By special invitation, Keith Burt spent a month in residence at Tweed Regional Gallery, creating new paintings in response to Margaret Olley’s practice and the objects contained in her home studio – described by Olley’s friend and biographer, Christine France as ‘a dictionary for painting’.
Margaret Olley’s famous Duxford Street home studio was both her site and subject matter for painting for nearly 50 years. It contained a trove of objects for still life painting – vases, bottles, teapots, fabrics, flowers and furniture. Today, the re-creation of her home studio is on permanent display in the Margaret Olley Art Centre and is a source of inspiration to contemporary artists working in the genre of still life painting.
The body of work resulting from Keith’s time in residence hangs alongside fellow artist Robert Malherbe's paintings referencing Olley's studio, as well as a selection of key Margaret Olley works from various decades in her enduring career.