Meet the Artist: Jeremy Olson

Jeremy Olson (b.1976) is a Brooklyn-based artist working in painting, sculpture and video.

He received his BFA from the University of Arizona (2000), and an MFA from New York University (2009). Selected solo exhibitions include zoognosis, Asia Art Centre, Taipei, Taiwan (2023), this time of monsters, Unit, London, UK (2022), transient waters, apocryphal shore, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, USA (2022), WT Foundation, Kyiv, Ukraine (2022) and the likes of others, Unit, London, UK (2021). Jeremy currently has as solo show on at Unit Gallery, London, open until 3rd July.

In AOAP's Auction: 87. Jeremy Olson - Untitled

Your latest exhibition ‘Grotto Domestic’ is currently open at Unit, London. What was on your mind when creating this series?
I knew the exhibition would take place in the lower level space and decided to use that as a conceptual jumping-off point. I imagined an entirely subterranean world for my characters to inhabit, there is no open sky or windows to an outside world in any of the images. The paintings depict a sort of spa or hotel-type environment built within underground caverns. There are elements of both luxury and kitsch, but also a degree of claustrophobia and a sense that something deeper has gone wrong.

If you were to dwell in one of your own cave like environments, what would you want in there with you?
I probably wouldn't do too well, I like caves aesthetically but get claustrophobic and would feel really trapped if I couldn't go outside. But there is something compelling to me about a totally synthetic environment where every element can be directed towards a particular aesthetic. Part of this series is indulging in a fantasy of being an architect and interior designer as well.

What draws you to painting these landscapes in oil?
I've always loved the workability of oil paint, the ability to blend and to push and pull things and create both soft and hard edges. There's obviously a rich history to contend with as well, but I try not to think too much about that while I'm working.

Do you have any other projects on the horizon that you would like to share?
Nothing that I can reveal at the moment.