Oliver Osborne

Oliver Osborne, who was born in Edinburgh in 1985, studied at the Chelsea College of Art before obtaining a postgraduate diploma at the Royal Academy School in London. In 2012, he was recognized as one of the Bloomberg New Contemporaries.

Osborne's paintings explore the concept of visual communication by appropriating drawings from their original context. He uses images from old European textbooks and places them against large, monochromatic canvases of different colors, often arranged in diptychs, which can resemble open pages. These images challenge their source material by creating contradictions, simultaneously undermining and highlighting their references. The figures depicted in the illustrations are removed from their original context and yet still accessible to the viewer. The artist plays with themes of opposition and information dissemination.

Osborne's work is characterized by contrasts and comparisons, as his smaller linen paintings of plants are juxtaposed against the larger monochrome canvases. He also experiments with collages, combining mixed media in the foreground with simplified and neutral backgrounds. Through the mixing of genres and styles, Osborne investigates associated meanings and creates unusual combinations of abstraction, figuration, and found images.