South Wales
‘Drawing the Line’ Cell Block Theatre National Art School (academic staff exhibition)
Art Space, Bendigo Victoria
Lake Macquarie Invitation Prize, University Gallery Sydney NSWAwards and Prizes
2025 Judging the Bundaberg Art Prize, QLD
2023 Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the visual arts, and to education.
2015 Artist Residency in Zhouzhang, China
2014 Mawson’s Hut Foundation artist-in-residence, Antarctica voyage
2008 Australian Embassy, Artist-in-Residence Studio, Cairo Egypt
2005 Conrad Jupiter Art Prize Gold Coast City Art Gallery Queensland
2000 Olympic Arts Festival
1992 Selected by Melbourne Theatre Company for season’s brochure
1989 Selected for Sydney Children’s Choir catalogue
1988 Heritage Arts Festival Award, Queensland
1984 Visual Arts Board Australia, Council Grant
1983 Commissioned series of paintings for Napoleon Brandy Advertising Campaign
1982 Gold Coast City Art Awards, Queensland
1977 Sir Fredrick Richards’s Travelling Scholarship (drawing), UK
1976 John Minton International Painting Prize, London UK
1975 Artist-in-residence Maltese Studio International Youth Arts Festival British representative
Artist-in-residence Paris Studio Cité Internationale des Arts FranceCollections
Art Bank, Sydney NSW
Australian National Gallery, Canberra ACT
Bathurst Arts Centre, Bathurst NSW
Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo Victoria
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, NSW
Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Collection, Victoria
Cultural Centre, Valetta Malta
Darwin University, Northern Territory
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise Queensland
Grafton Regional Gallery, Grafton NSW
Herald Sun Art Collection, Melbourne Victoria
McGregor Collection University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba Queensland
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
National Art School, Sydney NSW
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Victoria
New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale NSW
Orange Art Gallery, Orange NSW
Parliament House, Canberra ACT
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane Queensland
Royal College of Art, London UK
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Victoria
The Commonwealth Institute, London UK
Welsh Arts Council, Cardiff WalesCatalogues and Books
2022 Ollis, Bernard, ‘Darwin Daze’, Self-Published, Sydney
2021 Ollis, Bernard, ‘The Artist’s Garden’, Self-Published, Sydney
2018 Ollis, Bernard, ‘An Illustrated Guide to Montmartre’s Bars and Café’s’, Life Drawing Montmartre
2017 Major Art Review, Sasha Grishin, The Canberra Times, Canberra
2017 Bernard Ollis’s Colourful Interludes, Lena Owen, The Creative Issue, QLD
2017 Exhibition Review, Philip Brown, The Courier Mail. QLD
2014 Le regard de deux Australiens, L’Espace Beaujon, Paris, NSW
2014 Traveller’s Tales, Tweed River Regional Gallery, NSW
2013 A Town Like Paris, Muk Muk Fine Art, publication to coincide with travelling exhibition
2012 Modern Living: Bernard Ollis, A Survey of the Work of Bernard Ollis, Manly Art Museum, Sydney, NSW
2005 Li, Jingzhe, Australian Contemporary Painting Shanghai People’s Fine Art Publishing House
1997 Paterson, Susan, From Bendigo to Bath, Hot Bath Gallery, Bath, UK
1996 Paterson, S. and Gervasoni, C. Catbuster Studio Art, Macmillan, Victoria
1995 Who’s Who of Australian Visual Arts (2nd edition) Reed International Publishing
1995 Gervasoni, Clare, and Paterson, Susan, Catbuster Art, Macmillan, Melbourne
1994 McCulloch, Susan, the Encyclopaedia of Australian Art, Allen and Unwin, Melbourne
1993 Hayes, Susan, and Gervasoni, Clare, Artistic Insights,
Harcourt Brace Jovanonvich, Sydney
1992 Drury, Neville, Images in Contemporary Art, Craftsman House, Sydney
1991 Chanin, Eileen, ed Contemporary Australian Art, Craftsman House, Sydney
1990 Germaine, Max, Artists and Galleries of Australia, Craftsman House, Sydney
1988 Drury, Neville, New Directions in Contemporary Art, Craftsman House, Sydney
1984 Bendigo Art Gallery Bernard Ollis Australian Works, National Touring catalogue
