Members of The Rourke and their guests are invited to join us for the member-exclusive preview of Carl Oltvedt's new exhibit, "A Quiet Life: Echoes of the Natural World."
This activity is made possible by an allocation from The Longspur Prairie Fund at The Rourke.
Artist Statement
I am delighted to have been working with The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum for so many years, during which, I have found constant support for my creative ideas and the work I produce. My interests have directed me to a variety of subjects throughout my career, including landscape, still life, the figure and, during the past several years, birds. Most recently, I have focused on a variety of herons, as well as blackbirds, gulls, geese, swans, and, most recently, sandhill cranes. I enjoy working directly from the subject when possible, but I might also work from drawing or painting studies completed on location, followed by additional work in the studio using my photographic documentation of the subject(s). This process may take days, weeks, months, or longer to work through. In the end, I strive to instill a sense of presence and mystery in my work.
Bio
Carl Oltvedt works full-time as an artist in a variety of painting and drawing media. He retired in May of 2015 from Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he was a Professor in the School of Visual Arts. He has exhibited his work in three prior solo exhibitions at The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, as well as in several of the annual Midwestern Invitational Exhibitions of Fine Art hosted there. He has been represented by Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis since 1978.
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His paintings and drawings are included in numerous public, corporate, and private collections, including The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, the Plains Art Museum, the North Dakota Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. He has completed commissions for corporations and private collectors including the Cargill Corporation, Securian Corporation, and the Laske family. He was a recipient of Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants in 2014 and 1991, and a Lake Region Arts Council/McKnight Artist Fellowship in 2002.
You may also like the following events from The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum:
- This Thursday, 13th November, 06:00 pm, Lecture: The Artist as Educator—Pedagogical Experiments in Contemporary Art, with Noni Brynjolson in Moorhead
- This Friday, 14th November, 06:00 pm, 2025 Live Benefit Auction at The Rourke in Moorhead
- This Sunday, 16th November, 01:30 pm, Dyer’s Circle: Natural Color Workshop Series, with Amanda Heidt in Moorhead
Also check out other
Arts events in Moorhead,
Fine Arts events in Moorhead,
Exhibitions in Moorhead.