OLIVER CHARLES
OLIVER CHARLES (THEY/HE) IS AN MFA CANDIDATE AT THE RINEHART SCHOOL OF SCULPTURE AT MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART. THEY GRADUATED FROM ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY’S BFA SCULPTURE AND BA MUSEUM STUDIES PROGRAMS. HIS WORK FOCUSES ON THE IMPERMANENT AND FLUID STATE OF OBJECTS AND THE MEANINGS AND SENTIMENTS WE ATTACH TO THEM. THEIR SELECTION OF FOUND MATERIALS DRAWS FROM ARTIFACTS OF THEIR DAILY LIFE– ANYTHING FROM HIS GRANDFATHER’S OLD CAPACITORS TO USED CHEST-BINDING TAPE. THEY ALLOW PROCESS AND A STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE WORK-FLOW TO DISFIGURE AND MYSTIFY OTHERWISE FAMILIAR OBJECTS. THEIR WORK CONCENTRATES IN CAST METAL, WHICH HE SEES AS A CHANCE-BASED CLOAK FOR A STARTING MATERIAL. THEY HAVE BEGUN EXPERIMENTATIONS WITH REACTION CASTINGS, IN MOST CASES WHERE THE OBJECT FUNCTIONS AS OR REMAINS INSIDE OF THE MOLD. THEY ALSO WORK WITH ASSEMBLAGE OF FOUND MATERIALS, EXPERIMENTAL AUDIO AND VIDEO, POETRY, ILLUSTRATION, AND PAINTING.
OLIVER IS A TRANS PUNK ARTIST DEDICATED TO QUESTIONING AND OVERTURNING WHAT WE KNOW.
FOUND OBJECTS ARE ONE OF HIS FAVORITE WAYS TO EXPLORE THIS.
OLIVER CURRENTLY WORKS AS A SKILLED FOUNDRY ASSISTANT FOR JOHN RUPPERT, AFTER DOING THE SAME FOR MARY NEUBAUER UP UNTIL AUGUST 2023. THEY ALSO WORK AND TEACH AT A LOCAL MAKER-SPACE IN BALTIMORE. IN MAY 2023, CHARLES COMPLETED HIS POSITION AS A TEACHING ASSISTANT IN MARY NEUBAUER’S SPRING FOUNDRY CASTING METHODS CLASS AND IS A STUDIO TECHNICIAN FOR ASU’S SCULPTURE LAB. HE HAS SHOWN WORK IN ARIZONA, SOUTH DAKOTA AND BERLIN. AT THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR CONTEMPORARY CAST IRON ART IN BERLIN, CHARLES HOSTED THE PANEL PRESENTATION IRON: PROTEST AND IDENTITY ALONG WITH LIZ ENZ, BRITTANY WEEKLEY, AND MARC LA POINTE. THE PANEL DISCUSSED CAST IRON AS A COUNTER-CULTURAL MEDIUM, PROCESS, AND IDEOLOGY. CHARLES’S MESSAGE AND OUTLOOK ARE STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY HIS GRANDPARENTS, PUNK AND PROTEST MINDSETS, QUEER LIBERATION, ANTICAPITALISM, NIHILISM, AND ABSURDISM.
CONTACT
OCHUCKCHARLIE@GMAIL.COM