Tim Olson, a San Antonio artist, was raised along the Zumbro river in southeastern Minnesota . In 1996 he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Bemidji State University and has had dozens of group and solo shows across the country from Oregon to New York City. Tim has received several important awards during his career including The Rocket’s Science Award at The University Art Gallery at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth in 2003; the Juror’s Choice at Core New Art Space in Denver in 1997; First Place Dalzatto Award at Talley Gallery, Bemidji State University in 1993; and Honorable Mention at the Bemidji Arts Center in Minnesota. In 2014, Poets and Artists Magazine published his work in a story entitled “Power of Drawing.”
For his exhibit at the Art Center, Olson says “My works consist of small scale drawings and paintings combined with collage and found object assemblage. I often include text in my work, both handwritten and printed words. The text relates to what I feel is the connection that art plays in our development of language, both with individuals and the community at large. It is somewhat inspired by my work with adults and students, throughout the years, with a variety of learning disabilities. My art tends to deal with smaller, familiar, and personal observations.”
Each of Olson's works exists as discrete capsules of his personal associations, rendered in deft, small-scale drawings and collage. By using fragments of text along with found objects, Tim plays with the notions of Language and Art and their shared constructions of meaning.