About the Artist
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Olga is a graduate of the University of Minnesota who majored in Architecture and Studio Art, with continued education from the Art Institutes International in interior design. Before graduation, she received the Eliza A. Painting Award of the Year from Hamline University. She was also an associate member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Assembly of Architects (AOA). From 2014 to 2015, and also served as a board member on the American Chamber of Commerce, Uganda. She has also acquired further professional experience designing spaces and has run operations in an architectural design firm, restaurant, dance studio, property management company, television production studio, and at an auto dealership. With her architectural background, she designed and remodeled the first state-of-the-art dance studio space in Kampala, Uganda, in 2013. After a series of life-altering events in 2016, Olga finally returned to her first love –Visual art.
“Like a child with their comfort 'blankie,' I picked up my brush, sharpened my pencil, found what was left of the evaporating ink, and ascended into my atelier. The rest is history.” —Olga W. Nichols
She was selected to be the artist in residence at The Cultural Centre in Bird Island for November 2017, before she was hired for the position as Administrator and Artist/ Instructor. Olga has also participated in RAW Art exhibitions in the summer – her last one being RAW downtown LA in June of 2018. Olga was also an Artist and project manager for a community project with a grant from Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, to paint a mural on the West façade of the Bird Island Cultural Centre wall. She also collaborated in painting a 212 marker sign on the old train depot in Watson, MN. Furthermore, living in small town MN, Olga was a member of the Yellowstone Trail committee that is looked to revitalize and celebrate the Arts, Cultural, and Historical aspects of the corridor from Buffalo Lake to Granite Falls. She was also one of 10 female Artists in leadership participating in a Rural Arts project called “Public Transformation” directed by an Obama Fellow 2018 and Bush Fellow 2019 recipient. Olga’s community work included participating in the local area’s summer festivities, organizing and judging Art competitions and Children’s parades. Olga also served as a Grant panelist on the Minnesota State Arts Board’s Partners in Art grant in December 2018. Olga was a delegate on the Blueprint Equity Network of Delegates (B.E.N.D.), “Thriving by Design” – A Rural & Urban Together project working towards the creation of the One Minnesota Equity Blueprint. This is a document and pathway for Minnesota to bridge divides and uplift policies that will help ALL Minnesotans thrive.
In April 2017, Olga was interviewed and featured on the Pioneer Public Television broadcast show, “Postcards,” which was a narrative of her journey as an Artist from Africa to Rural Minnesota. https://video.pioneer.org/video/olga-nichols-hyzeci/
On the preceding new journey, Olga, as a freelance Artist and Activist, spent her time teaching workshops, creating and exhibiting her work in her studio/ gallery space in downtown St. Paul. Through her work, she vividly and avidly portrayed her life experiences - both the delightful and the hardships. In addition, having lived among various global cultures throughout her life, Olgawas enthused about sharing her lived experiences, skills and passions while bringing a variety of diverse communities together. Olga also organized community engagement events, thus working collaboratively with individuals and groups of people with varying affiliations. In more community engagement work, Olga served on the CapitolRiver Council board as the Vice-chair.
Olga has worked on various public Art, including murals in advocacy against systemic racism. Two of her murals were displayed on Kmart on Lake Street, Minneapolis, around 2019-2021. Through her creativity, Olga continues to highlight awareness of various causes such as breast cancer, mental health, and autism. Olga continues to interact with and advocate for the ever-growing unsheltered population in various communities. Subsequently, she lent her listening skills and enterprising ingenuity to a diverse population by doing the action work to help rectify the numerous and complex issues that come with being unhoused.
For a while, Olga was eager to share her work with downtown dwellers and the corporates who frequented her studio, until the remnants of the pandemic birthed a new project. Because Olga believes that painting as an Art form is a necessary advocacy and healing tool for communities everywhere, she rose from the ashes, purchased a trailer, which is now the DSMobile. The DS Mobile is a trailer equipped with amenities and materials to turn any outdoor space into an activated gathering destination. The DSMobile is not only an Arts, crafts, and game-equipped trailer, it also offers art-related activities of all genres. To date, Olga continues to exhibit her artwork in Art shows around the world, teaches Art, and you can often find her along with the DSMobile, engaging families in the “kids’ section” at various events. Olga also developed a lucrative Art therapy program, which she brings to Art festivals, corporate offices, family gatherings, and private group sessions. To book the DSMobile, please visit https://readygoart.com/tools/dsmobile/
ARTIST STATEMENT
Visualize. Conceptualize. Materialize.
Realism conceptualized (art mimicking nature.)
By manifestation, a design emerges, and the genesis of a chef-d'oeuvre begins. Like ink on paper, there is not enough room for error, nor the option to erase. Such is life, in that art mimics life. The faux pas have come and gone, and there is no renaissance. However, through remorse and in a contrite spirit, repentance begets change. Ink on board, smudge, spread, transgression, but no erasure. With the passing of time, bold, darker strokes overwhelm the once apprehensive stroke and smudge. For every action, there is an equal or opposite reaction. Translation, configuration, depiction.
Exploration, the dark contrast, and an inter-medium marriage is inaugurated. Peculiar, exotic forms engulf the surface, which in and of themselves are reflective of the creator's eclectic disposition. These intrepid architectural design structures and concepts with organic forms intermingle on the two-dimensional playground. Looming imperil, but no rues occur.
The creator, the storyteller, relentlessly embarks on the narrative, inadvertently oblivious to that which is outside the fable, but nonetheless reels in the viewer. A challenge to divert from realism is imminent. Completion, satisfaction. In the end, is the goal achieved?
Genesis: The ink, graphite, charcoal, acrylic, oils, pastels, and all of the aforementioned, and it is finished. Simplistic in portrayal, but it is far deeper in its meaning. Monochromatic, colors, textures, mood, hues, depth, dimension, and photographic interpretation. Realism is embedded in a myriad of media. This is visual poetry in found objects, textiles, on paper, board, and canvas.
