Australian painter, printmaker

(b. 1938, Somerset, UK: arr. Australia, 1976)

John Wolseley represented the UK at Florence and Buenos Aires Print Biennales before moving to Australia. He has continued to travel widely, most frequently to the Australian outback, recording in detail the flora, fauna and mineral historical aspects of the land. Chief characteristics of John Wolseley's work are thin cursive line, detailed handwritten text and map-like drawings, tinted with soft colour, often with the addition of collage demonstrating his close observation of living outdoors in the bush for extended periods. In the 1980s his work moved into more painterly depiction of similar subjects while in the 1990s he included an installation of many objects at Australian Galleries, Melbourne. He has experimented with burying drawings and works on paper in the desert sands for many years, before retrieving them.

Sourced from McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art. Used with permission. Copyright: McCulloch and McCulloch.