Patricia Olson

The intersection of art and feminism can be seen in Olson's works of art, and also throughout other aspects of her life. In an interview she gave in 1980, she reflected on her relationship to feminism: "Right when I graduated from college, I became very interested in the feminist movement and what it meant for me personally."[3] She is a founding member[4] of the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota, also known as WARM: she joined the collective in 1975 as one of its youngest members, and served as chief designer form WARM journal.[1] WARM began as a women's art collective in the 1970s. In 1976, they opened a gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and registered as a nonprofit organization. "The bylaws defined WARM as a feminist organization that aimed to foster communication among professional artists in Minnesota, to promote their development and careers, and to enhance their visibility."[5] The lasting legacy of WARM can still be found today, albeit in a different incarnation. Today's WARM is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and provides mentoring, networking opportunities, exhibition opportunities, and an online registry of works for women artists in the Midwest.

Olson and her colleague Elizabeth Erickson have taught the Women's Art Institute, a summer intensive studio program, since 1999.[6] The Women's Art Institute was housed at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design from its inception in 1999, until it moved to St. Catherine University in September 2012.[7] When the Women's Art Institute made the move from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design to St. Catherine University, Olson took over as the new director of the program.[8] For this work, "[t]hey were named 'Changemakers of 2009' by the Minnesota Women's Press for promoting greater self-determination, equality and justice for women and girls."[6]

Between 1996 and 1999, Olson created an ambitious series of oil paintings inspired by the ancient frescoes in the Pompeiian Villa of the Mysteries. The backgrounds of these large-scale pictures are rendered in a deep red, like the Roman frescoes on which they're based, and feature the artist herself along with various props and symbols including skeletons, masks, a ladder, a mirror, and a painting easel. Using herself as a recurring model in the paintings, Olson aimed to "claim a bond with the old mysteries" and to "paint the possibility of the emergence of the midlife woman into history as active, powerful and self-determined."[9] She cites as inspiration for The Mysteries the book Those Women by Eleanor L. Hall.[9]

In 2008, Olson was named the Sister Mona Riley Endowed Professor in the Humanities At St. Catherine University.[10] The title was held until 2011. This honor gave her the time and resources to embark on a project requiring a deep investment of both time and energy. During this time Olson dedicated herself to The Catherine Portrait, a series of 40 16" by 16" portrait paintings of members of the St. Catherine University community, including students, faculty, and staff. The paintings are generally from the tip of the shoulders to the top of the head, and this perspective paired with the bright, clean colors of the paint create a sense of intimate proximity with the subjects. Olson conceived of the project through the interest she has always had in portraiture coupled with an idea that people in a group have something in common that comes out visually.[11] The sampling of the community is meant to represent the zeitgeist of the community. Olson acts to reclaim the idea of a portrait, and the responsibility she as a painter of portraits has to those she paints.

After many years as instructors/directors of the Women's Art Institute, Olson and Erickson noted "emerging themes that concern contemporary women artists." In 2014, they distilled these themes into seven "über questions" and curated an exhibition (open Feb. 3–March 23, 2014) of 11 artists who had previously participated in the Women’s Art Institute and "whose work examines and illuminates these questions:

• How do I keep working in the studio, using my artistic skills and materials to express my intentions?
• How can I unlock my toolbox and truly express my authentic creative voice?
• Who is my audience and what do I want to show them? What does success look like for me?
• Where can I find a supportive community? How can I support others?
• What does it mean to have a woman’s body and make art? Is the gender question over or just beginning?
• Is feminism a conscious practice that I bring to my art?
• Do I have a responsibility to historical and contemporary women’s art? What is good, bad or beautiful? Who decides? Who cares?"[12]