Globe - Bronwyn Oliver

Bronwyn Oliver (1959–2006) is regarded as one of the Australia’s most important sculptors. Oliver studied at the Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education (which later became UNSW Art & Design) from 1977 to 1980 before being awarded the highly coveted New South Wales Travelling Art Scholarship which enabled her to undertake a Master of Art (Sculpture) at the Chelsea School of Art in London from 1982–83. In 1987 Oliver began making works using copper, a material that allowed her to create works on a large scale, yet which retained a feeling of lightness and fluidity. During the 1990s Oliver defined a repertoire of sculptural forms, notably the spiral, loop, disc, funnel and sphere which became the foundation of her works.

In 2001 Oliver won UNSW’s invitation-only competition for a site-specific sculpture for the recently completed International Square. Her sculpture Globe evokes organic growth and the vitality of living forms, the delicate linear forms creating spiralling movement across its surface. Throughout her lifetime Oliver received many accolades. She was awarded the Moët & Chandon Australian Art Fellowship in 1994 and her works included in important exhibitions including the first Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, (1993) the National Sculpture Prize and Exhibition, National Gallery of Australia (2001), and the Clemenger Contemporary Art Award, National Gallery of Victoria (2006). In 2016 a survey exhibition of her work was presented by the Tarrawarra Museum of Art, Victoria. Oliver’s work is held in all major public collections in Australia and internationally and she completed major public and private commissions. Since its installation in September 2002, Globe has become an iconic part of the UNSW campus and in 2006 Oliver received the Dean’s Award for Excellence, UNSW Art & Design.