Our February 2020 cover story, artist, muralist, self-described "abstract storyteller," Olive Moya gives us an update on what the last two years and the pandemic have brought to her. At that time, she told us she wished to work on bigger, more complex public spaces so that her work can "be seen and hopefully create meaning for anyone out in the world." Indeed, she has done that. She has also engaged in some amazing collaborations with other artists and began using new mediums. City Lifestyle Highlands Ranch looks forward to what happens next for Olive.
Olive, in her own words:
The pandemic was surprisingly extremely busy for me and many artists I know. I feel like people were craving human connection, stuck looking at the same four walls during lockdown, so art became more important than ever before. I was invited to participate in four different mural festivals last year, which was particularly exciting since everyone was eager to get outside to (safely) do something different and see one another. It was extremely uplifting to connect with the art community in that way when everything else in 2020 was so difficult.
During the pandemic, I was able to experiment with collage and use photographs in my work for the first time in years. To translate that to murals, I learned how to wheatpaste and created many large pieces that incorporated both painting and photography. I did this for walls at COATI Uprise in Colorado Springs, Streetwise Mural Festival in Boulder, CRUSH Walls (in collaboration with Alexandrea Pangburn), and the transportation center in Vail.
This year I experimented with a few new mediums; I was asked to create an animated piece for Night Lights Denver that was projected on the Daniels & Fisher clock tower, collaborated with fashion designer Amy Lisojo, worked on sculptures in my studio, and teamed up with Ice Sculptor Paul Wertin to design the Winterfest Ice Sculptures in Vail. Earlier this year, I partnered with my friend Emily Hope Dobkin of Betterish to create a proposal for a mural that was chosen for The Denver Art Museum's newly renovated Martin Building. The concept was rooted in community engagement and the photos used to wheatpaste the background were sourced from people here in Colorado and beyond. It will be up for the next three years and we'll continue to create programming that gets people involved with art and their community.
