PICTURES OF NOTHING
Chad M. Olsen, 2025
I used to fixate on the label of what kind of artist I am.
I am a Minimalist.
I am a Formalist.
I am an Abstract Landscape painter.
For me, the goal of Abstraction is creating things or the illusion of things without recognizable imagery—pictures of nothing, as Kirk Varnedoe would say. In this show, I want to blur the boundary of what painting is and what it can be.
- Chad M. Olsen
Chad M. Olsen, 2025
I used to fixate on the label of what kind of artist I am.
I am a Minimalist.
I am a Formalist.
I am an Abstract Landscape painter.
For me, the goal of Abstraction is creating things or the illusion of things without recognizable imagery—pictures of nothing, as Kirk Varnedoe would say. In this show, I want to blur the boundary of what painting is and what it can be.
- Chad M. Olsen
Photos Courtesy of Chad M. Olsen
In 2003, John Kirk Train Varnedoe presented the 52nd A. W. Mellon Lecture at the National Gallery of Art. He delivered six lectures under the title, “Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art since Pollock” that were transcribed into a book and published under the same name. It has become my personal art bible that I continue to refer to for enjoyment, scholarship, and inspiration.
- Chad M. Olsen
Photos Courtesy of Chad M. Olsen
I would like to thank Maple St. Construct for giving me the opportunity to continue exploring my process and share that process with the Omaha community. I would also like to dedicate this show to artist William (Bill) Dilworth who sadly passed away last year. Bill was a long-time caretaker of the The New York Earth Room by Walter De Maria and created his own art language through keeping tally of people who visited the site. Maple St. Construct introduced us, and I’ll forever be grateful.
- Chad M. Olsen
Photos Courtesy of Dan Schwalm
To purchase work from this exhibition CLICK HERE.
About the Artist:
Chad Michael Olsen (b. 1983) is an artist of abstract minimalism who explores textures and color palettes to communicate emotions. When painting, he often finds himself working to capture the atmospheres of nature and the emotions from being in these places. For Olsen, being in nature is a solitary experience—one he can only truly share with others through his paintings.
Influenced by artists such as Josef Albers, Agnes Martin, Joan Mitchell, Mark Rothko, Robert Ryman, J.M.W. Turner, and the artists of the Hudson River School, Olsen has drawn from abstraction and the sublime as a way of communicating through painting. His paintings are a balance of both the serenity and harshness of nature; areas of dramatic contrast are often tempered with a wash-like textural effect that creates a dream-like atmosphere. The overall effect is marriage of intensity and calm.
His professional art career began in Nebraska in 2010 after studying painting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under Aaron Holz and Keith Jacobshagen, followed by several years of living and working in New York City. While there, he sought solace in the natural world, psychologically returning to the Nebraska grasslands as a form of meditation and as a prevalent theme in his work. In 2017, he returned to Nebraska where he currently resides and maintains a studio.
Olsen’s work demonstrates a range as a romantic, yet abstract, landscape artist and a minimalist. Each painting reveals a new approach to textures, an evolving color palette, or compositional design.
www.chadmolsen.com
Chad Michael Olsen (b. 1983) is an artist of abstract minimalism who explores textures and color palettes to communicate emotions. When painting, he often finds himself working to capture the atmospheres of nature and the emotions from being in these places. For Olsen, being in nature is a solitary experience—one he can only truly share with others through his paintings.
Influenced by artists such as Josef Albers, Agnes Martin, Joan Mitchell, Mark Rothko, Robert Ryman, J.M.W. Turner, and the artists of the Hudson River School, Olsen has drawn from abstraction and the sublime as a way of communicating through painting. His paintings are a balance of both the serenity and harshness of nature; areas of dramatic contrast are often tempered with a wash-like textural effect that creates a dream-like atmosphere. The overall effect is marriage of intensity and calm.
His professional art career began in Nebraska in 2010 after studying painting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under Aaron Holz and Keith Jacobshagen, followed by several years of living and working in New York City. While there, he sought solace in the natural world, psychologically returning to the Nebraska grasslands as a form of meditation and as a prevalent theme in his work. In 2017, he returned to Nebraska where he currently resides and maintains a studio.
Olsen’s work demonstrates a range as a romantic, yet abstract, landscape artist and a minimalist. Each painting reveals a new approach to textures, an evolving color palette, or compositional design.
www.chadmolsen.com