Sculpture · Constructed Imagery

David
Olson

A sculptural practice shaped by discovery—altering, combining, and reassembling imagery, materials, and lived experience into something not made before.

View selected work

David Olson standing beside a large black and white sculptural construction — Artist with recent work

Selected current work

Images become objects.
Fragments become form.

Digital imagery, layered forms, and fragments of lived experience come together in sculptural constructions exploring memory, transformation, darkness, light, and the continually changing nature of how we see ourselves and the world.

Digital imagery and constructed form

Current work

New sculptural construction with sweeping black forms surrounding a layered monochrome self-portrait — Recent Construction2026

Three layered landscape images framed by black curling sculptural forms; the construction shown beside David Olson above — Recent construction 01

Layered construction with a blue aerial landscape, round spectacles, and white curling forms — Recent construction 02

Black sculptural construction with layered monochrome imagery — Recent construction 03

Black and white constructed image of a city street — Recent construction 04

Layered construction with sunset, cloud, and patterned imagery — Recent construction 05

Vertical black and white construction pointing upward — Recent construction 06

Symmetrical black sculptural construction with layered industrial and architectural imagery — Recent construction 07

Layered monochrome construction with repeated self-portraits and power-line imagery — Recent construction 08

Layered city and bridge construction with a monochrome sunburst and two blue mirrored bridge panels — Recent construction 09

Layered monochrome construction combining tree textures, machinery, and white curling sculptural imagery — Recent construction 10

As you move

Moving around the work reveals the layers, spaces, and relationships between images.

Three viewpoints of one layered construction combining ocean and rose imagery with botanical drawings; the front view is between two angled views — One construction, three viewpoints

Three viewpoints of a second layered construction with repeated pointed forms and industrial imagery; the front view is between two angled views — One construction, three viewpoints

Earlier work

Material changes.
The language continues.

Paper as sculpture

Cut, folded, joined, and accumulated paper carries gesture into space. Curving lines and pointed forms gather into structures that feel both fragile and insistent.

Monumental white paper sculpture installed high on an architectural wall, with David Olson below for scale — Architectural paper installation

White, green, and yellow paper sculpture on black

Complete view of a rust-colored abstract steel sculpture on its concrete pedestal

Complete view of a tall stainless steel memorial sculpture on its pedestal against a blue sky

Steel and public space

Earlier monumental works establish the practice’s physical foundation: vertical movement, structural tension, balance, and a direct relationship with architecture and the body.

Early Wood and Steel Sculpture

These early sculptures established concerns that have continued throughout my work: structure, tension, balance, light, and the space between forms. Working with steel, wire, wood, and constructed elements, I became interested in how separate parts could rely upon one another while remaining visibly distinct.

Looking back at these works, I recognize many of the ideas that continue in my current practice. The materials and methods have changed, but my interest in structure, relationships, movement, and the possibility of transformation remains.

Two views of a tall early steel and wire sculpture outdoors, including David Olson standing beside it for scale — Untitled outdoor sculpture Steel and wire

Early horizontal wood and steel sculpture illuminated in warm light on a dark stage — Untitled illuminated sculpture Wood, steel, and light

Studio process, drawing, fabrication details, and completed early wood and steel sculpture — Studio process and completed sculpture Wood and steel

Steel and wire sculpture with angled beams, suspended cables, and a rectangular base

Steel and wire sculpture with wide horizontal arms, a central panel, and crossing supports

Low wooden sculpture with repeated linear elements and curved forms casting shadows

Wide wooden sculpture with projecting horizontal elements, tall pointed forms, and layered curves

Wooden sculpture with broad sweeping curves, overlapping forms, and triangular supports on a pedestal

Vertical wooden sculpture with long pointed elements and curling forms on a white pedestal

Tall wooden sculpture with slender pointed elements and curved forms outdoors against a softly blurred background

Early Wood and Cast Sculpture

These works mark a period when I combined constructed wood forms with cast elements. Structure, repetition, layering, and the relationship between contrasting forms became increasingly important. In the more organic works, curved and overlapping cast forms began to introduce a greater sense of movement and fluidity—ideas that would develop further as I moved into paper sculpture.

Rectilinear relief with repeated cast forms within a constructed wood frame

Vertical wood construction with triangular supports and layered rectangular forms

Wood construction with three repeated vertical panels

Tall wood construction with pointed and curved overlapping cast forms

Organic wood and cast sculpture with sweeping curves and overlapping wave-like forms

Organic wood and cast sculpture with curled, interwoven forms and long curved wooden elements

Visit the earlier work archive

Artist statement

Finding connections.
Remaining open to possibility.

Over time, my work as a sculptor has moved from metal and wood to paper, and more recently into digital imagery and manipulation. Images of my artwork and surroundings are altered, combined, repeated, and reassembled into collages and three-dimensional constructions.

Fragmented forms conceal and reveal themselves as the viewer moves. The parts remain distinct, yet together they reach toward another kind of wholeness.

A continuing beginning

“At this point in my life, I am increasingly interested in what can happen when I allow what I have already made and experienced to become the beginning of something I have not made before.”

— David Olson

About

Discovery remains the constant.

The making of visual images has been with me from an early age. I earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Bethany College, followed by a Master of Arts in sculpture from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

The experiences of life continue to be my teacher, as I respond daily to the sculptural journeys begun and completed in my studio.

David Olson

DavidOlson

Images become objects.Fragments become form.