Olivia Petrides

About

Olivia Petrides is a painter, illustrator, and Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she has taught since 1985. She received an Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship in 2024; a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2021; Illinois Arts Council Projects Grants in 2020, 2014, 2007; and the Margaret Klimek Phillips Fellowship in 2003. Petrides was awarded a Fulbright Grant to Iceland and an Artist Residency at the Reykjavik Municipal Art Museum in 1993. She revisited Iceland in 1994 on an American-Scandinavian Foundation Award. On Faculty Grants awarded in 1995 and 1998, Petrides returned to the subarctic North Atlantic where she had residencies with the Faroe Islands Museum of Natural History. In 1999, she returned to Iceland. In 2001, with the support of the American-Scandinavian Foundation and a Faculty Grant, she traveled to Greenland.

With SAIC colleagues, she taught a painting and writing class in Ireland and in southwestern France during ten summers. Petrides has been awarded other residency fellowships at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts; Vermont Studio Center; the Roger Brown Studio; Yellowstone National Park and many residencies at the Ragdale Foundation. She has illustrated two volumes in the Peterson Field Guide Series, published by Houghton Mifflin Company and Princeton University Press, and four field manuals issued by Explorer Press and Stackpole Press. Her work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; US National Park Service, Wyoming; Hafnarborg Institute of Art, Iceland; the Illinois State Museum; the Field Museum, Chicago; the Brauer Museum, Indiana; and the Openlands Organization, among others.

Websites

Education

  • MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Painting
  • BA, Kalamazoo College, American Literature

Academic Affiliation

  • Associate Professor, Adjunct, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 1985–
  • Painting & Drawing Department; Visual Communication Design Department

