OLIVER CHARLES
OLIVER CHARLES (ALL PRONOUNS) IS AN MFA CANDIDATE AT THE RINEHART SCHOOL OF SCULPTURE AT MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART. THEY GRADUATED FROM ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY’S BFA SCULPTURE AND BA MUSEUM STUDIES PROGRAMS. HIS WORK FOCUSES ON THE IMPERMANENT AND FLUID STATE OF OBJECTS AND THE MEANINGS AND SENTIMENTS WE ATTACH TO THEM. XIR SELECTION OF FOUND MATERIALS DRAWS FROM ARTIFACTS OF THEIR DAILY LIFE– ANYTHING FROM HIS GRANDFATHER’S OLD CAPACITORS TO USED CHEST-BINDING TAPE. THEY ALLOW PROCESS AND A STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE WORK-FLOW TO DISFIGURE AND MYSTIFY OTHERWISE FAMILIAR OBJECTS— AN INHERENTLY QUEER GESTURE OF TRACING, MORPHING, AND SUBVERTING. THEIR WORK CONCENTRATES IN CAST METAL, WHICH HE SEES AS A CHANCE-BASED CLOAK FOR A STARTING MATERIAL. SHE ALSO WORKS WITH ASSEMBLAGE OF FOUND MATERIALS, EXPERIMENTAL AUDIO AND VIDEO, POETRY, ILLUSTRATION, AND PRINT-MAKING.
OLIVER IS A DISABLED TRANS ARTIST DEDICATED TO QUESTIONING AND OVERTURNING WHAT WE KNOW.
FOUND OBJECTS ARE ONE OF XIR FAVORITE WAYS TO EXPLORE THIS.
OLIVER CURRENTLY WORKS AS A SKILLED FOUNDRY ASSISTANT FOR JOHN RUPPERT, AFTER DOING THE SAME FOR MARY NEUBAUER UP UNTIL AUGUST 2023. THEY ALSO WORK AND TEACH AT A LOCAL MAKER-SPACE IN BALTIMORE. IN MAY 2023, CHARLES COMPLETED HER POSITION AS A TEACHING ASSISTANT IN MARY NEUBAUER’S SPRING FOUNDRY CASTING METHODS CLASS AND IS A STUDIO TECHNICIAN FOR ASU’S SCULPTURE LAB. FAE HAS SHOWN WORK IN ARIZONA, SOUTH DAKOTA AND BERLIN. AT THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR CONTEMPORARY CAST IRON ART IN BERLIN, CHARLES HOSTED THE PANEL PRESENTATION IRON: PROTEST AND IDENTITY ALONG WITH LIZ ENZ, BRITTANY WEEKLEY, AND MARC LA POINTE. THE PANEL DISCUSSED CAST IRON AS A COUNTER-CULTURAL MEDIUM, PROCESS, AND IDEOLOGY. IT PARTICIPATED IN A FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATION— THE ROLE OF CRAFT AND THE HAND/MIND CONNECTION— AT SLOSS FURNACES IN 2025. CHARLES’S MESSAGE AND OUTLOOK ARE STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY HIS GRANDPARENTS, QUEER LIBERATION, ANTICAPITALISM, AND HER LIVED EXPERIENCE.
LONG TERM, CHARLES WORKS WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF CREATING ACCESSIBLE METAL CASTING AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOLKS OF ALL EXPERIENCE LEVELS AND ABILITIES.
CONTACT
OCHUCKCHARLIE@GMAIL.COM