Ostaria Selir
23 August, 2pm-4pm
Keith Institute, Keith
Ostaria Selir was born in Berlin, Germany, on 14 February 1928. As a young woman, she lived through the Second World War and witnessed the Russian invasion of Germany. These traumatic experiences had a profound impact on her and remained with her throughout her life.
In 1956, Ostaria migrated to Australia by ship. During the voyage she met Zdenek Selir, who would later become her husband. After arriving in Victoria, they married and raised two children, Daniela and Richard. When Ostaria first arrived in Australia, she could not speak English, and Zdenek (Danny), who spoke nine different languages, helped her learn the language and adapt to her new home. The family settled primarily on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.
A self-taught artist, Ostaria began painting soon after arriving in Australia. She held a lifelong dream of becoming a recognised artist. Her early works largely featured flowers and other traditional subjects, while her later paintings evolved into increasingly imaginative and eccentric compositions that reflected her distinctive artistic vision.
Ostaria also fulfilled another personal ambition by writing and publishing a book, inspired by her fascination with eccentric beings and imaginative ideas.
As an only child, Ostaria demonstrated remarkable resilience in building a new life in Australia. While she was not always outwardly affectionate, those closest to her knew the depth of her love. Over time, she became more comfortable expressing her affection, often telling her family she loved them in her native German.
Ostaria passed away on 10 March 2020 in a retirement home on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. Although becoming a recognised artist was her lifelong dream, she never had the opportunity to hold an exhibition during her lifetime.
This exhibition is the fulfilment of a promise made by her family—to honour Ostaria's dream and celebrate the remarkable body of work she created over many decades. All artworks in the exhibition are available for purchase, with the hope that they will find homes with people who appreciate and love art as deeply as Ostaria did. In sharing her work, her family hopes her creative legacy will continue to inspire others for years to come.
A special thank you to Richard and Yvonne Selir for sharing Ostaria’s artwork.
We have done our best to ensure all measurements and details are correct in the catalogue; however, there may be some discrepancies. If you would like to view a closer or clearer image of any work, or purchase a work please contact the Walkway Gallery at gallery@tatiara.sa.gov.au or call 8752 1044.