Megan Olson is an American painter born in 1971.[1] She was raised in rural Connecticut, and has lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, and Berlin.[2] She currently works out of her studio on the Lower East Side of New York City.[2] Olson received her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2002,[3] and was discovered by Maxwell Davidson Gallery while attending the AICAD New York Studio Residency Program.[2]
Megan Olson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1971 (age 52–53) New Milford, CT |
| Education | San Francisco Art Institute |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Website | www.meganolson.com |
Work
editOlson creates abstract works in gouache, watercolor, graphite, spray paint and oil paint, on paper and canvas.[2] The artist describes her work as drawing on influences from the canon of art history ranging from Japanese scroll paintings to graffiti.[4]
American art critic and essayist Hilton Kramer described Olson's work as depicting "the dynamic processes of nature with a precision, stability and concreteness that are traditionally reserved for the painting of inert, three-dimensional objects."[1] Kramer says "the result of this concentrated attention to the nuances of nature is a pictorial style that’s at once highly abstract and persuasively realist in its fidelity to observed detail."[1]
Critical reception
editHilton Kramer noted the artist's use of color to "generate a sense of energy and movement," as in the work Fiery Ocean of which he wrote, "swirling traces of light disport themselves in a ruby-red sea," calling the result "unfailingly original and compelling."[1]
Solo exhibitions
edit- 2014 Beyond the Chains of Illusion, Berlin Art Projects, Istanbul, Turkey
- 2012 Legible Fiction, Davidson Contemporary, New York, NY[5][6]
- 2010 Beyond the Chains of Illusion, Berlin Art Projects, Berlin, Germany
- 2009 Spray Paintings, Davidson Contemporary, New York, NY
- 2007 Urban Nature, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, NY
- 2005 Still Movement, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York, NY
- 2003 Synapsis, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York , NY
- 2001 Organic Abstractions, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York , NY
References
edit- ^ a b c d Kramer, Hilton (June 27, 2005). "Painter Megan Olson Has Double Vision: Abstract and Realist". New York Observer. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Check out Megan Olson's Artwork". Voyage Chicago. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "Alumni Websites". San Francisco Art Institute. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "Four of a Kind". Foley Gallery. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "Megan Olson Exhibit at Davidson Contemporary – New York – April 3 – 28". Untitled-magazine.com.
- ^ "Megan Olson "Legible Fiction"". nyartbeat.com. Retrieved 16 September 2020.