Doug Ohlson
Encyclopedia
Douglas Dean Ohlson was an American abstract art
ist who specialized in geometric patterns.
Ohlson was born on November 18, 1936, in Cherokee, Iowa
and attended Bethel College
before serving in the United States Marine Corps
. After completing his military service, he attended the University of Minnesota
, where he was awarded a degree in studio art in 1961. He moved to New York City
, where he studied at Hunter College
under abstract sculptor Tony Smith
, but dropped out when he could no longer afford tuition. He worked as an assistant to Smith and started teaching at Hunter College in 1964.
Ohlson's early work was included in an exhibit organized by art historian E. C. Goossen at the Hudson River Museum
titled "8 Young Artists" in 1964, and had a solo show that year at the Fischbach Gallery
, the first of seven at that location. Goossen also included work by Ohlson in the 1968 exhibition "The Art of the Real: 1948-1968" at the Museum of Modern Art
which focused on the development and history of geometric art in the United States. Sharply defined and repeated geometric shapes were characteristic of his earliest painting, that were described by Goossen as depicting "yellowish pink and green dawns, blue noons, and red-orange sunsets that swiftly slide from purple to black", hypothesizing that Ohlson's experience growing up and working long days on the family's farm gave him a unique passion for color. Ohlson was recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1968.
His works in the 1970s and 1980s, often featured at Susan Caldwell Inc., had characteristically rougher backgrounds. His later work was displayed in numerous solo exhibitions at the Andre Zarre Gallery, in addition to surveys of his work at Bennington College
and at Hunter College, where he taught for 35 years. His works are included in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and the Whitney Museum of American Art
.
Ohlson died at age 73 on June 29, 2010, after a fall in front of his Manhattan apartment. He was survived by his second wife, Michele Toohey. He was divorced from his first wife, painter Jane Kaufman.
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
ist who specialized in geometric patterns.
Ohlson was born on November 18, 1936, in Cherokee, Iowa
Cherokee, Iowa
Cherokee is a city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,932 at the 2010 Census, up from 5,369 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cherokee County. Cherokee is also the home of the Cherokee Mental Health Institute, under the Iowa Department of Human Services...
and attended Bethel College
Bethel University (Minnesota)
Bethel University is a Christian higher education institution with approximately 6,000 students from 36 countries enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, seminary, and adult education programs...
before serving in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. After completing his military service, he attended the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, where he was awarded a degree in studio art in 1961. He moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he studied at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
under abstract sculptor Tony Smith
Tony Smith (sculptor)
Tony Smith was an American sculptor, visual artist, architectural designer, and a noted theorist on art. He is often cited as a pioneering figure in American Minimalist sculpture.-Education:...
, but dropped out when he could no longer afford tuition. He worked as an assistant to Smith and started teaching at Hunter College in 1964.
Ohlson's early work was included in an exhibit organized by art historian E. C. Goossen at the Hudson River Museum
Hudson River Museum
The Hudson River Museum, located in Trevor Park in Yonkers, New York, is the largest museum in Westchester County. The Yonkers Museum, founded in 1919 at City Hall, became the Hudson River Museum in 1948...
titled "8 Young Artists" in 1964, and had a solo show that year at the Fischbach Gallery
Fischbach Gallery
The Fischbach Gallery was founded by Marilyn Cole Fischbach in 1960 in New York City at 799 Madison Avenue. The gallery in its early days became known for hosting the first significant solo exhibitions of now leading art world figures including Alex Katz, Ronald Bladen and Eva Hesse. Knox Martin...
, the first of seven at that location. Goossen also included work by Ohlson in the 1968 exhibition "The Art of the Real: 1948-1968" at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
which focused on the development and history of geometric art in the United States. Sharply defined and repeated geometric shapes were characteristic of his earliest painting, that were described by Goossen as depicting "yellowish pink and green dawns, blue noons, and red-orange sunsets that swiftly slide from purple to black", hypothesizing that Ohlson's experience growing up and working long days on the family's farm gave him a unique passion for color. Ohlson was recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1968.
His works in the 1970s and 1980s, often featured at Susan Caldwell Inc., had characteristically rougher backgrounds. His later work was displayed in numerous solo exhibitions at the Andre Zarre Gallery, in addition to surveys of his work at Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
and at Hunter College, where he taught for 35 years. His works are included in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
.
Ohlson died at age 73 on June 29, 2010, after a fall in front of his Manhattan apartment. He was survived by his second wife, Michele Toohey. He was divorced from his first wife, painter Jane Kaufman.