Olef Artwork

n 1978 II earned my BFA at JMU in Virginia where I received the Francis Groves honor award for my artwork. I attended California Institute of the Arts in 1982 where I was teaching assistant for John Baldessari and studied under Michael Asher & Robin Winters, Doug Huebler was my mentor. I graduated with an MFA in 1983 and then moved to NYC where I curated at Hudson Center Gallery in Tribeca for one season. I changed careers at this time and worked in Finance retiring from JPMorganChase as a VP in 2018. I am now producing art full time and am working to complete my graphic studio that is an extension to my painting studio where I look forward to creating my art for as long as I can. I like abstract art because it has no fixed political, moral or biased position. It allows people to interpret and experience it the way they like. Shapes, colors, patterns, etc. replace representational forms that are predefined by language. Instrumental music operates in a similar way where non lyrical rhythm and melodies allow the listener freedom from associations they may have had since birth and creates the possibility for a personal and spiritual experience. I use natural and manmade structures such as scaffolding, figure ground relationships, etc. to create a compositional framework somewhat equivalent to rhythm in music and super impose on to these colors and shapes to create an abstract space somewhat equivalent to musical melody. My desire is to provide a transformational fantasy land to viewers where they can bring their own unique experience that becomes part of the artwork itself. Key influences are Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, William De Kooning, Franz Kline and Richard Diebenkorn