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BOBBIE OLIVER (Canada, Ontario, Windsor b. 1943 / act: USA, New York) |
Bobbie Oliver was born on 17 June 1943 in Windsor, Ontario. She studied at the Centre for Creative Studies in Detroit Michigan and at St. Alban's School of Art, St. Alban's, England. She currently lives and works in Manhattan, NY. For the past 30 years or more, her studio practice has been that of an abstract painter involved in the alchemy and chemistry of paint and its ability to correspond and transcend to a subtle world of imagery that attracts her. This imagery mainly comes from the act of painting itself, though she is influenced by any number of sources from Chinese and Japanese calligraphy to Indian textiles, Sumi ink drawing, Byzantine mosaics and Roman frescos. Her early Canadian beginnings in Windsor, Ontario were spent around the banks of Lake Erie discovering fossils and rocks and these archaeological interests had a great influence on her art. This interest in nature has stayed with her in her work and manifests itself through my interest in chance and accident. Though she has worked with many different materials over the years, her subject matter has remained constantly in the realm of tactility and abstraction. She is not interested in stories but in creating atmospheres that attract the eye through subtlety, nuance and immediacy. § She taught art at the following educational posts: Teaching Adjunct Lecturer, Painting, RISD, Providence (1980-1992); Lecturer, Painting, Princeton University, Princeton (1981); Lecturer, Painting, School of Visual Arts, New York (1981); Lecturer, Painting, Banff School of Fine Arts, Banff, Canada (1981); Acting Head, Painting Department, RISD, Providence (1982-1983); Head, Summer Program, Visual Arts, Banff School of Fine Arts, Banff, Canada (1985); Pre-College Painting, Continuing Education Summer Program, RISD (1986-1987); Professor, Painting Department, RISD, Providence (1992-2008); Chief Critic, European Honors Program, RISD, Rome (2003-2005); Chair, Painting Department, RISD, Providence (2006-2008).Bobbie Oliver presented the following personal exhibitions: A Space, Toronto (1978); Feigenson/Rosenstein Gallery, Detroit (1978); Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Canada (1978); Art Gallery of Southern Alberta, Lethbridge, Canada (1979); Freidus/Ordover Gallery, New York (1984); Wolff Gallery, New York (1993); Wheeler Gallery, Providence (1993); Lenore Gray Gallery, Providence (1995); Lenore Gray Gallery, Providence (1999); Nameless Waters: The Paintings of Bobbie Oliver 1993-1998, University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo, Canada; Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Canada; Illingworth Art Gallery/Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Canada (1999); Sean Scully's West Space, New York (2000); Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York (2004); Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto (1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2006); Alliance Gallery, Narrowsburg, New York (2007); Jancar Gallery, Los Angeles (2007); Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto, Canada (2010). § She also took part in the following group exhibitions: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada (1978); A.C.T. Gallery, Toronto, Canada (1978); Paperworks, Feigenson-Rosenstein Gallery, Detroit (1978); 55 Mercer Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1978, 1979); Making A Fresh New Thing, Harbourfront Gallery, Toronto, Canada (1979); Beyond the Border, Harbourfront Gallery, Toronto, Canada (1979); 288 West Street, Manhattan, NY (1979); A Great Big Drawing Show, P.S.1, Manhattan, NY (1979); Material Matters: Curated by Edward Albee, Norton Art Gallery, West Palm Beach; The Clocktower, New York; The Spoletto Festival, Charleston; Stamford Museum, CT (1980); Aspects of Canadian Painting in the 70s, Glenbow Museum, Calgary (1980); Stratford Art Gallery, Stratford; Kitchener-Waterloo Gallery, Kitchener; Agnes-Etherington Gallery, Kingston; Rodman Hall, St. Catherines; Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada (1981); Viewpoint, Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton; Harbourfront Gallery, Toronto; Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa; Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor; Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada (1981); Agnes-Etherington Gallery, Kingston; Rodman Hall, Saint Catherines (1981); Stratford Art Gallery, Stratford; Kitchener-Waterloo Gallery, Kitchener (1981); Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa; Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor (1981); Artists from the Edward Albee Foundation, Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton (1982); Parallels and Boundaries, Powerhouse Gallery, Montreal (1984); Fashion Moda Benefit, Ronald Feldman Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1986); Anne Plumb Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1988); 17 at the Barn curated by