Karl Richard Olsen

Karl left home and school as a teenager and explored the country for several years. He graduating from The University of the Arts in the mid 80's and began working as an Industrial Designer in Philadelphia. He discovered that drawing, model making and hands-on material interaction was a natural fit. Later, blacksmithing and woodworking became the stepping stone from an office environment to his own studio which he designed and built. Working as a craft artist for years then became the precursor to the fine arts, mainly painting, drawing, and more recently sculpture.
Karl's personal need to search for his own visual language is very strong. His life experiences and observations of the connections between people places and things are are all the motivation needed to start a conversation with the materials. Karl believes the challenge for an artist is to find honesty in the work. The goal: To create a visually engaging piece.