ARTISTS

KATRINA OLSON B.F.A.

"He made me suddenly realize that photographs could reach eternity through the moment."   -Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

I have always had a keen interest in Photography from a very young age. I wanted to show other people through my drawings, painting, and photos what it is I see when I look at the world.

 

After graduating high school in I enrolled in the University of Calgary'™s Bachelor of Fine Arts Program Majoring in Art. I wanted to find a direction in which I could develop a unique style all my own. The third and fourth year of my degree leaned towards photography, and the fourth specifically chemical photography which ended up being my piece for the Graduation show in 2004, and my first work in a group gallery show outside of school. The show at Image 54 Gallery in Calgary, AB that featured the body of work Untitled 2004 Series, was featured in the Calgary Heralds Arts sections and was quoted as having a unique approach.

 

Shortly after graduation I moved to Chicago, Il, USA to start a career in Graphic Design and to continue my exploration of photography, and other mediums. While living in Chicago I was able to make some great connections in the art business and was able to show my work from time to time in group exhibitions. Most of the work I showed was photographs that had been digitized, and manipulated through color and composition. Working as a graphic designer had a huge impact on my photography. As I became more proficient in different digital realms, I found it difficult to leave a photograph in a raw form. Everything became a work in progress and I began to value photographs so differently than I had before.

 

In the summer 2006 I moved back to Calgary, Alberta Canada and began painting from photographs, painting on photographs, collage-ing photographs into my painting, and experimenting with variations of photos and acrylic paint. The layers of the work became as important to me as the work itself. Every photograph I took, digitally or manually on one of my SLR cameras, ended up in my computer being deconstructed and reconstructed, being printed, painted on, glued, glazed and finished with a frame or mounted in stretcher bars. 

I hope to be enrolled in the MFA program at UofC in Fall 2008, and study Mixed Media Arts.



Artist C.V.

Education

2000-2004                    University of Calgary             Calgary, Alberta

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Studies (Studio Concentration)

Focused area study was photography in visual arts. The U of C Fine Arts culture was a broadly based liberal arts environment, where it was encouraged to explore a variety of areas of interest.

Summer Semester 2002 Spent in New York, New York, USA on a gallery survey and exploration of new mediums and techniques.

Nickel Arts Museum Graduation Exhibition of Cyanotype prints.

 

 

2002        Alberta College of Art and Design   Calgary, Alberta

Adult Credit Free Course

Beginners Jewelry ( Basic fabrication skills to create jewelry from Silver smithing techniques, designing, pattern layout, sawing/piercing, filing, sinking, soldering and finishing).

  Stone Setting (different techniques or setting different stone in different types of metal).

 

 

 

 

Exhibitions

2004                           Scope New York Gallery      New York, NY

Group Exhibition called Holiday Global art sale.

 

2004                           Aldo Castillo Gallery                 Chicago, IL

        Group Exhibition called ˜Eyes on Pilsen™. Exhibited an untitled digital print on canvas.

 

2004                               Private Commission                   Miami, FL

       Tryptic entitled Nudes, mixed media (acrylic, oil pastel and gels on canvas)

 

2004                             Image 54 Gallery                       Calgary, AB

Group Exhibition called Western Art. Exhibited cyanotype prints on cotton thong underwear entitled œSelf Portrait Series/ Intimate Self Portraits.

 

2004              Nickle Arts Museum           Calgary, AB

BFA Graduation Exhibition of cyanotype prints on cotton thong underwear entitled €Self Portrait Series/ Intimate Self Portraits.

 

2003    Bay, Sears, and Holt Renfrew Dept. Stores  Calgary, AB

 Corporate promotional photographs for Christian Dior Spring Collateral.

2003           Adam and Eve Hair Salon        Calgary, AB

      Solo Exhibition of Charcoal Portrait Studies.

 

2002   Little Gallery in the U of C Campus  Calgary, AB

     Anatomical Drawing Studies in Pencil, Charcoal, and Pencil Crayon

 

Memberships               2007          Art Point Gallery and Studios                          Calgary, AB