To witness metamorphosis is to enter a thought chamber so sacred it's almost supernatural. Olivia Scholnick's vital mix of abstraction and observation draws one into such an inner-scape. By magnifying fragments of landscape she turned them into what she described as "abstracted landscapes of the mind".

This oil dated 1978 and titled 'Larva Metamorphosis' evokes a sinking cosmic geometric over linear distances, shifting day into night in much the same way that larva transforms from stillness to flight.

"A response to the landscape has been one of the sustaining themes in South African painting. Olivia Scholnick's response is of two kinds. It deals with encounters of specific landscapes; but equally, it deals with landscapes of the mind.

One may regard her paintings as points of intersection where the landscape seen, the landscape remembered and the landscape reconstructed meet." - Professor Neville Dubow  (Exhibition opening, UCT Irma Stern Museum, 1995).

Born in Willisten in the Western Cape of Afrikaans heritage, Scholnick later converted to Judaism and lived most of her life in the Cape suburb of Wynberg. She studied music at the Conservatorium, Stellenbosch, and then graphics at Cape Town Art Centre under Kevin Atkinson. She is specifically known for her abstracted landscapes and garden depictions as well as her retro graphics.

Scholnick travelled extensively and exhibited all over the world, including Cite Internationale Des Arts, Paris. Both a painter and graphic artist, her works can be found in collections throughout South Africa, including the National Gallery, various universities and major corporates.