Alex Olson: Diary

Apr 12 - May 21, 2022
  • Altman Siegel is delighted to announce Diary, an exhibition of new works on paper by Alex Olson.

    “These works on paper are part of a continuous body of work produced in conjunction with my paintings. They help to problem-solve the paintings by functioning not as studies but as test sites for ideas, marks, and gestures, as well as gathering asides and impromptu impulses just to see what might happen. While in process, they live on the studio floor without a specific orientation, free of preciousness and ready to be called upon. They often record the thinking behind several works simultaneously, cross-pollinating and building up multiple layers.

    In the last few years, they’ve begun to stay past painting deadlines, lingering into the next deadline, and entering the world on their own timeline. They are finished when they’ve served their purpose and are either compelling enough in their own right to enter the world, or not, in which case they get stored in boxes in the studio but never discarded. I think of the collective body of works on paper as the diary of the paintings. These particular works act as documentation of 2020 - 2021.”

     

     

    – Alex Olson

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    • Alex Olson Untitled, 2021 Oil, pencil, and modeling paste on gessoed paper 17 x 14 in 43.2 x 35.6 cm
      Alex Olson
      Untitled, 2021
      Oil, pencil, and modeling paste on gessoed paper
      17 x 14 in
      43.2 x 35.6 cm
  • Alex Olson’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Altman Siegel, San Francisco, CA; Park View/Paul Soto, Los...

    Photograph by Emma Swanson

    Alex Olson’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Altman Siegel, San Francisco, CA; Park View/Paul Soto, Los Angeles, CA: 12.26, Dallas, TX; Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL; Laura Bartlett Gallery, London, UK; and Lisa Cooley, New York, NY. Group exhibitions include Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Finnish Academy of Fine Art, Helsinki, Finland; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; and Swiss Institute, New York, NY.

  • For more information contact info@altmansiegel.com or 415.576.9300.