Jeanine Oleson (born 1974) is an American interdisciplinary artist working with images, materials and language that she forms into complex and humorous objects, performance, film, video, sound, and installation. Oleson's work explores themes including audience, language, land/site, music, and late Capitalist alienation

Early life and education

Oleson attended Astoria High School, Clatsop Community College, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA 1995),

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

(MFA 2000), and

Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture is an artists residency located in Madison, Maine, just outside of Skowhegan. Every year, the program accepts online applications from emerging artists from November through January, and selects 65 t ...

(2000). Oleson has exhibited and performed at venues including:

Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...

, LA (2017);

Commonwealth and Council Commonwealth and Council is an American contemporary art gallery located in Koreatown, Los Angeles. History The gallery was founded in 2010 by artist and curator Young Chung. It began in his apartment on Commonwealth Avenue and Council Street i ...

, LA (2012/2017); Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta (2016);

SculptureCenter SculptureCenter is a not-for-profit, contemporary art museum located in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. It was founded in 1928 as "The Clay Club" by Dorothea Denslow. In 2013, SculptureCentre attracted around 13,000 visitors. History Fou ...

, NY (2016); Pierogi, Brooklyn (2015), New Museum, NY (2014); Exit Art, NY (2012); Beta Local, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2012); X-Initiative, NY (2010); Grand Arts, Kansas City, MO (2009); Socrates Sculpture Park, NY (2009); Diverseworks, Houston, TX (2009); L.A.C.E., Los Angeles (2006), among others.

Career and work

The subject of Oleson's art is questioning and confronting big ideas. Her interdisciplinary work is marked by an interest in the conflict between contemporary life, the sensorial, and material concerns. Thinking through research and hands-on making/craft, she creates complicated, intertwined bodies of work. These large-scale projects involve performative, complex tableaux that result in responses anywhere from confusion to pleasure. Oleson's practice encompasses many different approaches to making her objects including performances, videos, installations, sound/music, art-based activism and her role as an educator. Oleson often works collaboratively. In addition to her work as an artist, she is an Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Rutgers University. She has also taught at

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

MICA Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

, and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. Oleson is also a lead collaborator since 2013 on a participatory project, Photo Requests from Solitary that provides images to people held in solitary confinement and supports efforts to end the practice in US prisons and jails. Her collaborators are Jean Casella and Laurie Jo Reynolds.

Exhibitions

Selected exhibitions include the following. * 2017 ''Can you feel it?'', Commonwealth & Council, Los Angeles, CA * 2017 ''Conduct Matters'', Hammer Project, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, May 6-August 6, curated by Connie Butler and Emily Gonzalez-Jarrett * 2016 ''The Voice'', Coreana Museum of Art, Seoul, S. Korea, curated by Jieun Seo 2016 * 2016 ''It Can Howl'', Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, GA, curated by Daniel Fuller * 2015 ''The Eccentrics'', SculptureCenter, Queens, NY, curated by Ruba Katrib * 2015 ''Destroy, she said'', Pierogi, Brooklyn, curated by Saul Anton and Ethan Spigland * 2014 ''A Sea Change Into Lands Rich and Strange'', Abrons Art Center, curated by Amanda Parmer * 2014 ''Hear, Here'', residency/exhibition/public programs, New Museum, New York, NY, curated by Johanna Burton *''2014 Still Acts'', La Mama Galleria, NY, curated by Ian Daniels and Sara Reisman

Awards

Selected awards and grants include the following. *2017-2018 GIDEST Fellow, The New School *2016 Rema Hort Mann Artist Community Engagement Grant for Photo Requests from Solitary * 2015 Creative Capital Artist Award *2014 Foundation for Contemporary Art Grant *2009 Franklin Furnace Fellowship * 2008/2009 Brooklyn Arts Council Community Arts Regrant * 2005 LEF Foundation Grant *2000 Ford Foundation Grant *1999-2000 Professional Development Fellowship, College Art Association

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleson, Jeanine 1974 births American women artists Artists from Oregon People from Astoria, Oregon Living people Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Rutgers University alumni