What is my work about?
Monet’s water lily paintings show the sky, the transparency of water, the surface of water, reflections and plants, offering the viewer many modes of viewing at once. I aim to employ this multi-valency in my paintings, trying to cull a cohesive character out of separate marks and ideas that echo through different series.
Artist Statement
Years ago I was in a California desert in the early morning and I saw a tiny hole and drew a picture of it. I thought this hole provided a lot of information with just a simple gradation. I still use this form and find it mysterious. Defined by what it is not, a hole plays with our figure ground sensibilities and serves as a flip-side to materiality. The hole has visual potential, it can be sky or reflecting pool, shallow or deep, up or down, in or out, abstract or not, and everything in between and all around. The hole also has traits that are biological, mythic and universal. It provides a ripe arena for making imaginary landscapes and caves, the series that is best represented here.
To start paintings I begin by stretching linen over wooden supports using copper tacks and then trimming the linen. I want all parts of my painting to feel activated, a part of the conversation, including the sides and supports. Next I prepare a smooth surface with gesso and lots of sanding. Various objects are then added to the painting (mustard seeds, metal leaf, selected trash, linen string, and on), using chance. These small objects can have personal or documentary significance, or none at all. I then look at the composition the trash is making and begin making marks, paying attention to precedence, coincidence, and serendipity. From here a painting can quickly become part of an established series, or sit dormant for later use. Over the course of a painting I use different methods to make a variety of marks. I both tease out and obfuscate spaces and images, trying to summon a dynamic between comfort and uncertainty.
I included examples from other series: sunglasses, glare, a pinball machine called “Pinbot”, a Christmas Tree and an illustration taken from an old book on early man. Ideas and marks from these works seep themselves into other series and provide a support for my whole studio practice. I work on different paintings and different series simultaneously, ideas and images overlap creating something that feels new, evolutionary and with obstacles, like a game.
I am dedicated to painting as a form well-suited to offering the art experience and am proud to participate in the history of art-making. I have a deep optimism for humans and believe art bridges our inner and outer worlds in a way that can transform, or at the very least, help us live here on earth.
CV
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2014
Brooklyn Bridge, curated by Justine Frischmann, George Lawson, San Francisco, CA
The Indexical Mark, curated by Michael David, Life on Mars Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Do It Yourself, curated by Melanie Parke and Brian Edmonds via Julie Torres, BOS (old 3rd Ward building), Brooklyn, NY
Arshile Gorky and Contemporary Drawing, curated by Jason Andrew, OUTLET, Brooklyn, NY
2013
Gravity Light, (solo show), curated by Rob de Oude and Enrico Gomez, Parallel Art Space, Ridgewood, NY
New Work, Five Painters, curated by Edward Thorp and Johnny Mullen, Edward Thorp, NY, NY
Thanks, curated by Adam Parker Smith, Lu Magnus Gallery, NY, NY
Strange Lens: 3 Painters, curated by Liz Atz, Lars Kremer and Amy Lincoln, AIRPLANE, Brooklyn, NY
2012
Heroes, curated by Julie Torres, Small Black Door, Ridgewood, NY
The Ground Beneath Our Feet, curated by Danielle McCullough, Do Right Hall, Marfa, TX
Ab/Ob/Ob, curated by Liz Ainsle and Maanik Singh, BOS, Brooklyn, NY
WAVERS, curated by EJ Hauser and Rob Nadeau, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, NY
Peaces on Earth, curated by Jon Lutz, Sardine Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
The First Unveiling, curated by Paul D’Agostino, Centotto Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Assembly, curated by Johnny Mullen, Edward Thorp, NY, NY
Human Resources, curated by Joe Ballweg, Ridgewood, NY
