Olivia Beens
Olivia Beens · Source: New York Artists Circle · Rights retained by the original rights holders
- Medium
- Clay, Found Objects
- Based in
- New York
- Practice
- Ceramics, Mixed Media, Sculpture
New York based artist Olivia Beens was born in the Netherlands to Dutch and Czech parents and lived in Portugal before emigrating to the USA in 1955. Through Sculpture at Pratt Institute and Hunter CUNY, she found her vo… Full biography
Biography
New York based artist Olivia Beens was born in the Netherlands to Dutch and Czech parents and lived in Portugal before emigrating to the USA in 1955. Through Sculpture at Pratt Institute and Hunter CUNY, she found her voice. Ritualistic installation/performance works were shown at ABC No Rio, Franklin Furnace, PS122 in the 1980s. She worked with political groups PADD, Colab, and Art Against Apartheid and was awarded an NYSCA grant.
As a single mother in the 1990s, Beens began creating mixed-media sculptures using natural materials. In 2006 after a trip to Prague, clay became her medium of choice. Travel grants to India, Turkey, and Portugal have inspired many works as have residencies to the Mac Dowell Colony, VCCA, Hambidge Center, and Cummington Community.
Solo exhibitions include Carter Burden Gallery, A Space on Main, Westbeth Gallery, and in 2020 a retrospective at El Barrio’s Artspace. Ceramic murals were commissioned by Public Art Fund, New York Foundation for the Arts, Public Art for Public Schools, Studio In A School, Sirovich Senior Center, and Carter Burden/Leonard Covello Center.
Artist statement
The sacred and profane in art interests me. I explore what I do not understand, and confront issues of identity and spirituality while I commemorate human interactions. Manipulating materials, and forming three-dimensional pieces provide insight and satisfaction revealing new ways of thinking and seeing.