Edward Albee, Rosa Esman Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1988); 49th Parallel Gallery, New York (1989); Sooner or Later: Edward Albee's Eye, Hillwood Art Museum, Long Island University, NY (1990); Spotted Dog Gallery, Old Chatham, Manhattan, NY (1992); Faculty, Rhode Island Museum of Art, Providence (1992); E.S. Vandam, New York (1993); A Celebration of Life, Mount Sinai Breast Resource Center, Auction, United Nations, NY (1993); The Bridge Has the Blues, Art Auction, Bridge Center for Contemporary Art, El Paso, TX (1993); Bomb Magazine Benefit, Fawbush Gallery, New York (1993); Canadian Contemporary Works on Paper, University of Waterloo, Canada (1993); Whateva, Dru Arstark Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1994); Contemporary Art in Rhode Island, Museum of Art, RISD (1994); Addressing Surrender, Paolo Baldacci Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1994); Recent Painting, E.S. Vandam Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1994); East/West, E.S. Vandam Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1994); Drawing, Nancy Solomon Gallery, Atlanta, GA (1996); In a Meditative Manner, E.S. Vandam Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1996); Image/After Image, The Work Space, Manhattan, NY (1996); Land, Forster/Goldstrum Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1997); So Much Deathless, Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, Manhattan, NY (1997); Diverse Works, Urban Configuration, Starwood Urban Investments, Washington, DC (1998); The Fanelli Show, O.K. Harris Gallery, New York (1998); Mind's Eye, Boothe Contemporary Art, Wakefield, RI (1999); Abstraction, Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi, India (1999); Choice 99, Exit Art, Manhattan, NY (1999); Re: Place, Planet Thailand, Manhattan, NY (2000); 3ness, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium (2000); Guide to Trust #2, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA (2001); Thinking in Line, University of Florida, Jackson, FL (2003); Up and Off the Wall, Dumbo Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY (2004); Small Works, Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto (2006); RISD Painting Faculty, Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI (2006); Arts Desire:The Art Auction, Museum of Art, Saint Louis, Missouri (2007); Aljira Fine Art Auction, Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, New Jersey (2007); Benefit Auction, Dumbo Arts Centre, Brooklyn, NY (2008); Cool and Austere, Jancar Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2008); Melissa Meyer & Bobbie Oliver: Works on Paper, Lenore Gray Gallery, Providence, RI (2008); May/December, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design - RISD, Providence, RI (2009); Power to the People, Feature Gallery, NY (2010); Tenant's Show, 106 Green Street, Brooklyn NY (2010).
Bobbie Oliver currently lives and works in New York.
[Megakles Rogakos 08/2010]
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
COLBY, JOYCE Poems, Paintings 1978 Detroit News
RHODES, RIC Sydney Drum and Bobbie Oliver at the AGO 11.1978 Artsmagazine
RHODES, RIC Paintings that Hold their Ground 10.1978 Ryerson Review
WHITE, PETER Juggling the Dimensions 07.1978 The Globe & Mail, Toronto
BELL, TIFFANY Group Show 03.1978 Artsmagazine
FRANK, PETER Review 01.1978 Village Voice
PURDIE, JAMES Gallery Reviews 11.1978 Globe & Mail, Toronto
MURRAY, JOAN Making a Fresh New Thing: 10 Painters 06.1979 Artsmagazine
BELL, TIFFANY Group Show 04.1979 Artsmagazine
LARSON, KAY Review 06.1980 Village Voice, New York
ZIMMER, WILLIAM Review 1980 Soho News, New York
ZINSSER, JOHN Bobbie Oliver at Wolff 05.1985 East Village Eye
RAYNOR, VIVIEN Edward Albee vs. the Establishment 08.1985 New York Times
LOUGHERY, JOHN 17 Years at the Barn 03.1988 Art Reviews
MAYS, JOHN BENTLEY Invoking a Sense of Place 03.1989 The Globe & Mail, Toronto
VAN SICLEN, BILL Art Wrap-up 09.1993 Providence Journal
GERSH-NESSIE, BETH Bobbie Oliver, Paintings 01.1994 Art New England
SILBERGER, KATHY New York Artists 1994 Saison Magazine, Germany
SLONIN, JEFFREY In with the Out Crowd - interview with Bruce Ferguson 03.1995 Artforum
VAN SICLEN, BILL Art Wrap-up 10.1995 The Providence Journal
CAMPBELL, JAMES Image/After Image 05.1996
KISSICK, JOHN A Tale of Two Painters 09.1996 Canadian Art
VAN SICLEN, BILL Watery-smudge master 12.1998 The Providence Journal
REID, ROBERT Paintings evoke vague apocalytic feel 01.1999 The Record
DAULT, GARY Bobbie Oliver at the Olga Korper Gallery 06.1999 The Globe & Mail
MURRAY, JOAN Canadian Art in the 20 th Century 1999 Durdurn Press
JOHNSON, KEN Choice 12.1999 The New York Times
LAUREYUS, JEROEN Light, Airy and Transitory 08.2000 De Standard, Belgium
PIETERS, RUDY A Clear, Playful Threeness 08.2000 De Morgan, Belgium
FIERS, ELS Museum Light 08.2000 Knack, Belgium
DAULT, GARY Bobbie Oliver at Olga Korper 03.2003 The Globe & Mail, Toronto
FRANK, PETER Hits of Ecstacy 05.2007 LA Weekly
THOMPSON, MIMI Editor's Choice: Bobbie Oliver 06.2009, BOMB Magazine
