Robert Olsen is best known for his oil paintings of features of urban landscapes—freeways, overpasses, bus stops, abandoned gas pumps. “The things I paint are everywhere in urban areas,” the artist wrote; “I am interested in similarity more than difference, so when I go somewhere, I look for those things that are common to all cities.” Describing his artistic process and body of work, Olsen wrote: “I am an artist…I mostly paint, and I paint oil on panel. I paint urban objects in an isolated space which generally appears as a nighttime scene. …I paint, draw, keep notes and make videos.”
Olsen received his BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts in 1998 and his MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2002. He was named one of L.A.’s top painters under forty-five by the Los Angeles Times in 2007. His work has been featured in many group exhibitions and in solo shows at Black Dragon Society, LA; Plane Space, NY; G Fine Art, Washington DC; and Monte Clark Gallery, Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. His last solo show was L.A. Freeways at Planthouse, NY; his last group show, “I, II, III”, was at South of Sunset, LA. Robert Olsen died of a heart attack in April 2014; he was forty-four years old. A selection of Olsen’s oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings will be featured at Volta, March 1-5, 2017, in New York.
For additional information about this artist, visit Mutual Art
