art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable · 2017-02-20 · and what you are is your greatest power. KNOW THYSELF, 2016 hand blown and colored neon 46 x 96 x 7

art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable- CESAR CRUZ

DEDICATED TO THE STRONGESTPERSON I KNOW: ME

... AND TO THOSE WHO INSPIRED ITAND WILL NEVER READ IT.

o l i v i a s t e e l eCONCEPTUAL CONFESSIONS

“My art is not about what I see… It’s about what I invite you to see”. Contemporary light artist Olivia Steele, who has earned an international reputation for her spirited public neon happenings. Always symbolic and sometimes irreverent, her neon statements suspend time and motion. The interpretable phrases inhabit spaces of contradictory, confrontational or conciliatory meaning. They crystallize the unity between landscape, semiotics and spectacle that engenders myriad avenues for contemplation.

Steele harnesses the power of neon gas to assert symbolic phrasing that allures and provokes. Her expansive career has seen her impart fragments of wisdom and wit all over the globe, from Tulum to Berlin to Mumbai in the form of site-specific land art and indoor installation. Aside from the immediately iconic and often humorous style of Steele’s work, her interventions are pointedly placed in environments that prompt existential musings. Her innate relationship with the sublime and spiritual manifest as a spectacle of explosive imagery where Steele’s opus positions her as one of the most compelling contemporary artists working in her field today.

Proving that “it is the spectator and not life that art really mirrors”, Steele’s oeuvre is a synthesis of contrast and contradiction. She encapsulates the contemporary storyteller and uses the traditional medium of neon to form her striking expressions that address the vortex of modernity. Her neon works are short, punctuated truths that mirror the ingenuity (or malaise) of the digital age. Her glass acumens are often paired with incendiary imagery – explosive atomic bombs and religious symbols – which are evocative stimuli for the viewer. Covert emotions and unforeseen forces also charge Steele’s themes where her studies into consciousness and the divine pervade her transformative pieces.

Olivia Steele, American (1985) Lives and works in Berlin, Tulum, London.

These light installations are not just works of art: but beacons

of light. Installed with intention, silently they guide, elevate and

empower their viewer to ‘stay present’. The theme of transformation

pervades Steele’s practice inspired by ideas of divine intervention

and otherworldliness. Her intimate phrases are fused together with

neon in order to spark a dialog between the linguistic statement

and its environment. Each piece seeks to disrupt visual associations

formed by modern Western conditioning filtered through media

infrastructure and corrupt political systems. Together, the shock of

colour and word provocation emancipates the viewer from a passive

state and thrusts them into a new state of consciousness.

HEAVEN AND HELL ARE TWO PLACES ON EARTH, 2013

Owls Hill Nature Sanctuary Nashville, Tennessee

WHAT YOU SEEK IS SEEKING YOU, 2016

Burning Man, Black Rock City, Nevada

if you could attract

whatever you need

when you need it,

would you really

need to have security?

think of it

as an adventure .

by definition

darkness is the

absence of light.

you cannot see

darkness, and yet

darkness cannot

exist without light.

darkness cannot be

explained. darkness

only comes when

everything else has

gone. darkness is

nothing. . . and then

darkness is

everything.

HELLO DARKESS, 2015

Oaxaca, Mexico

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, 2015

Artist Studio, Berlin

UNTIL WE HAVE SEEN SOmEONE’S DARKNESS

WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHO THEY ARE.

UNTIL WE HAVE FORGIVEN SOMEONE’S DARKNESS

WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT LOVE IS.

BUILD mE A BRIDGE SO I CAN GET OVER YOU, 2013Scene from film Nothing Is What It Seems,

Downtown Nashville, Tennessee

BUILD mE A BRIDGE SO I CAN GET OVER YOU, 2013 Scene from film Nothing Is What It Seems,

Downtown Nashville, Tennessee

THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING, 2016

Valley of Fire, Nevada

i believe that great art is not

created with the ambition to make

its mark, but with the desire to

establish a change, even small,

with every person

who will come in contact with it.

I LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING..., 2016

Tulum, Mexico

i dream my art

and then

i install my dream.

I DREAm OF YOU IN COLORS THAT DON’T EXIST (RAINBOW), 2015neon , stainless steel and infinity mirror

155 x 120 x 10 cm

FOUNTAIN OF TRUTH (WATER NEEDS NO GUIDANCE), 2016hand blown neon, brass faucet, mirror, enamel coated metal bucket

153 x 30 x 30 cm

THE FUNCTION OF AN ARTIST IN A DISTURBED SOCIETY

IS TO GIVE AWARENESS OF THE UNIVERSE , TO ASK THE

RIGHT QUESTIONS, AND TO ELEVATE THE MIND.

- MARINA ABRAMOVIC

WAHRHEIT mACHT FREI, 2012hand blown and colored neon, cobalt blue uncoated, sheet metal

500 x 450 cm

loving you

was the most exQuisite form

of self destruction.

CAN YOU SEE HOW mUCH I LOVED YOU?, 2013hand blown and colored neon, 3D frame

175 x 150 x 24 cm

FUTURE mEmORIES, 2015hand blown and colored neon; video installation

38 x 200 cm; 7:08 video loop

it is both a blessing and a curse

to feel everything so very deeply.

BLESSING AND CURSE, A2016hand blown and colored neon, antique metal scale, metal plinth

105 x 80 x 30 cm

FAUX REAL, 2016hand blown and colored neon, metal, plexiglass, LED, remote

75 x 150 x 17 cm

the bigger

they are,

the harder

they fall

I FELL FOR YOU, 2016hand blown and colored neon, aspen trunk, metal stand

64 x 306 x 73 cm

CLEVER TYRANTS ARE NEVER PUNISHED (GOBBLESTONE), 2012engraved tombstone on metal pedastal

74 x 53 x 5 cm

BITCH PLEASE, 2013neon, wood, antique frames

40 x 60 x 10 cm

SEE YOU INSIDE mE..., 2015hand blown and colored neon

40 x 170 cm


OUR LITTLE SECRET, 2016hand blown and colored neon, copper

25 x 169 cm

Four Seasons Hotel, Mexico City

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW, 2016 neon, photographic print on aludibond120 x 190 x 11 cm Artist Studio, Berlin

YOU ARE EXACTLY WHERE YOU NEED TO BE, 2015hand blown and colored neon, aluminium frame, metal mesh

244 x 396 cm


even when i close my

eyes i must be careful

how i dream and of

what, for now only

the thinnest veil

separates dream from

reality.

I HAD TOO mUCH TO DREAm LAST NIGHT, 2015hand blown and colored neon, plexiglass

61 x 579 cm

The Miami Beach EDITION

knowing who you,

and what you are

is your greatest power.

KNOW THYSELF, 2016hand blown and colored neon

46 x 96 x 7 cm

HONOR THE SPACE BETWEEN NO LONGER AND NOT YET, 2016

hand blown and colored neon, vintage channel letters 235 x 500 cm

i really don't care so

much what people say

about me because usually

it's a reflection of who

they are.- PRINCE

SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE, 2011hand blown and colored neon, pink

40 x 302 cm

Installed on the banks of River Spree, Berlin

STAY PRESENT, 2016marque board102 x 244 cm


EVERYTHING YOU CAN ImAGINE IS REAL, 2016marque board 102 x 244 cm


this is what life is.

unexpected intrusions of beauty.

FOLLOW THAT DREAm, 2016green flat blade street name sign on reflective aluminium

76.2 x 15.2 cm


you never received.

be the love

LOVE YOURSELF, 2016black and yellow diamond sign on reflective aluminium

61 x 61 cm


PACE YOURSELF, 2016black and orange diamond sign on reflective aluminium

61 x 61 cm


The Artist installing at Burning Man, 2016

Black Rock City, Nevada

it's none of my business what

people say and think of me.

i am what i am and do what i do.

i expect nothing and accept everything.

it makes life so much easier.

PARADISE IS WHERE I Am, 2014hand blown and colored neon, metal channel letters

89 x 285 cm


when it has nothing to hide.

magic becomes art

ALTO EGO, 2016, neon on vintage enamel sign

61 x 61 cm

Hotel Nômade, Tulum, Mexico

viva la muerte.

VIVA LA mUERTE, 2015neon and aluminium frame

300 x 29 x 3 cm

viva everything.

Dia de los muertos Oaxaca, mexico

YOUR SPIRIT GETS mE HIGH, 2016installation view 90 x 134 x 10 cm

Mitla (The City of the Dead), Oaxaca, Mexico

THE CIVILIZED LIVE IN THE WILD, 2016hand blown and colored neon, metal frame

30 x 300 cm

Tulum, Mexico

I stopped explaining myself when I realized people onlyunderstand from their level of perception

THE ONLY THING THAT I CAN BE SURE OF IS THAT YOU CAN BE SURE OF NOTHING, 2014installation view, Owls Hill Nature Reserve

Nashville, Tennessee

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT EVER HAPPENS

NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEmS, 2014Scene from film Nothing Is What It Seems

UNTIL A PATTERN IS BROKEN.

I mISS THE PERSON I WANTED YOU TO BE, 2014installation view Owls Hill Nature Reserve Scene from film Nothing Is What It Seems

Nashville, Tennessee

she made broken look beautiful

and strong look invincible.

she walked with the universe on

her shoulders and made it look

like a pair of wings.

SOmE PEOPLE ARE SO POOR,

PLENTY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH, 2014installation view

scene from film Nothing Is What It Seems

Junk Yard, Nashville, Tennessee

ALL THEY HAVE IS mONEY.

NATURE IS A DICTATORSHIP, 2016hand blown and colored neon

24 x 200 cm

Hotel Nômade, Tulum, Mexico

DAmN, 2013hand blown and colored neon in plexiglass box,

polished stainless steel easel 60 x 40 x 7 cm

Installation view at The Corner, Berlin

THE END, 2013hand blown and colored neon on photographic

print of aluminium dibond166 x 126 x 12 cm

WISH YOU WERE HERE, 2012hand blown and colored neon on photographic print on aluminium dibond115 x 90 x 12 cm

I LOVE WHERE THIS IS GOING, 2016hand blown and colored neon

61 x 350 cm

Can Soleil, Ibiza

WHAT YOU SEEK IS SEEKING YOU, 2016hand blown and colored neon

164 x 475 cm


STAY PRESENT, 2016black and orange diamond sign on reflective aluminium

61 x 61 cm


do not depend on fortune

but rely on conduct.

THE END, 2014hand blown and colored neon in vintage metal birdcage

33 x 25 x 38.1 cm

2016

The Miami Beach EDITION, Exhibition of artworks for Art

Week, Miami

Scope Art Fair, Group Show, Art Angels Gallery, Miami

Excuse Me While I Disappear, Exhibition of Artworks for Day

of the Dead, Oaxaca, Mexico

What You Seek Is Seeking You… Exhibition of 13 Installations

for Burning Man, Black Rock City Nevada

Faux Real, Solo Show, Circle Culture Gallery, Berlin

Art16 London, exhibition of artworks with Circle Culture

Gallery, London

LIT, Group Exhibition. Cornell Museum, Delray, Florida

Summit Series: Summit TULUM, Featured Artist. Tulum, Mexico

Four Seasons Hotel, Exhibition of Artworks for Art Week

Mexico City

2015

Group Show, Art Basel Miami, Art Bastion Gallery, Wynwood,

Miami

Scope Art Fair, Group Show, Rumney Guggenheim Gallery.

Miami

The Miami Breach EDITION, Exhibition of artworks for Art

Week, Miami

Edge Alternative Art Fair, Group Show, Wynwood, Miami

Summit Series: Summit At Sea, Exhibition of Artworks on

Cruise liner, Miami- Bahamas

Hello Darkness & Viva La Muerte, Exhibition of Artworks for

Day of The Dead, Oaxaca, Mexico

Some Place Like Home, Group Show, Rumney Guggenheim,

New York

Berlin Art Week, Group Show. Circle Culture Gallery, Berlin

You Are Exactly Where You Need to Be, Installation for


The Little House, Collaboration with Moral Turgeman, Burning

Man Arts, Black Rock City, Nevada

Stay Present and Control Yourself, Urban Intervention | Public

Display of Affection series, Tulum Highway, Tulum, Mexico

2014

Nothing is What it Seems, Solo Show, Circle Culture Gallery,

Hamburg

Solo Show, Circle Culture Gallery at Hotel de Rome, Berlin

VIENNAFAIR, Art Fair, Circle Culture Gallery, Vienna

All I Ever Wanted Was Everything, Solo Show, Atrium, Miami

2013

POTSE 68., Circle Culture Gallery, Berlin

Installation for Pret A Diner (PAD), Art Basel, Basel

Collaboration with Stefan Strumbel, Circle Culture Gallery at

PAD, Art Basel, Basel

Ephemeral, Circle Culture Gallery, Berlin

2012

Exhibition of Neon Artworks, Solo Show, Circle Culture Gallery

at Corner Store, Berlin

Acquired Taste, Solo Show, Circle Culture Gallery at Soho

House West Hollywood

Save The Best For Last, Solo Show, Circle Culture Gallery at

PAD, Berlin

In The Mix, Circle Culture Gallery at PAD, Berlin

Gallery Weekend, Circle Culture Gallery, Berlin

2011

The Melting Pot, Ulf Saupe Galerie, Berlin

Up Against The Wall, with Maximillian Weidemann at PAD,

Berlin

Welcome to Cashville, Private show, Nashville, Tennessee

The Tree House, Lazarides Gallery at PAD, Frankfurt

The Minotaur, Lazarides Gallery at PAD, London

Public Display of Affection, Public Project for Frieze Art Fair,

London

The Directors Cut, Andreas Binder Galerie, München

Your Love Is My Drug, Atrium for Art Basel, Miami

cv & selected exhibitions

Olivia Steele and The miami Beach EDITION are proud to manifest this Souvenirin celebration of Art Basel miami Beach 2016.

© 2016Published with love and intention in USA by Olivia Steele

All rights reserved.No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced without the written

permission of the publishers. All Images courtesy of the artist.

Acknowledgements:

Concept: Olivia Steele. Graphics: Federico Rodriguez Morice. Forward: Abigail Toll

Special Thanks to:

Circle Culture Gallery, Charlie Jimenez, Leonardo Gonzalez, Flinder Zuyerhoff-Gray, Ewa Kniaziak, Nicholas Roberts, Intissare Aamri, Andy Hart, Lyric Band, Ben

Pundole, Andrew Scudder, Nancie Kang.

Photography:

Markus Georg. Alex Barrios. Peter Ruprecht. George Evan. Tasya Menaker. Claudia Gretschmann. Tyler Goldflower. Steven Barrebi. Andy Melo. Clayton Woodley. Ross

Frasier McLean / StudioRoRo. Studio Steele

Limited Edition of 111

Documents

art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable · 2017-02-20 · and what you are is your greatest power. KNOW THYSELF, 2016 hand blown and colored neon 46 x 96 x 7