Olivia Arnold

Olivia Arnold is a multidisciplinary artist working on Gadigal and Cammeraygal land. Since graduating with a BFA (printmaking), and MFA (drawing) from the National Art School, Arnold has developed a practice that has a strong focus on materiality. Meditative mark making with pencil and thread connects to her process driven background in printmaking, and continued exploration of drawing.

Arnold’s work is primarily site specific; in that she engages with and observes the structural and ephemeral elements within her surroundings. By documenting architecture, interior space, and the changing light within these scenes, Arnold situates her body and perspective within the work. This allows a practice that fully immerses her in the act of looking.

24 | Olivia Arnold, Remnants I-X, 2023, drypoint on plaster, varnish, 60 x 120 cm (total). $300 each.

Olivia Arnold’s continuing series, Remnants, draws attention to the soft domestic objects in her environment. Arnold documents these functional textiles and their ephemeral movements, through an expanded printmaking practice. This series captures the shapes of light in curtains; draping and flowing in momentary breezes. Sheets and quilts trace the bodies that lie enveloped in their softness. Arnold references aesthetics of found ceramic artefacts, and imbues a connection to these remnants of domestic life through her palette and organic treatment of the print surface.