PETER OLSON •   Malvern, PA

The principal examples of the merger of ceramics and photography were to be found on coffee mugs and tombstone portraits. In his hands, fine art conveying wry social commentary was born.
 
The focus of Olson’s career in photography has long been commercial, but throughout he has pursued a more idiosyncratic street photography that sharply captures the chance encounters of everyday life.  As much social documentarian as photographer, he is an heir to the Mass-Observation movement’s goal of recording the very unremarkablity of daily life in ways that reveal the personal style within the collective mass. 
 
Olson’s work is anchored by subtle street photos burned into all the surfaces of the bisque, including the interiors. The resulting iron oxide images of people repeat and alternate with architectural details, fine art images often with religious themes, and decorative patterns taken from historical precedent covering every centimeter of the garniture.  The result is a highly individual, yet syncretic, vision.  As Olson notes, “There’s nothing on them that hasn’t gone through my camera and hands.”

 


ASSOCIATED EXHIBITIONS

MAIN GALLERY
January 6 - February 22, 2023
MAIN GALLERY
November 4 - December 28, 2022
SHOWCASE GALLERY
March 4 - April 27, 2022
Narratives
MAIN GALLERY
July 2 - August 27, 2021