In Olivia Bernardoff”s paintings several elements combine to imbue incidental subject matter with additional meaning. Unusual viewpoints, textural application of paint and a particular quality of light render scenes as enigmatic moments in time. Olivia’s landscapes and street scenes are atmospheric spaces with an impressionist appearance in which figures are reduced to complementary additions in the environment. City roadways and lights at night, people and objects merging into shadow, lights reflected in wet bitumen and humans and objects painted as specks on the horizon raise questions of processes of perception; of how the landscape is perceived and recorded. Olivia’s travels across Australia have inspired her to capture scenes of transition, juxtaposing the modernity found in urban centres with the austere and isolated expanse which is visible in the rural areas encountered between destinations. Recently, Olivia is painting more surreal imagery that expresses her new-found acknowledgement of the instrinsic qualities of nature and human biology.

Initially trained in political science at Melbourne University, Olivia has always been interested in and involved in arts practice. She has been exhibiting work since 1990 in group and solo exhibitions including the Orange Regional Gallery, the Goulburn Regional Gallery, Canberra School of Art Gallery, Studio One and the Contemporary Art Space in Manuka. Olivia completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree at the Canberra School of Art (ANU) in 1999. Also in that year, Olivia travelled to Japan as part of an exchange programme participating in a sculpture workshop which culminated in a group exhibition at the Canberra School of Art. Olivia Bernardoff remains an avid supporter of regional arts organisations.