OTTO KUSTER ARAS MAVL 

Otto Kuster was born in Karlsbad, Bohemia (1941) and commenced studying art at the age of 14 years at the Kempten Studio of Josef Mayer of the Munich Academy. He also studied under Joseph Konrad, the noted Bavarian sculptor, whilst attending the Kempten Technical College, obtaining his Arts Diploma in 1958.

A vision of Australia was born in Otto's boyhood and in 1960 the call of adventure brought him to our shores. His travels seen him working as a farm labourer, cane cutter, lightning ridge opal miner amongst other menial jobs before settling in Sydney and pursuing his life long passion.

This diverse and interesting time spent away from the cities created an enormous love of the bush and its people. It also created incredible inspiration for Otto, his passion for depicting the scenes he has lived in, into works of art, is stronger than ever. It has given him the ability to capture the atmosphere, the mood, the colour and the everyday life that is Australia. Otto loves the movement of water, the oceans, the rivers with their boats and ships and this love shows in his paintings.

Otto’s other great passion besides art is trout fishing and the reason behind so many works featuring rivers and streams of the Snowy Mountains area. Apart from these subjects he is well known for his Sydney Harbour and Street Scenes. He is recognised, as one of Australia's foremost impressionist with his palette knife style and dramatic light effects. Otto is a member of the Royal Art Society of NSW, has had numerous one-man and group exhibitions. His work is represented in public, corporate and private collections around the world.

For some years Otto has used his talents to teach others. He has held private classes and painting seminars. His love of painting has taken him to places like New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Fiji, Tahiti, Panama, West Indies and Europe. In 1992 Otto was awarded a Master Member of Aesthetics and Visual Literacy ( M.A.V.L.) From the university of NSW. Otto and his works have been included in all 4 editions of Kevin Hill’s “TOP TEN” Australian Artists books.