Temporary Antumbra Zone, curated by JJ Manford and Elisa Soliven, Janet Kurnatowski, Brooklyn, NY
So Happy Together, curated by Julie Torres, Norte Maar, Brooklyn, NY
Purple Nurple, curated by Pioneers of Inspiration, BOS, Brooklyn, NY
Deck the Walls, curated by Lacey Fekishazy, Sardine Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010
Painting Comes Alive, curated by Erik den Breejen, Art Jail, NY, NY
Half Invisible, Pioneers of Inspiration, BETA Spaces, Brooklyn, NY
Time Bandits III, Pioneers of Inspiration, Bushwick Open Spaces, Brooklyn, NY
2009
The Winning Hand, curated by Danielle McCullough, Workspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Time Bandits II, Pioneers of Inspiration, Bushwick Open Studios, Brooklyn, NY
Hogeweg, Logement Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
2008
Eggcartonopolis, curated by Jackson McDade, HQ Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Time Bandits, Pioneers of Inspiration, Bushwick Open Spaces, Brooklyn, NY
Portraits of Yoda, Pioneers of Inspiration, Bushwick Open Studios, Brooklyn, NY
2007
On It, Pioneers of Inspiration, Bushwick Open Spaces, Brooklyn, NY
Group Show, AG Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
2006
Group Show, AG Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
2004
Ohio University Alumni Exhibition Dairy Barn, Athens, OH
1998
Paintings (solo show), Siegfred Gallery, Athens, OH
Surface, curated by Mary Campbell, Esther Allen Greer Museum, Rio Grande, OH
1994
NinebyFour Keller Art Gallery, San Diego, CA
1993
Bisquits and Gravy, (solo show) Keller Art Gallery, San Diego, CA
1992
Mid-Winter Awards Show, San Diego Art Institute, SD, CA
EDUCATION:
MFA, Painting, Ohio University, Athens OH, 1998
BA, Studio Art, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego CA, 1993
PRESS:
Baker, Kenneth, “Cavepool Stylus”, selected Pink Section reproduction, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday June 29, 2014 http://www.sfgate.com/default/photo/Cavepool-Stylus-2012-oil-mixed-media-and-6501400.php
Butler, Sharon, “Brooklyn Painters go West”, Two Coats of Paint, June 15, 2014
http://www.twocoatsofpaint.com/2014/06/brooklyn-painters-go-west.html
Sinelnikova, Julia, “Artists Do-It-Themselves”, Bushwick Daily, June 5, 2014
http://bushwickdaily.com/2014/06/artists-do-it-themselves-julie-torres-sprawling-curatorial-project-at-bos-2014/
“New Work, Five Painters”, Wall Street International, December 11, 2013
http://wsimag.com/art/255-new-work-five-painters
Keating, Zachery and Joy, Chris, “Mike Olin” Video Interview with Gorky’s Granddaughter, 2013
http://www.gorkysgranddaughter.com/
Truax, Stephen, “Artists in Bushwick”, The Brooklyn Rail, July 11, 2011
http://www.brooklynrail.org/2011/07/artseen/artists-in-bushwick
Gunhouse, Carl, “Mike Olin ‘Gravity Light’ At Parallel Art Space”, Searching for the Light Art Blog, May 2013
http://carlgunhouse.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-06-10T16:41:00-04:00&max-results=500
“Your Guide to Beat Nite: Limited Edition”, Hyperallergic, February 15, 2013
Calandra, Maria, “Mike Olin”, Pencil In the Studio, 2011
http://pencilinthestudio.blogspot.com/2011/07/mike-olin.html
Meier, Alison, “Wanderings through Bushwick Open Studios”, Hyperallergic, 2011
http://hyperallergic.com/26281/wanderings-through-bushwick-open-studios/
Vartanian, Hrag, “Musings and Images from 2011 Bushwick Open Studios, Hyperallergic, September 2011
Vartanian, Hrag, “So Happy Together”, Hyperallergic, June 2011
http://zine.artcal.net/2008/06/bushwick-open-studios-2008.php
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bushwickopenstudios/pool/page7/
“Portraits of Yoda”, Hyperallergic, June 2008
http://hyperallergic.tumblr.com/post/836150189/portraits-of-yoda-exhibition-and-mike-olins
http://www.artsucks.com/blog/2012/jun12/bos-6-3-12.phphttp://
SELECTED COLLABORATIVE SHOW CURATION/DEVELOPMENT
With Joy Curtis for Bushwick Open Studios:
2014 Spring Chicken: Ariel Dill, Matthew F. Fisher and David McBride
2013 Duck Duck Rabbit: EJ Hauser, Todd Bienvenu and Kelly McRaven
2012 Greasy Luck: Mira Dancy, Brooke Moyse and Ryan Dawalt
2011 Purple Nurple: group painting show with purple theme
2008 Portraits of Yoda: group show including blind portraits of Yoda from many artists