21 Aug Carolyn Olson…Portraits tell stories of community

Everyday life stories are the focus of narrative paintings by Duluth artist Carolyn S. Olson. Her work executed in pastel, oil or gouache, will be featured at Ripple River Gallery beginning August 19. The exhibit, which includes paintings from two series, “Swedish Princess Cake” and “Essential Workers Portrait,” continues through Sept. 13.

Through her paintings, Olson, who recently retired after more than 30 years as an art teacher, tells the stories of her community and family. As a personal challenge, Olson set about illustrating the process of making a Swedish Princess Cake. Five cakes and 40+ gouache paintings later, she produced an illustrated recipe book/exhibition catalog.

Then the Covid 19 pandemic hit.

Anxiety fueled Olson’s desire to capture the stories she was hearing from family and friends. Inspired by conversations with her two children—one a grocery store cashier, the other a middle school music teacher—in March Olson began telling the stories of essential workers. Her “Essential Workers Portrait” series began with a grocery store scene with masked workers and customers. That first pastel, which shows Olson’s characteristic style of intentionally exaggerated figures and emotive gestures, was purchased by the Minnesota Historical Society as part of its efforts to document this moment in American life.

Farm workers wear masks while picking vegetables. A janitor pushes a cart of cleaning supplies at a hospital. Greenhouse workers tend seedlings. Bus drivers, pharmacy workers, mail carriers, hospital workers, truck drivers, sanitation workers, child care providers, election judges and more—Olson has now completed over 40 portraits. She intends to continue the series until there is a vaccine.“The intention of the series is to draw attention to the dangerous conditions essential workers are asked to work under,” Olson said. Four new portraits will be released in conjunction with her show at the gallery.

Carolyn S. Olson, pastel – Plumber, Essential Workers Portrait

“I’m a narrative painter, so I’ve always just told stories about my community and family. It’s a way of talking about what’s going on, but also trying to shape what I think should be going on…I just started documenting what I thought made for a good society.”

Olson hopes her paintings instill hope. “There’s hope in all of them,” she said. “What’s gonna be our new normal? How are we going to take care of each other? How do we recreate society in a way that takes care of everyone? We’ve got to come out of this better than we went in.”