Dreamlike figures want to disappear into my coastal landscapes, it’s a fight to hold on. This is the play between the figurative and the abstract in my paintings - tactile and large-scale, with lavishly applied paint and generously waxed canvas. Depictions of political absurdities and the underlying violence in everyday life prevail, despite the sometimes contradictory lushness of the materials, confirming that the subject matter is intended to disturb the viewer.
Narratives are explored through a theatrical lens. Coastlines become a stage, for a game whose rules keep changing. Figures appear as unwitting characters in a mythical story they haven’t written, an infusion of dream and nightmare, echoing the classic formula of a HC Andersen fairytale.
Disquieting colour combinations create simultaneously charming and foreboding landscapes. The richly textured paintings, are a result of reacting to what happens during the creative process; applying, scraping, layering colour until I reach the right feeling. The paintings then in turn, take on a life of their own, characters grow and narratives unravel.
Images stay with me for years, percolating in the background. I’ve learned to trust that part of my brain that makes decisions without me being aware of it. I combine seemingly disparate reference points in my work, inserting images from my own life, film, theatre and media sources together in one composition. When images resurface, I make multiple charcoal drawings and watercolour studies, before incorporating them into larger scale paintings.
Olga studied Fine Art in Ireland, then spent the next decade living and working in Tokyo, San Francisco and New York, before settling in Copenhagen. Exhibitions include solo shows in New York and Copenhagen. Studio visits by appointment.