Bernard Ollis

Bernard Ollis OAM (born 25 April 1951 in Bath, England) is a British-Australian artist, painter and advocate for arts education.

He lives and works in Sydney and Paris.

He has an extensive academic and professional portfolio across numerous arts institutions within Australia and Europe.

Ollis is the former Director of the National Art School, Sydney.

Ollis was born and raised in Bath, Somerset, England in 1951.

Growing up, Ollis lived in numerous council houses with his family.

He was the first child in his family to attend university.

As a child, Ollis attended Bath Art Secondary School (1962 – 1967), where he developed his interest and talent in art.

From 1969 – 1973, he attended Cardiff College of Art & Design, Wales, after winning a scholarship in 1963.

He graduated with a diploma and B.A. Hons. in Fine Art.

Ollis has held over 60 solo exhibitions since 1972 in Australia, New Zealand, and London, and has participated in group exhibitions throughout Australia, Europe, and Asia.

Following this, he won a three-year bursary to attend the prestigious Royal College of Art, London, in 1973.

His tutors at the RCA included various internationally acclaimed artists, such as Sir Peter Blake, Howard Hodgkin, R.B. Kitaj and David Hockney, and guest lecturers include Francis Bacon and Cy Twombly.

Ollis undertook a residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris in 1975 and in 2008 he underwent a Residency as the guest of the Australian Ambassador to Egypt, Dr Bob Bowker.

During his studies at the RCA, Ollis was awarded a four-month residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts in 1975.

It was this experience that sparked a lifelong relationship with France, and Paris is frequently referenced in Ollis’ work.

He also received a scholarship from the Commonwealth Institute, London, to undertake a residency with the Maltese Studio International as part of the Youth Arts Festival, Malta in 1975.

. 2023 Awarded an OAM King's Birthday Honour for services to visual art and education.

In the Permanent Collection of:

Presently, Ollis works in a large studio warehouse in inner Sydney, and in an apartment/studio in Montmartre, Paris, which he owns with his partner, artist Wendy Sharpe.

Australia remains his home-base.

He has three daughters; Myfanwy, Madeline and Vanessa.

It was there that he attained his Master of Art (Painting), in 1976.

In 1976, Ollis moved to Darwin, Australia; to lecture at Charles Darwin University (then named Darwin Community College).

Ollis received the 1976 John Minton International Painting Prize, the 1977 Sir Frederick Richards’ Travelling Scholarship (UK), an Australia Council Visual Arts Board Grant (1984), and the Conrad Jupiters Award in 2005 (Gold Coast City Art Gallery QLD).

Ollis's work is currently held in public collections in Australia and the United Kingdom, including the Royal College of Art London, National Gallery of Australia, Parliament House, Canberra, and the State Galleries of Queensland, Victoria and Northern Territory.

His partner is artist Wendy Sharpe.

Ollis is the longest serving director of the National Art School; his tenure spanned over 11 years (1997 – 2008).

He has held over 80 solo exhibitions across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Germany, France and the UK.

Subsequent residencies include the Obracadobra artist residency in Oaxaca City, Mexico, with Mawson's Huts Foundation to Antarctica in 2014, and an international artist residency at Funxing-Ginger Art Space, Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu, China in 2015.