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The art world is often unkind to young artists looking to make a name for themselves.
In fact, a good number of galleries and benefactors have tried to counteract this trend by offering display slots and entire group shows to what are typically referred to as ’emerging artists.’
But when an established artist finally gets the chance to show off their work at a gallery or even a museum for the first time, there’s a great deal of excitement, not just for the artist but for the larger art community as well.
Every exhibition is a chance to get a glimpse into a unique artistic perspective, and opening night events for each one give the public and art community big wigs to meet with the artist and learn even more about their work and their motivations.
Today we’re going to talk about a recent solo exhibit from an established artist, Olivia Oliver. Oliver will explain what it was like to put her work in the spotlight and discuss the challenges of deciding what to include in the show.
Oliver’s recent exhibit
Oliver has definitely earned the opportunity to execute a solo exhibit. She’s been working for years as a high-level photographer and Photographic Producer, including work for Schon & TEETH Magazine, Mont Blanc, and Sony Music.
As for the exhibit itself, Oliver told us that she wanted to showcase a decent variety of her own work that all fits similar themes and aesthetic concepts.
“My focus for this exhibit was on showcasing a selection of large-scale fine art analog prints which were photographed, creative directed, and produced by myself.”
Oliver’s work certainly orbits around fashion, humanity, and beauty, but these are ideas we’ll be looking into later on.
First, we’ll talk about the process of planning a solo show and the important choices made along the way.
Anticipating problems
Any kind of event planning tends to be rife with unexpected challenges and difficulties that threaten to ruin the event or at least distract from the intended goals for that event.
Oliver had previously shown work as part of a group show in London, and in fact, for that show, her image was chosen to promote the show on billboards all around London.
But while planning this exhibit, there were many unexpected challenges, and the stakes were much higher since the entire show was going to be her work. However, she was able to draw on her professional experiences as a Photographic Producer, a role that requires intricate planning and a large degree of adaptability.
In particular, Oliver wasn’t completely sure how the developing pandemic and its subsequent limitations would impact the event as a whole.
“I found the most challenging aspect to be anticipating the pandemic, specifically how many people could come and what COVID restrictions could be imposed at any given time. But as a Photographic Producer, I have acquired a range of organizational skills, and one of these is the ability to always be prepared for the unexpected. A combination of hard work and my career experience allowed me to produce a successful event.”
We’ll talk about some of the other effects of holding an exhibition during a pandemic in a bit, but it’s clear that the show wouldn’t have been possible without Oliver’s ability to bob and weave through various challenges to create the show she really wanted.
Simple beauty
So we’ve talked a lot about the planning of this show, but what was the focus? How did Oliver select the theme and decide on which photos to include out of the many she’s taken over the course of her career?
For Oliver, the process began early, when she had an in-depth meeting with her agent. Together, they looked for consistent themes in the work.
“Last summer I sat down with my agent and we talked through my work. We spoke in great detail about my photographs and what creativity really means to me. Reflecting on this process, I felt that the show should focus on representing who I am as an artist, encapsulating my passion for raw and real beauty in a minimalistic and simple manner.”
Instead of trying to summarize her whole career, from past to present to future, Oliver wanted to put together a snapshot, so to speak, of where much of her focus has been up to this point in her career.
One of the most exciting parts of viewing an artistic career, from either the outside or the inside, is keeping track of developments and evolutions.
It’s rare to find an artist who spends their whole career working with only one visual style or a singular subject.
Though Oliver’s photography has spanned many subjects and settings as well, beauty, in many forms, has had a consistent presence, and even her work for major fashion brands has succeeded in highlighting and enhancing natural beauty.
With such a clear vision for the exhibition, specific choices during the planning stages were easier to make.
Pandemic challenges (and advantages)
Oliver briefly mentioned the challenges of planning during a pandemic above, but she also recognized that there were certain advantages to the timing as well, including how reasonable restrictions unexpectedly highlighted the value of the show.
“Producing an exhibit in a global pandemic was definitely a first. But the restrictions on numbers resulted in the event being intimate and personal, an environment which perfectly represented the intimacy and minimalism in my work. I think it’s important to acknowledge the way in which this year has all made us slow down and take time to appreciate the things in life that stimulate our souls, particularly art and culture.”
Attendance also received a boost thanks to the show being featured in The Sydney Morning Herald. Oliver mentioned that many attendees thanked her directly for providing the public with an uplifting cultural event during otherwise trying times.
Indeed, quarantine has given many of us a unique opportunity to consider the importance of art and culture in our lives.
Even though the gallery and museum experience has changed quite a bit over the last year or so, the emotional and intellectual impact of engaging with art remains largely the same.
The themes of Oliver’s solo show that we talked about earlier also fit very well into the current global situation.
It has definitely been an era where taking the time to recognize and appreciate beauty is both encouraging and fulfilling. It provides a window into the positive elements of life on Earth that are still here, even during an especially difficult moment in history.
Advice for artists looking to showcase their work
Aside from sharing some of Oliver’s work and discussing her first solo exhibition experience, we also hope that this article gives some valuable advice to any visual artists out there who are hoping to create solo shows of their own.
No, it’s definitely not an easy task. As we’ve talked about here, there’s the artistic side of things, where you need to build a cohesive collection of work and show off your strengths, but there’s also the practical, logistical side that requires you to work out practical details and negotiate with a gallery space.
With all this in mind, we asked Oliver to share some succinct advice for visual artists young and old who might be considering creating a solo show of their very own.
“My advice would be to delegate your time wisely and invest a large portion of it to the image selection process. To help you narrow down your selection I would advise you continually ask yourself ‘what am I doing and why am I doing it?’ Lastly, it’s vital to show the work which you believe in and feel represents who you really are and the topics that you wish to shed light on.”
The logistical components of the planning process are definitely important, but unless you know exactly what you want the show to be and what you want it to say, then all that effort will be wasted in the long run.
An exhibition that only features scattered ideas and disparate themes isn’t going to have a lasting effect on the viewer, even if one or two specific pieces of work do.
Presenting your art to the public has to be about much more than just showing everything you’ve ever done.
Think of it this way. If a group of people set out to make a movie, they won’t show up to the premiere screening with a loose assembly of every bit of footage they ever shot.
They’ll come prepared with a curated, edited selection of footage that tells a story and communicates a clear message.
The same idea applies to solo exhibitions. Your images need to say something when placed close together. When they do, your audience has a much better chance of understanding your work, and you have a much better chance of expanding your audience and advancing your artistic career.
All photos in this article are the property of Olivia Oliver.