Solo/Two Person Exhibitions

  • 2023
  • Epiphany Center for the Arts, Chicago, IL, Double/ Force, Two-Person
  • 2021
    • Governors State University, University Park, IL, Space Laser/ Burn
    • Leedy Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO, Line/ Force/ Burn Rubber, Two-Person
    • Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, Line/ Force/ Burn Rubber, Two-Person
  • 2020
  • OS Projects, Racine, WI, Flux
  • 2019
  • Brauer Museum of Art, Valparaiso, IND, Line/ Force/ Burn Rubber, Two-Person
  • 2018
    • Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IND, The Astral Plane
    • Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, WI, Line/ Force/ Burn Rubber, Two-Person
  • 2016
  • Kieft Accelerator ArtSpace, Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL, Polar Nights
  • 2013
  • Gallery Pink, Oak Park IL, Astral Projections
  • 2012
    • Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL, Mid-Career Retrospective
    • Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, IL
  • 2011
    • Purdue North Central University, Westville, IND, Illuminations & Explorations
    • Gallery 175, Chicago, IL, Recent Drawings
  • 2008
  • Ryerson Woods, Deerfield, IL, Icebound
  • 2007
  • Crown Gallery, Loyola University, Chicago, IL, Rhonda Gates & Olivia Petrides
  • 2006
  • Peterson Institute, Jamestown, NY
  • 2005
  • Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, IL, I See/ Icy: Sarah Krepp and Olivia Petrides
  • 2004
  • Hellenic Museum, Chicago, IL, In the Realm of Arktos
  • 2000
    • Missouri Botanic Garden, St. Louis, MO
    • Bernheim Arboretum Gallery, Louisville, KY (Two Person)
  • 1998
    • Nordic Museum, Seattle, WA, Ice/ Volcano: Cycles and Confrontation
    • Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, Cycles and Confrontations
  • 1997
    • Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, Under the Arctic Circle
    • Morton College, Cicero, IL, Sketchbooks and Large Drawings
  • 1995
  • Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, Flux: Drawings from Iceland
  • 1994
    • American Cultural Center, Reykjavik, Iceland, Pendulum Series
    • Hafnarborg Institute of Art, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, Olivia Petrides
  • 1992
  • Madison Museum, Yellowstone National Park, WYO
  • 1983
    • Van Straaten Gallery, Chicago, IL, New Artists
    • Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, New Work
  • 1979
  • Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Oshtemo, MI
  • 1974
  • Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • 2024
  • Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL Dialogue: Out Loud
  • 2018
  • Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL, Three Hares
  • 2017
  • Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL, Front and Center
  • 2016
  • Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, Dialogue: Full Force
  • 2014
    • Columbia College, A + D Gallery, Chicago, IL, On Big Drawings, catalog
    • Illinois State Museum, Lockport, IL, Everything in Pace: Sketches & Journals
    • Noyes Cultural Center, Evanston, IL, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?
    • Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, Artemisia Anniversary Exhibit
  • 2013
  • Noyes Cultural Center, Evanston IL, Taking Chances
  • 2012
    • Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery, someDIALOGUE
    • National Park Service web exhibit, Through Your Eyes: www.visitnationalparkarts.org
  • 2011
    • Noyes Cultural Center, Evanston, IL, No/ Yes: The Art of Contradiction
    • Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, IL, Environ
  • 2010
    • Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI, Ox-Bow Centennial Exhibition
    • Noyes Cultural Center, Evanston, IL, New Noyes
    • The Studios of Key West, Key West, FLA, Chicago Artists: Works On Paper
    • Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, IL, The Environment Show
  • 2009
    • Illinois State Museums, Springfield and Lockport, IL, The Leaf & The Page
    • Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Alonzo Davis Endowment Exhibit
    • Drawing Center NYC, Viewing Program 2009 – present
    • Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL, Trace/ Memory
  • 2008
    • Illinois State Museum, Chicago, IL, The Leaf & The Page
    • Illinois State Museum, Springfield & Chicago, IL, New Acquisitions
    • Crown Gallery, Loyola University, Chicago, IL, Secret Lives
    • Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, IL, Drift
  • 2007
  • Noyes Cultural Center, Evanston, IL, More Noyes
  • 2006
    • Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, Ragdale 30th Anniversary Exhibit
    • Chicago Music Garage, Opt In: Revisioning America
    • Woodlands Academy, Lake Forest, IL, On Site/ Insight
    • Noyes Cultural Center, Evanston, IL, Above the Noyes
  • 2005
    • Christopher Gallery, Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL, Contemporary Realism
    • Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, IL, The Subject is Birds
    • Carlsten Gallery, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, WI, Midwest Painters: Dan Addington, Laurie Hogin, Olivia Petrides
  • 2002
  • Green Lantern Studio, Mineral Point, WI, Invitational Exhibition
  • 2000
  • Vesuvius Gallery, Glenn, MI, Souvenirs
  • 1999
  • Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL, Les Salon d’ Academe
  • 1998
    • National Gallery of the Faroe Islands, Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Crossings
    • U-Turn E-Zine, www.uturn.org, All Chicago Show
    • Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, On Your Mark
    • Cliff Dwellers, Chicago, IL, Ragdale Artists
    • Vesuvius Gallery, Glenn, MI, Water
    • August House Studio, Chicago, IL, Garden of Earthly Delights
  • 1997
    • Meridian International Center, Washington, D.C., Fulbright Artists Exhibit
    • Fine Arts Building Gallery, Chicago, IL, Nature
    • Vesuvius Gallery, Glenn, MI, In the Garden of Earthly Delights
    • Hafnarborg Institute of Art, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, Weg adfong
    • August House Studio, Chicago, IL, Five Artists: Works on Paper
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL, An Evening in the Garden
  • 1996
  • Vesuvius Gallery, Glenn, MI, Migrations (Three Person Show)
  • 1995
  • Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, Scorpio Moon Rising: A Visual Feast
  • 1994
  • Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, Something in Common
  • 1993
    • Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland, Exquisite Drawing: Lines of Correspondence
    • School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 10,000 Plus
    • North Lakeside Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, Salon Show
    • Aurora University, Aurora, IL, 1993 Area Invitational
  • 1990
  • Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, Fundamentally Compromised
  • 1987
    • Beacon Street Gallery, Chicago, IL, Nine on Nature
    • Hinsdale Art Center, Hinsdale, IL, Nature
  • 1986
    • Walton Street Gallery, Chicago, IL, Hellenic Artists
    • Norris Gallery, Norris Cultural Center, St. Charles, IL, Spring Invitational
  • 1985
  • Hallwalls Gallery, Buffalo, NY, Artemisia at Hallwalls
  • 1984
  • Van Straaten Gallery, Chicago, IL, Gallery Artists

