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Artist turns objects into art

"It's my way of speaking visually," says a Brooksville native who can turn junk into a thing of beauty.

By LOGAN NEILL
Published September 23, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - Where other people see junk, he sees a waiting canvas. Where some see destruction and decay, the artist envisions a vivid sculpture. All of which says a lot about James Oleson Jr.'s philosophy about art.

"It's my way of speaking visually," said the 29-year-old Brooksville native. "The beauty of art is that it's a language that communicates emotions and thoughts. Much of what I try to do involves taking objects and relating them to a theme."

Oleson, whose multimedia exhibit at the Broken Mold in downtown Brooksville has been garnering considerable attention since early September, has been plying his painting and sculpture talents for several years. However, recently he's been concentrating harder at getting his name out to broader public notice. And it has been working.

Two weeks ago, his sculpture Unleashed won best of show honors at the Riverside Arts Festival in Jacksonville, adding to a long list of citations he has earned recently. Such recognition has given validation to Oleson's lifelong dream of becoming a pioneering artist.

"I believe I've been given a gift, the ability to create art that's totally unique and hopefully appealing to a lot of people," Oleson said. "I have a relentless need to create."

Many of Oleson's pieces are stunningly complex and filled with vivid images that reveal themselves from different vantage points.

For instance, an oil painting titled Capsized Vessel recounts a sailor's nightmarish adventure on the high seas that finds him trapped inside the body of a mermaid. Ghoulish faces of shipmates peer out as tragic witnesses to the mayhem.

Others, such as the sculpture titled The Mustang, show Oleson's meticulous attention to form, coupled with a bit of whimsy. The life-size horse is made of delicately wrapped steel ribbons sheathed beneath beaten panels taken from a 1976 Ford Mustang.

A 1993 graduate of Hernando High School, Oleson, whose parents own and operate Boyett's Grove in Spring Lake, seemed destined for a career in graphic design. But shortly after he enrolled at Tampa Technical Institute, he realized that the confines of the vocation were not for him.

Inspired by the art of his grandfather, Bud Oleson, whose equestrian sculptures dot the landscape along Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard, and by such modern art masters as Salvador Dali and David Smith, Oleson began mapping a path that would include a spontaneous melding of techniques and media to his unending stream of visual ideas.

Oleson says he never knows what will come out of a project. Possibilities suddenly take shape when he sees how the elements begin to come together. A piece may take as long as five months to complete.

Oleson says that such meticulousness assures that the work will continue to reveal more in time.

"I want my art to be living works," Oleson said. "I want people to be able to look at my creations a year after they take it home and be able to see something they didn't see six months before."

Logan Neill can be reached at lneill@sptimes.com or 352 848-1435.

WHAT: The Broken Mold, 101 N Brooksville Ave., in downtown Brooksville, is featuring an exhibit of art by James Oleson Jr. through Sept. 30.

HOURS: Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

LEARN MORE: Call 346-8619 for information. For information on Oleson, visit his Web site at www.jamesoleson.com

[Last modified September 23, 2005, 02:50:29]