Murmur

Painting

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Murmur

Entry/Object ID

2019.17

Description

Silvery/gray background with white and silver cubes placed around the canvas.

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil on linen

Context

Though not opposed to the category “abstract painting,” Olson sees her work not as abstracting from something else, but rather as creating singular or specific objects that are in some sense self-sufficient. Says the artist, “The paintings are very present and external, and all the marks are to the scale of the tools used to make them and to the hand. The scale of the paintings is also in relation to a viewer’s body, ranging from portrait-size to person-size, so that they remain discrete viewing experiences rather than overwhelming or miniature.” Murmur is taken from a series of works that Olson had shown in Chicago at Shane Campbell Gallery in 2009. All of the works explored pattern and repetition using the muted, neutral color palette of grays, whites, and black. The deceptively simple forms belie a complex and meticulous array of brushstrokes that are controlled, without being mechanical. Olson does not attempt to efface her presence in the work, but rather balances systematicity and imperfection.

Acquisition

Accession

2019.17-25

Source or Donor

Julie Campbell, Shane Campbell

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Julie and Shane Campbell

Made/Created

Artist

Olsen, Alex

Date made

2009

Ethnography

Notes

American

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Painting

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Getty AAT

Concept

Abstract (modern European style), European, geometric abstraction, abstraction, forms of expression (artistic concept), artistic concepts, geometric patterns, patterns (design elements), design elements (attributes)

Hierarchy Name

Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), Associated Concepts (hierarchy name), Design Elements (hierarchy name)

Facet

Styles and Periods Facet, Associated Concepts Facet, Physical Attributes Facet

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Abstract paintings

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Canvas

Height

41 in

Width

29 in

Depth

3/4 in

Dimension Notes

104.14 cm. x 73.66 cm. x 1.905 cm.