Olivia Jia: Tableaux

 

  

  

 

Above: Various paintings by Olivia Jia

Above: The artist Olivia Jia

Biography: Olivia Jia received a BFA from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia in 2017. She has had solo exhibitions at Margot Samel, New York, NY and Workplace, London, UK. 

Artist Statement: I paint imaginary tableaux of books and ephemera, often strewn across a fictional rendition of a desk or workspace. The images that are depicted on these pages pull from my collection of source material including, among other things, objects belonging to me or my family, photographs that I take, family photographs, and both American and Chinese art history. I draw formal and poetic relationships between objects across culture and time. I think of my paintings as a space where meaning can be excavated and found, made anew through juxtaposition. Painting is the mechanism by which I shape the objects and narratives that inform my being in the world. My paintings are proudly subjective, about my subject position and claiming no territory beyond that. In this project, personal and historical sources have equal weight and exist ready at hand. For me, diaspora is a position of empowerment that leaves space for self-determination, to declare the boundaries of my history, and to identify the moments, movements, places, and people that are my lodestones. These works are ultimately psychological self-portraits.

Read an interview with her here: https://www.maakemagazine.com/olivia-jia

Follow on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviacjia/