Chad M. Olsen
Chad M. Olsen (b. 1983)
Chad M. Olsen (b. 1983) is an artist who blurs the boundary of what painting is and what it can be. His practice is dedicated to experimenting with oil paint and mineral spirits on traditional opaque material and non-traditional translucent materials.
Olsen’s work focuses on color and paint application. Painting with oil and mineral spirits on translucent surfaces such as acetate, Dura-Lar, glass, and transparency film create opportunities of unexpected color relationships with moments of subtle and intense contrast. Olsen presents the paintings on translucent material opposite of the painterly side. This orientation creates highly saturated ethereal atmospheres and invites the viewer to look through the material to see the paintings. These paintings are frequently mistaken as photographs at first glance.
In 2025, Olsen experimented with glass for the first time, creating artworks that could be considered paintings and also sculptures. It showcased Olsen’s use of oil and mineral spirits that created a monochromatic dream-like wash in a square composition hovering on and through the glass surface. For Olsen, it was a breakthrough that invited him to consider painting as installation. The two glass pieces were collected by ArtBank, a public art collection and exhibition space located in McCook, Nebraska.
Olsen was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. He studied studio art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under the mentorship of Aaron Holz and Keith Jacobshagen. After receiving his BFA, Olsen moved to New York City in the Bronx where he focused and perfected painting oil on transparency film. In 2017, Olsen returned to Nebraska upon his representation by Kiechel Fine Art in Lincoln, Nebraska. Since joining the gallery in 2016, Olsen has had 4 solo exhibitions and featured in over a dozen group and First Friday shows. Throughout his career, Olsen has had solo and group shows in the Midwest and East Coast and has work in private collections across the United States. Currently, Olsen resides and maintains a studio in Kearney, Nebraska.