Work In Public Collections

  • Openlands Interpretive Project, Lakeshore Preserve, Fort Sheridan, Illinois
  • Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  • Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois
  • Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois
  • Hafnarborg Institute of Art, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland
  • United States National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
  • Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Peterson Institute, Jamestown, New York

Awards

  • 2024
    • Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship
    • Illinois Arts Council, Special Projects Award
  • 2023
    • Illinois Arts Council, Special Projects Award
    • Excellence in Teaching Award, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  • 2021
  • Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award
  • 2020
  • Illinois Arts Council, Special Projects Grant
  • 2017
  • Keven & Nick Wilder Travel Grant
  • 2014
  • Illinois Arts Council, Special Projects Grant
  • 2011
  • Community Arts Assistance Program Grant
  • 2007
  • Illinois Arts Council, Governor’s International Arts Exchange Award
  • 2003
  • Margaret Klimek Phillips Fellowship
  • 2001
    • American-Scandinavian Foundation Award to Greenland
    • Faculty Grant to Greenland, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
    • Residency Artist Grant, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont
  • 1998
  • Faculty Grant to Faroe Islands, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  • 1995
    • Museum of Natural History, Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Visiting Scholar
    • Faculty Grant to Faroe Islands, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
    • Illinois Arts Council, Special Assistance Grant
  • 1994
  • American-Scandinavian Foundation Award to Iceland
  • 1993
  • Fulbright Research Award to Iceland
  • 1977
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Fellowship Competition, Honorable Mention

Residency/Fellowships

  • 2017-18
  • HATCH Projects Artist Residency, Chicago Artists Coalition
  • 2017
  • The Center Program, Professional Development Program, Hyde Park Art Center
  • 2014
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
  • 2012
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
  • 2010
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
  • 2009
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
  • 2007
  • Gil-society, Akureyri Iceland
  • 2006
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
  • 2005
  • Catwalk Residency, Catskill, New York
  • 2003
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
  • 2002
    • Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, Virginia
    • Roger Brown Studio Residency, New Buffalo, Michigan
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
  • 2001
  • Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont, Residency Fellowship
  • 1999
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
  • 1998
    • Museum of Natural History, Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Residency
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest Illinois, Residency Fellowship
  • 1997
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois, Residency Fellowship
  • 1996
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois, Residency Fellowship
    • Museum of Natural History, Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Residency
  • 1994
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois (October), Residency Fellowship
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois (January), Residency Fellowship
  • 1993
    • Reykjavik Municipal Art Museum (Kjarvalstadir), Reykjavik, Iceland, Residency Fellowship
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois, Residency Fellowship
  • 1992
    • Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Artist-in-Residence
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois (June), Residency Fellowship
    • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois (January), Residency Fellowship
  • 1991
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois, Residency Fellowship
  • 1985
  • Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois, Residency Fellowship

Exhibits Curated

  • 2006
  • In Memoriam (for Rosa Parks), Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
  • 1998
  • Crossings: Travel Beyond Boundaries, National Gallery of the Faroe Islands
  • 1997
    • The Faroes: Art, Culture, and Spirit, Nordic Museum, Seattle, Washington
    • Islands in the Mist: Six Artists From the Faeroe Islands, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
  • 1995
  • Altitudes: 7 Women Artists from Iceland, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

