Biography
John Walter Wolseley (b. Somerset, England, UK 1938), son of the artist Garnet Wolseley, attended the Byam Shaw School of Art and St Martin’s School of Art. He worked in Paris with the printmaker S. W. Hayter, showing at Atelier 17 (1959-62). After a survey trip down the Dordogne river in France in a collapsible dinghy, Wolseley worked in Birgit Skiöld’s print workshop (1962-9) and in 1966 he created 3D works with Noah Morris for Wardour Music Festival. In 1970 Wolseley returned to West of England and started the Nettlecombe Studios artists’ and farmers’ co-operative, whilst also lecturing at West of England Art College in Bristol. He had had a first solo show at Architectural Association in 1962 with one at Mayor Gallery in 1965. He worked in Malta and Gozo between 1968 and 71 which resulted in another exhibition at the Mayor Gallery and the Contemporary Art Society purchasing a sketch which was donated to the University of Salford Art Collection in 1972.
After being included in Florence and Buenos Aires Print Biennales and winning the Kantos Prize for his Cycle of Love etchings, Wolseley spent six months in the Spanish Pyrenees and went on an expedition up the Skrang River, Borneo (1974-5), moving to Australia in 1976 where he established a new career. He lived all over the continent, latterly in St Kilda, Victoria, and held a number of teaching posts and residencies, inspired by the unique Austalian landforms. Notable among his shows was Nomadism: John Wolseley, Twelve Years in Australia, University of Melbourne, 1988. The Arts Council Collection and major Australian galleries hold examples.
