Check out Ola Aksan, ‘s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ola Aksan, .

Ola, , we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Hi, I’m Ola.

I’m from a few places. Primarily, I grew up in Houston, TX while spending summers visiting my family in Lodz and Krakow, Poland. My family traveled around a lot exposing me to European culture and the glorious landscape of North America. I think that being bilingual/bi-cultural is a mega factor in my art practice as I tend to focus on the nature of duality. This has definitely had an influence on the imagery I paint and probably why I relish in messy, flowing paint action.

I moved to Boston from Austin, TX in 2014 to continue studying art and received my Master’s at Tufts University’s SMFA in 2016. Currently I am painting and working as an art handler full time.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My paintings are interpreted as both creation and destruction, depending on your mood.
I like that.
I want to show a spectrum of emotions in every piece I create and to have those emotions fluctuate just as the medium itself.

In my studio I experiment a lot with paint, learning its limitations and then manipulating the medium in unusual ways. I drip, pour and collage paint to create planetary landscapes and works relating to the systemic nature of physics.

There are layers of subtext in my work revolving around our relationship with the environment, exploration, and the desires of escapism, but I like to keep my paintings closer to the realm of abstract. My hope is that there is open-ness for personal projection on to these abstract forms and to link these fundamental naturally occurring patterns with the human condition.

I’ll take my paint colors and pour them into the buckets allowing gravity to mix my colors and flow through. There is careful monitoring that is almost meditative as I witness the imagery grow from one central point, adding colors to disrupt the natural flow. The radial flow of lines emulate tree rings, recording time. As the paint flows it catches the imperfections of the panel, creating an organic response to the obstacle which leaves its mark in the final image.

What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
Some great advice I got years ago was to remember to give myself permission. I would let doubt dictate my work with the consequence of making art that just really wasn’t substantial. Once I gave myself the permission to get weird and experiment, my practice and art completely changed.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Currently I have work at the Inside-OUT Gallery’s show “Stranger Times” in Davis Square.

I also have a painting installation called “Ugly Feelings” up at the Webster Court Project in Newton, MA. The installation will be on display in its current form until September. There will be a closing reception in early October where I will have part II of the installation on view.

To find out more, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/251487595393642/permalink/296579777551090/

Contact Info:

• Website: www.olamarieaksan.com
• Email: ola.marie.aksan@gmail.com
• Instagram: ola_aksan

Image Credit:
provided by the artist