This week at Forman, we have the pleasure of sharing a little more with you about the talented Kerrie Oliver, her journey as an artist and her beautifully ambiguous and incredibly deep collection of new artworks.
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Kerrie Oliver was born in New South Wales and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from COFA, University of New South Wales (now UNSW Art & Design). Whilst she majored in printmaking, she has since expanded her art practice and now primarily focuses on painting. Having recently returned to Australia after living and working on Treaty 6 Territory and the homeland of the Métis (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) Canada for the past seven years, Kerrie and her family are now living in Meeanjin (Brisbane, QLD) on Turrbal Country.
Her work has been shown in Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
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Left: 'KERRIE OLIVER - KNOWING MYSELF TOO WELL BUT LEARNING WHO I AM NOW' Right: 'KERRIE OLIVER - THE BOOKEND'
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Travelling back to the begging of Kerrie’s journey, she worked for many years in a myriad of jobs, but was always dissatisfied knowing she really wanted to find a pathway into the arts. “My artistic journey was first kindled at high school and I dabbled in a few things but it wasn’t until I started in ceramics at TAFE, moving onto Graphic Design that I found my love in Fine Arts.” Many of the fine art departments enticed her, however it was Printmaking that excited Kerrie most as it integrated a variety of art practices. She quickly became captivated by the precision and process.
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At the time, Michael Kempson was appointed Head of Printmaking at COFA and it was he who established the fabulous educational based custom printing workshop, 'Cicada Press'. The students met established artists who visited Cicada Press and got to observe their creative processes etching plates under the guidance of Master Printmaker, Kempson. The bonus as a printmaking student was printing the artists' plates and receiving an ‘original’ print signed by the artist. “It truly was one of those memorable experiences and only now do I realise how invaluable this opportunity was.”
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Kerrie followed on to post graduate studies tackling a Master of Art Administration and in the same year fell pregnant with her first child. “It was quickly evident to me, Art Administration while vitally important wasn’t for me; I completed my first year and deferred.” The next decade was an exhausting but exhilarating blur of raising a new family and only thinking of her artistic practice in the rare quiet moments. Ten years on in Canada, she made a deliberate but tentative return to her art in 2017. “This was when our youngest child commenced full days at school; from this day I was in my studio every day, eager to invest time in my art practice. For the first time I was a full time artist, living my dream. This has been my passion and full-time job ever since.”
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Kerrie's art tools and materials in her studio
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Like many artist who have the courage to move outside of what is familiar, Kerrie didn’t always find it easy translating her skills from one medium to another. “I had a challenging journey as I transitioned from my comfort zone of working on paper (in printmaking, drawing and acrylics) to painting on canvas. Paper is such a comfortable and seductive medium. Working on paper offers me a place of creative ease between periods dedicated to oil painting. Therefore, it is difficult to let go. It often pulles me back in, until the next time I am up to tackling a painting on canvas.”
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Oil painting now equally excites her and sits at the forefront of her art practice. Beginning with acrylics, Kerrie knew she had a hankering to give oil paints a go. She was very nervous and tentative so she enrolled in an online short course at the National Art School with Tonee Messiah. In this course with Messiah, Kerrie learnt a great deal about working with oils and was able to have all her questions about this medium answered. “In some ways I think I was able to understand oils relatively quickly due to my background knowledge of the etching process. There is a balance in my art practice between spontaneous creativity and planning which helps me to achieve a desired outcome.”
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Kerrie's home studio spaces
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Kerrie continues to experiment in her practice and push herself beyond the familiar. Just this year she commenced painting on Italian linen while previously painting on cotton canvas and sometimes board. “I really like the foundation of working on the linen, I think it compliments my palette and painting style. At times, if the painting allows, I will leave some of the linen exposed.”
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Usually starting with a watered-down acrylic to create a wash, Kerrie will then quickly sketch out a rough idea onto the linen using a piece of willow charcoal. Building on this Kerrie will work with a variety of oil paint consistencies to bring her artworks to life.
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“My work is currently exploring the theme of ‘contemplation’. Allowing myself to be contemplative and letting my works sit in ambiguity. This helps me look inward to explore the richness of the things that are obscured day to day but sit within the shadows. Making time to be alone with my thoughts and ideas has become a crucial part of my art practice but equally significant for my personal life.”
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-Kerrie has been inspired by a diverse range of artists such as Belgium artist Michaël Borremans, British artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and American artist Noah Davis to name a few. The book you will currently find on her nightstand is ‘Second Place’ by British-Canadian writer Rachel Cusk. “Cusk has the amazing gift of creating pictures through words. I thoroughly enjoy the practice of conjuring images in my mind from words; Cusk successfully gifts her readers with this through her creative writing. I believe it to be in the conjuring phase of an image, where what seems real can move beyond our interpretation of it.”
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“I now realise for most of my life I have always been an artist, but it has been a journey with many detours. However, I have always been active in absorbing all forms of art which has helped me evolve as an artist through my training and practice. These life experiences and artistic knowledge give me a real energy and passion to accelerate my practice and deepen my understanding of what art means to me.”
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Observing and portraying subtle differences of meaning and expression are key to forming a powerful narrative in her work. The textiles in Kerrie’s art are my personal favourite part. Alive with pattern and texture, closer inspection reveals more detail in each and every artwork. They also have an incredible depth, you can easily get lost in thought viewing her art, there is almost something meditative I find about this series. They are truly stunning and we feel privileged to be sharing them with you.
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You can enjoy viewing all of Kerrie’s artworks HERE and are welcome to visit the gallery anytime to experience them in person.