Curator’s Corner: “Branching Out” featuring Jim Oleson
Jim Oleson is our featured artist this week from our current exhibition, Branching Out: Works in Wood from North Carolina. Oleson is a sculptor who resides in Chapel Hill, NC. Like several of our other artists, Oleson has a diverse career background outside of being an artist. He received his B.A.'s in Mathematics and Physics at St. Olaf College, a M.D. from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in Physics at Johns Hopkins University. He was a research physicist and subsequently a physician on the faculties of the University of Arizona, Duke University, and Harvard University.
"I've been making furniture for about 35 years," says Oleson. "Early projects were utilitarian, but as I continued to design and make furniture, my vision began to change. I imagined objects composed of shapes, lines, curves--sculptural objects that embodied aesthetic ideas."
The two works featured in Branching Out are examples of Oleson's functional and sculptural work. His work "Antipodes" is made of cherry and wenge wood. Wenge is often found in Central Africa, and the color can range from a medium brown to red to yellow. Stains and finishes applied to this wood can make it appear nearly black. It's durable, yet sometimes difficult to work with, as it is susceptible to splintering.
"I transitioned from making functional objects to making small scale, abstract sculpture. I found that making furniture had become less challenging as I mastered the techniques. My inspiration for abstract design is primarily from nature, where many curved shapes arise from differential growth and are described by relatively simple mathematical formulae."
Want to see more of Oleson's work? Visit his website at www.jro-furnituremaker.com!