PEMBROKE — The A.D. Gallery at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke will present a solo exhibition of the work of artist Christopher Olszewski.
“Riding the Storm Out” will be on display through May 24.
It is free and open to the public. The A.D. Gallery is located in Locklear Hall.
The exhibition features a selection of recent paintings and large-scale installations from Olszewski’s ongoing automobile skins project. Olszewski is an active member of the Chippewa of Mnjikaning First Nation and developed his aesthetic from the creative visual language of the Northern Woodland people.
His work is rooted in western painting traditions and the modernist/postmodernist philosophy of art, but focuses on his own cultural identity.
“I also have a fascination with the ancient Native American world and how it interacts with current times,” Olszewski said. “My goal is to develop the Native American image beyond the ‘Souvenir Shop’ and to depict actual people struggling with the encroachment of the dominant contemporary culture.”
He views himself as “a completely assimilated Native American” and his paintings, automobile skins, photography, sculptures, videos, graffiti, interactive installations, performance art and drawings as a philosophical inquiry and contemplation of this existence.
The A.D Gallery’s new extended hours beginning Monday will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays for the duration of this exhibition.
For further information on the gallery, the exhibition, or the artist, contact A.D. Gallery Director Joseph Begnaud at 910-521-6405 or email [email protected].