1983 Paroissien, Leon, Australian Art Review, Warner Assoc. PressContributions to Books, Journals and Magazines
2022 Ollis, Bernard, ‘Darwin Daze’, Self-Published, Sydney
2021 Ollis, Bernard, ‘The Artists Gardens’. Self-Published, Sydney
2018 Ollis, Bernard, ‘An Illustrated Guide to Montmartre’s Bars and Café’s’, Life Drawing Montmartre
2008 Ollis, Bernard, quoted in The Struggle to Keep Faith in the Blake Prize, Quadrant (March 2008)
2007 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword 56th Blake Prize for Religious Art catalogue
2005 Ollis, Bernard the Band Returning 2005 full page colour image appearing on front cover of Antiques & Art in Queensland November 2005 – March 2006 edition
2005 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword Walking the Line National Art School Academic Staff Drawing Exhibition Catalogue
2002 – 2006 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword National Art School Prospectus
2002 – 2007 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword National Art School Honours Yearbook
2001 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword the Studio Tradition
1999 Ollis, Bernard, Craft Arts International – Art Schools in Australia
1998 – 2007 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword National Art School Degree Show Yearbook
1998 Ollis, Bernard, History of the National Art School, NAS website (revised 2005)
1992 Ollis, Bernard, in Hayes, Susan, Flora and Fauna, La Trobe University
1983 Ollis, Bernard, An Artists view from Darwin, Australian Art Review Chapter on Northern Territory. Ed Paroissien, Leon, Macmillan Press
1980 Ollis, Bernard, catalogue preface introduction to David Middlebrook American Artist in Residence, Chandler Coventry Gallery
1980 Ollis, Bernard, Peter Corlette, in Scarlett Ken Australian Sculptors, Nelson, Melbourne
1976 Ollis, Bernard, chapter in Picard Phyllis If You Think Your Child is Gifted, Allen and Unwin, London
1975 Ollis, Bernard, Malta seminars become Carnivals, Commonwealth News 4 June 75, VolumeRecent Participation in Seminars, Symposia and Conferences
2024 Guest Speaker NAS Graduate exhibition. Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2023 Q and A, National Art School, Awarded Fellowship of the National Art School
2022 The Artist Speaks: in Conversation with Maria Stoljar, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
2019 One plus One, 30min television interview. ABC. Jane Hutcheon
2019 Tour Leader and Lecturer, Renaissance Tours, France
2018 Talking with Painters, Television Interview & Podcast with Maria Stolja
2018 Guest Speaker & Interview, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2017 Guest Speaker & Interview with John Hockney, Aarwun Galleries, Canberra
2017 Judge, Townsville Art Society, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
2017 Royal Art Society Annual Exhibition, Judge, Sydney
2017 Lecture, Q&A, Harvey Galleries, Seaforth (March)
2017 Guest Speaker, Harvey Galleries, Mosman, Sydney
2017 Guest Speaker, Mitchel Galleries, Brisbane, Queensland
2016 Guest Speaker, Blue Mountains Regional Gallery, NSW
2016 Judge, Southern Highlands Art Awards, NSW
2016 Guest Speaker, Linton and Kay Gallery, Perth
2016 Radio Interview, Art Beat, Sydney
2016 Guest Speaker, Shanghai Art Center, China
2016 Guest Speaker, Australian Chinese Cultural Festival, Linyin Art Center, China
2016 Guest Speaker, Renaissance Tours, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2016 Lecturer and Workshop Leader (weekend workshop), Willoughby Art Centre, Sydney
2016 Tour Leader, Renaissance Tours, (2 Week Workshop, Paris) run by Art Gallery of New South Wales, Paris
2016 Workshop Leader, Alison Chiam Art Workshops, The Rocks, Sydney
2016 Lecture, Q&A, Michael Reid Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2008 State Library of NSW, Examined Life Series III – The Search for Meaning – Guest Speaker
2007 Invited speaker for NAS, International Independent Art Schools Association. Evora, Portugal
2007 Forty-Eight Hours of Visual Art (FEHVA) Conference, Bangalow NSW – Guest Speaker
2006 ‘Drawing Breath’ International Drawing Symposium National Art School Campus – Convenor
