Leslie Oliver
Born Australia
Lives & Works Bellingen (Gumbainggir)
Leslie Oliver grew up on a mixed farm in the Riverina region of New South Wales, where time spent building model boats in his father’s workshop first nurtured his creative instincts.
After leaving school, he worked as an architectural draftsman, contributing to private, industrial, and civic building projects. His ambition to pursue art led him to study at Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education (later the College of Fine Arts), where he studied sculpture under Brian O'Dwyer and undertook New Art studies with Ian Howard. During this period, he met the influential Australian sculptor Robert Klippel, whose work made a lasting impression. He later served as Klippel’s technical assistant on several major projects.
Expanding his creative practice into film, he went on to study editing and directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), where he developed a second artistic passion. He has since produced a number of acclaimed films and established several film education programs, including co-founding Sydney Film School. Over the past three decades, he has taught film extensively in Australia, Bhutan and Thailand, residing in Thailand for eight years.
Alongside his film career, he has maintained a dedicated sculptural practice. His work has been featured in more than 80 group exhibitions and 21 solo exhibitions in Australia and internationally and his sculptures are held in numerous private collections and selected public collections. In 2002, he was commissioned to create a suite of eleven works for the QANTAS Club Lounge in Sydney.
