Crowe Farm Retreats : CARL OLTVEDT
On Display 11 May - 10 June 2018 in the Main Gallery
On Display 11 May - 10 June 2018 in the Main Gallery
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“The paintings and drawings I create are, most often, the product of my experience working directly in response to the subject, whether a figure, landscape, or still life; I will use photographic references when shifting conditions, bad weather or the scale of the work make that direct experience unmanageable. I am engaged by the process of synthesizing what I see and feel through the abstraction of the visual language used in making art. The transient nature of visual experience means that nothing remains the same from one moment to the next: the model moves, the light or season changes, the flowers wilt, etc. These on-going fluctuations force me to consider new possibilities constantly as my work progresses.
I start with an idea developed from the process of looking carefully at the subject from a variety of views and in different kinds of light until I begin to feel a direction to proceed in terms of expressive possibilities. The medium I use and the format of the work, in terms of the shape and scale of the surface I work on, is suggested during this process. The composition of the work may also change, sometimes dramatically, as I move towards greater clarity of expression. Everything on the picture plane is subject to the overall design and the expressive relationship of parts to the whole. The works are both an abstraction of visual experience, as well as being reflective of it.” CARL OLTVEDT works full-time as an artist in Minneapolis, MN. He retired from Minnesota State University Moorhead in May of 2015, where he was a Professor in the School of Art. He continues to teach classes and workshops, principally in the Twin Cities at Wet Paint in St. Paul and Artistry at the Bloomington Art Center. His work has been represented by galleries in Chicago, Detroit, Fargo, Minneapolis, and San Francisco; works are available through Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis, the Underbrush Gallery in Fargo, and the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum. His paintings and drawings are included in numerous public, corporate, and private collections, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the North Dakota Museum of Art, the Plains Art Museum, and the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum. He has received many professional awards for his creative work, including Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants in 2014 and 1991, and a Lake Region Arts Council/McKnight Artist Fellowship in 2002. |