Olivia Carle

Olivia Carle (b. 1994, New Hampshire, she/fae) fully committed to her art practice in October 2018, when she realized she didn’t want to stop creating the knit art she was working on. Since then fae has built a multi-disciplinary practice focusing primarily on fiber, oil paint, and ink as mediums. In the spring of 2022 she began to pursue an Interior Design Certificate from the Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education (RISD CE) to jumpstart a career in design as well as to hone her skills as an artist. Recently, Olivia’s work has been published in Snowflake Magazine. Additionally, faer work was most recently shown at the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts. Olivia is the founder of Queer Artist Gathering. Olivia lives and works in New Hampshire.

Olivia’s work was featured in ‘Cold Snap,’ on view February 11-23, 2025.

“How do we move beyond what we are “supposed” to be confined to, the “reality” that is presented to us? How do we liberate ourselves? This is a question that I ask myself with just about every work on paper that I make.

I approach it as a queer person, knowing that queerness offers rich insights into imagining and enacting ways of life beyond what oppressive systems have dictated for us. This tension, between embodying what feels freeing, and also feeling constrained by material conditions, shows up frequently in my work. At times my work shows blossoming, growth, and joy, and an attempt to protect and nurture those possibilities. Other times, I rail against boxes, boundaries, and the page, and the work is an expression of anger, frustration, desperation that explodes beyond the edges of the paper.

Working with a brush that I made from lichen allows me to portray the essence of these emotions. My relationship with the lichen brush is a collaboration, one that imbues my work with organic elements beyond my control, which compliments the immediacy that working with the ink requires, and satisfies my need to mark my true feeling in the present moment. The wild nature of the lichen brush mirrors my queerness as I fight for possibilities beyond oppressive ways of being.”

Special live event: Join us on Tuesday, February 11 at 7:30 pm et for a Close Looking Session focused on Olivia Carle’s artworks, facilitated by museum educator Boy Nirvana. Tune in via Zoom to join in on the conversation.

Close Looking sessions invite the participants to spend time and contemplate each artwork. Boy Nirvana will then give prompts and facilitate a discussion. This is a unique opportunity to dive deep into Olivia Carle’s artworks and learn directly from both the artist and museum educator.

Join the Zoom Meeting here
Meeting ID: 483 192 2805
Passcode: seesawart