Selected Bibliography

  • 2020
    • Waxman, Lori, Olivia Petrides at OS Projects, 60 Words/Min, Chicago, IL.
    • Phillips, Anthony, Professor, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Olivia Petrides: The Warrior, brochure essay for exhibits at Leedy-Voulkas Art Center, Kansas City, MO, and Western Illinois Uiversity, Macomb, IL.
  • 2018
    • DeLand, Lauren, Professor, IUN, The Astral Plane, Indiana University Northwest, catalog essay.
    • Foumberg, Jason, Curator, Thoma Institute, Chicago, Line/ Force/ Burn Rubber, Brauer Museum of Art, brochure essay.
    • VoyageChicago, Introducing Olivia Petrides, June, 2018.
  • 2016
  • Silverman, Lanny, Curator, Chicago Cultural Center, Polar Nights, Kieft Artspace, Elmhurst College, exhibit essay.
  • 2014
  • Shaw, Jennifer, Curator and arts writer, UK and USA, On Big Drawings, Columbia College, catalog essay.
  • 2012
    • Cassidy, Victor, Arts Writer, Chicago, Dennis Mitchell, Olivia Petrides, Lisa Sambor, Ukrainian Museum of Modern Art, catalog essay.
    • Cassidy, Victor, At the Ukrainian Art Institute of Modern Art, artdaily.com, August 10.
    • Stapleton, Doug, Curator, Illinois State Art Museum, To Stand Astonished, Quincy Art Center, catalog essay.
  • 2011
  • Brotman, Barbara, Lines between art & nature blur at Fort Sheridan ravine, Chicago Tribune, Features, Sept. 28.
  • 2010
  • International Drawing Annual 5, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio, catalog essay.
  • 2009
  • Petlicki, Myrna, Tracing Memorable Art, Pioneer Press, p. 42, January 8.
  • 2008
  • Artner, Alan, ‘Leaf’ Falls on the Side of Tradition, Chicago Tribune, Sept. 11.
  • 2006
    • Petlicki, Myrna, Art Kings, Queens – & Jacks!, Chicago News-Star, November 22.
    • Conklin, Anastasia, Delicate Beauty, The Post-Journal, Jamestown, NY, D-1, January 13.
  • 2005
  • Seligman, Pat, The Watercolour Artists Sketchbook, Quarto Press, London, p. 104–109.
  • 2004
    • WZRD Radio, Interview with Effie Mihopoulos, February 22.
    • Isaacs, Deanna, The Culture Club, Chicago Reader, Section 2, p. 1, November 28.
    • Margaret Klimek Phillips Fellowship Recipients, Phillips Estate, catalog essay.
  • 2000
  • In Other News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 7, Metro Section, p. 1.
  • 1998
    • Krantz, Claire Wolfe, All Chicago Show, U-Turn E-Zine, September 15.
    • Hawkins, Margaret, Freeze Frames: Petrides’ Paintings Take Viewers Out to Sea, Chicago Sun-Times, July 24, Weekend Plus/ Arts Section, p. 49.
    • Cassidy, Victor M., Reviews: Chicago Report, Artnet Magazine, January 21.
  • 1997
  • Savage, Todd, Art People: Olivia Petrides’ Voyages of Discovery, Chicago Reader, Section One, p. 46, October 3.
  • 1996
    • Andreae, Christopher, Sublime Landscapes Translated Into A Trio of Tongues, The Christian Science Monitor, August 28, p. 16–17.
    • Spencer, LeAnn, Brush With Nature, Chicago Tribune, Sunday, April 21.
  • 1994
    • Jacob, Mary Jane, Dedicated to Paint, “Something in Common” exhibit, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, catalog essay.
    • Olivia Petrides Synir, Althydubladid, Reykjavik, Iceland, August 5.
    • Asgeirsson, Bragi, Time and Eternity: Charcoal and Oil Pastels of Olivia Petrides, Morgunbladid, Reykjavik, Iceland, August 12.
    • Collision of Beauty and Science: Olivia Petrides Exhibits at Hafnarborg, Eintak, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, August 4.
  • 1990
  • Lautman, Victoria, Artistic License, WBEZ Radio, March 3.
  • 1984
    • Glatt, Cara, Art, The Hyde Park Herald, July 11, p. 24.
    • Bouras, Harry, Art and Artists, WFMT Radio, November 13.
  • 1983
    • Gedo, Mary Mathews, Chicago Reviews, Arts Magazine, June, p. 47.
    • Allison, Bethe, Chicago Reviews, New Art Examiner, May.
  • 1977
  • Harrison/ Kingman, 3/3: A Survey on Trends, New Art Examiner, January.