Leslie Oliver
BIOGRAPHY
I grew up making things in my dad’s workshop. I later studied sculpture at Alexander Mackie CAE (UNSW Art & Design), where the sculptures of Robert Klippel enthralled me. I also had fun making films.
After studying filmmaking at AFTRS, I taught film and sculpture for two years at St Aloysius College, Sydney.
I am a Co-founder of Sydney Film School, where I served as Head of Teaching and Production, teaching across various production subjects from 2004 to 2016.
Recently, I lived in Bangkok, teaching film while making my first set of large outdoor sculptures. I have moved to Bellingen with my wife, Punthita, close to family and friends.
EXHIBITIONS 1973 –2022.
I have had numerous solo and group exhibitions, and my work is represented in private and public collections. I have also been commissioned to create pieces for the Hong Kong and Sydney Qantas Club Lounges.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I enjoy the formal challenges of sculpture, animating materials through abstract gestures that utilize balance, tension, line, mass, space, and textures to create engaging 3D objects. While working, thoughts turn to the lost histories of the found materials on my workbench, a private meditation on time, fate, and our connection to all other “things”
