Artists Biography 1995 - 2001

1995 -2001

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1995
Exhibition titled " Old, New, Borrowed and Blue" was assembled in only seven weeks when an exhibition slot became vacant in the recently refurbished Customs House Arts venue in South Shields and was opened by the town's M.P. Dr. David Clark. 

The fifty- nine works consisted early paintings never before displayed, Old
Fifteen of his most recent paintings. New

Work previously sold was borrowed from the length and breadth of the U.K. including the first oil painting he sold from a gallery in 1971. Borrowed

A series of blue oil studies of boats, boat yards and jetties along the banks of the river Tyne.  Blue
After the success of the exhibition spent some time in Spain for some inspiration and working on new material.

1996 Exhibition titled "Robert Olley At Work"
This was the year of Visual Arts, UK. 
Olley was sponsored by NEXUS the Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive and was opened by it's Director General, Mr Mike J. Parker. Olley was artist in residence for the duration of the four-week exhibition in the Customs House South Shields.  Included in this body of work were some large nude studies, clear evidence that he was continuing to develop and move away from the earlier subjects that gave him inspiration.

During the exhibition he painted a 16ft x 4ft mural  " Famous Faces" featuring North East personalities from the world of sport, TV, music, business and the church, they were painted in 

caricature form looking out from the carriages of a Metro train. It is now displayed at Monument station, Newcastle.

2000
Exhibition titled "This, That and some of the Other" Opened by actor and radio presenter, Mr Mike Elliott.
A body of some fifty oil paintings never before shown, documented everyday street life at the beginning of the new century.***********Programme comments by David Clark MP and Janis Blower
His only reference to coal mining was the powerful "Off the Way", his first for almost twenty- five years! Observing a young lad manoeuvre shopping trolleys in a super market gave him the inspiration when he compared it to what he was doing at that age, pushing trucks of coal underground!
The large oil, "Windows 2000"- a collection of images which artistically dealt with taboo subjects, unlikely topics such as cocaine snorting, fetishism, suicide and drug addiction.   "El Tango Apasionado" one four paintings which captured the smouldering passion of the Argentinean dance. Once again his latest work indicated his move away from his early subjects.  Tanis Taylor of  Metro news "Olley is showing his darker side- bristling with strength and sinew.

2001
Exhibition entitled "Bob Olley."  South Tyneside's French twin town Noisy-le-Sec invited Bob to exhibit in the Centre Gerard-Philipe.

He decided on a cross- section of work, early mining sculptures, drawings and oil paintings along with more recent work.  The exhibition was opened by Mm. Claude Roger Secretary General of the Comite De Jumilage De Noisy Le Sec.

Although the exhibition didn't have a theme it was exceptionally well received by the French and especially by the many parties of school children that attended as part of their project.  He was astonished at the amount of interest that the children showed in the mining subjects and spent much of the exhibition answering their questions.
There is now a permanent display of his sculpture that is exhibited around the schools in the area.

Continued…...

www.robertolley.co.uk