Helen Ollivier

“Kawau Jetty explores a moment suspended between memory and possibility.

The seat at the end of the jetty marks a threshold; a place of pause where what has been meets what is yet to come. It carries a gentle, reflective energy and a sense of ‘the journey’ that I continue to engage with through landscape painting.

The chair feels familiar, reminiscent of earlier works shown at Parnell Gallery. It anchors the composition, while around the house, lush, established trees stretch and shelter like a nest, offering protection and abundance.

Through this painting, I’m creating space for reflection and anticipation, where past and future coexist, and the landscape feels both held and open.” – Helen Ollivier

Artist Bio

Helen Ollivier is a contemporary landscape painter, renowned for her evocative depictions of Auckland’s west coast beaches and the awe-inspiring vistas of New Zealand’s Great Walks.

Her practice spans both small and medium-scale works in acrylic on board, where she exquisitely blends expressive and precise brushwork to evoke a seamless, dream-like quality in her portrayal of the landscape and sky. The balance of control and fluidity within her compositions invites the viewer into a space where nature’s rhythm and movement are felt rather than merely observed.

Through contemplative observation of the light, colours, and textures of Aotearoa’s landscape, Ollivier captures the contrasts inherent in the natural world, imbuing her paintings with a serene tension that navigates the boundary between stillness and dynamism. In works that offer space for immersive introspection, the viewer is invited on a journey through the delicate interplay of form and atmosphere. A depth in understanding of nature’s complexity is evident in the quiet elegance of Ollivier’s pieces, each one a window into an expansive yet intimate vision of the Aotearoa’s native environment, and our place within it.

Ollivier’s adventurous parents were based in Nigeria at the time of her birth, and the young family continued to live there a further year before eventually returning to New Zealand and settling in Auckland. Ollivier went on to graduate from Elam School of Fine Arts (1997) and, after a series of successful solo exhibitions at Parnell Gallery between 1996 and 2008, took a hiatus from her studio practice to focus on raising her family and founding ‘Wild Things’, an art school for children. In late 2022, she reignited her artistic journey, motivated by a renewed sense of connection to the New Zealand landscape. Her works are held in private collections across New Zealand and internationally.

After a long-standing association, Parnell Gallery, which initially represented her from 1996 to 2008, resumed representation of Ollivier in 2023.

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