Oliver Polzin

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A surreal painting by Oliver Polzin features a forest landscape in vivid green and yellow hues. Tall trees with sparse branches rise from lush, dense undergrowth. Light filters through, casting an ethereal glow. The brushwork creates a sense of movement and dreamlike quality.
A vibrant painting depicts a lush forest scene. Sunlight filters through the dense canopy of trees, casting dappled light on the forest floor covered in greenery. A small, reflective stream winds through the setting, surrounded by an array of foliage and towering trees.
An intricate, dreamlike painting by Oliver Polzin captures a forest bathed in ethereal blue and purple light. Large, gnarled trees frame a path through dense foliage. Shadows and dappled light create a mystical, otherworldly atmosphere.
A painting by Oliver Polzin depicts a lush, dense forest with vibrant green foliage. A brown dirt path leads through the trees, with sunlight filtering through the leaves. A small orange bird perches on a tree stump in the foreground, and a mysterious figure stands in the distance.
A scenic painting by Oliver Polzin portrays an ethereal winter landscape with snow-covered trees and ground, under a pale blue sky. The scene is rendered in soft, pastel colors blending purples, blues, and hints of green, creating a dreamy, otherworldly ambiance.

Oliver Polzin

Born: 1986, Marquette, MI

Biography and Information

Biography
Oliver Polzin (b. 1986) creates mystical landscapes as an exploration of animism and the human connection with the natural world and beyond. His evocative compositions are characterized by obsessive layering and deliberate brushstrokes, concealing details such as land based spirits, forest and fauna. Polzin’s distinctive mark-making seeks to surprise, prompting viewers to pause in unexpected corners of his compositions.

Oliver Polzin is a naturalist and artist. He was a founding member of Meow Wolf art collective,  until he left in 2022 to focus on his own art practice. Polzin has shown at venues like 516 Arts in Albuquerque, NM, the Art Motel at Life is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas, NV, and Materiality in Santa Fe, NM in addition to creating artist installations for Meow Wolf at multiple locations. The artist currently lives and works in Santa Fe, NM.

Painting is a divinatory process. I begin with a kernel that goads me, and over some faithful time I can start to see a way. As I go, beauty may surface, shimmer, or dive back under. When such delights do emerge, I try just to notice. My hope is to find those beautiful, emotional, delightful peaks and simply let them live. — Oliver Polzin

Education
2009  BFA, Painting, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ

Exhibitions
2024
Trees, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Psycho-Bio-Sphere, Solo Show, Materiality, Santa Fe, NM
Devotion, Omnihum Gallery, Taos, NM
Spring Dream, Hecho a Mano Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2023
Solo Show, Four Seasons Rancho Encantado, Tesuque, NM
500 Below Winter, Smoke the Moon, Santa Fe, NM
Death of Clown School, Clown School Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
500 Below Summer, Smoke the Moon, Santa Fe, NM
Divination, Clown School, Santa Fe, NM

2022
500 Below Winter, Smoke the Moon, Santa Fe, NM
Prehistoric, Clown School, Santa Fe, NM

2021
Freewill in the Afterlife, Solo Room in Meow Wolf Inc’s Omega Mart, Las Vegas, NV

2020
Anecdotal Scenarios, GVG Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM

2017
Doom Room, Interactive Immersive Installation, Meow Wolf Inc, Art Motel at Life is Beautiful Festival, Las Vegas, NV

2016
Tea Leaf Reader, House of Halloween Immersive Performance, Meow Wolf Inc, Santa Fe, NM

2016
The House of Eternal Return, Massive Immersive Installation, Meow Wolf Inc, Santa Fe, NM

2014
Humans I Wouldn’t Mind Being, Solo Show, GVG Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM

2013
Omega Mart, Immersive Installation, Meow Wolf Collective, Santa Fe, NM

2013
Land Cakes, AHA Festival, Santa Fe, NM

2013
Southwest Abstraction, GVG Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM

2012
Dimensionality, GVG Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
International Symposium of Electronic Arts (ISEA), with Meow Wolf Collective at the Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM

2011
Due Return Addendum, Meow Wolf Collective, 516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM
The Due Return, Immersive Installation and Performance, Meow Wolf Collective, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM

2010
Habitats, Immersive Installation, Meow Wolf Collective, Santa Fe, NM

Press Release
2024 Trees at Richard Levy Gallery