Ola Volo 2018

King Queen Lovers Fool is Ola Volo’s first solo exhibition in over four years. Ola’s illustrations have become an emblematic voice of Vancouver. Her illustrations are the face of festivals, magazines, posters publishing, and her murals shape numerous public spaces locally and many more internationally. While sharing stories on behalf of individuals, organizations and communities, Ola has developed a unique identity and approachable style that connects with an ever-growing audience.

Ola was raised in Kazakhstan until the age of ten, where storytelling was an important part of her upbringing. She would go to her grandparent’s farm where they would listen to folktales on vinyl.  As an adolescent, Ola Volo moved to Canada, alongside her Russian / Polish parents. This unique blend of cultural experiences became a pivotal influence in her work. Ultimately, Ola’s artistic expression is illustrated through multicultural patterns and characters of distant folk tales.

After a recent Tarot reading, Ola found herself contemplating her future. What she reflected on a “universal curiosity”. She philosophized over the cards and their ability to offer solutions to something we share: reflections and morals through stories. The King, Queen, Lovers and Fool are cards of the Tarot, as well as characters and archetypes of folklore. Ola’s palette of golds, reds, blues, blacks and silvers, marks a return to early symbolic painters like Gustav Klimt and Romain de Tirtoff (Erté). While reaching back to royal histories of the Tarot and its place in the rise and fall of kingdoms, Ola Volo guides her viewers on a curious journey.

King Queen Lovers Fool is a unifying moment in Ola’s practice, as her intricate illustrative style brings together spray paint, tight brush strokes, and a poignant palette showcased on large canvas between four and twelve feet. Detailed with tribal patterns and symbolic reflections of Vancouver, it’s wildlife and supernatural environment; Ola Volo captivates her audience with heroes of the divine, portraits of the monarch, legends of the romantic, the mystic, and the universal.

- Sarah Keppler

Exhibition catalogue, email paul.becker@artrapture.com for a digital copy.


 KING QUEEN LOVERS FOOL

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