Exposure Therapy | Samantha Ollstein

LITTMAN GALLERY

Exposure Therapy

Samantha Ollstein

November 4 – 27, 2019
Opening Reception: November 7th, 6 – 8 PM
Artist Talk: Monday, November 18th, 5:30 PM

Littman + White Galleries is excited to present the MFA Project Exhibition Exposure Therapy by multimedia artist Samantha Ollstein. Exposure Therapy creates and ultimately documents body-like forms that last only a few minutes in their sculptural state, the work then reflecting imagined internal structures and our temporal existence. Curated by Safiyah Maurice.

Artist Bio:

Samantha Ollstein was born in Los Angeles, where she received a BFA in Painting from Otis College of Art and Design. Ollstein is a multimedia artist whose work takes on multiple iterations of ephemeral sculpture using artificial materials. Each experiment yields body-like forms that, while only lasting a few minutes, find permanence as a photograph. The work aims to draw attention to our own fear and fascination with the impermanent nature of our bodies. Trained as a portrait artist, Ollstein’s work has been displayed on many walls around Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Professionally, Samantha worked as the Director at the nonprofit art school, Brentwood Art Center in Los Angeles, CA for 5 years before re-directing her focus on receiving her graduate degree. She is currently an MFA candidate at Portland State University. Ollstein is one of the recipients of the 2019 Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize and will be exhibiting work in the new Jordan Schnitzer Museum opening November 2019. Her solo exhibition at Littman Gallery will open November 4th, 2019.

Artist Statement:

Exposure Therapy pulls from experiences with life-long health issues, as well as the process of watching my grandmother wither away and succumb to death. Creating and ultimately documenting body-like forms that last only a few minutes in their sculptural state, the work is a reflection of imagined internal structures and our temporal existence.

~ Samantha Ollstien, 2019

Littman WhiteNovember 27, 2019