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Olek
Olek was born Agata Oleksiak in 1978 in Poland. In 2000, she received a BA in Cultural Studies from Adam
Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland and relocated to New York City, where she is currently based. Olek’s
work has been exhibited in galleries, museums and public spaces worldwide and featured in numerous
publications such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Newsweek/Daily Beast,
Village Voice, Artinfo, PBS, CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC. Olek is the recipient of the Ruth Mellon Award for
sculpture in 2004, In Situ Artaq award (France) in 2011, and a grant in 2011 from the Lower Manhattan Cultural
Council (LMCC) for performance in public space. Olek’s residencies have included Sculpture Space in 2005,
Instituto Sacatar (Brazil) in 2009 and AAI-LES in 2010. In 2008, Olek was the winner of the Apex Art competition,
which aired on PBS. In 2010, the artist was commissioned by the Brooklyn Museum of Art for a one-day
interactive performance installation. In 2012, Olek was part of the 40 Under 40: Craft Futures exhibition at the
Smithsonian, for which her entire crocheted studio apartment was exhibited.
EDUCATION
2000
Adam Mickiewicz University. Poznan, Poland. BA, Cultural Studies
AWARDS
2011
2011
2008
2007
2004
Sculpture In Situ, Artaq Award. Paris, France
FUND LMCC Grant for performance in public spaces. New York, NY
Winner of Apex Art gallery’s PBS commercial competition. New York, NY
USArtists International, support for performing arts at international festivals. USA/Poland
The Ruth Mellon Memorial Award For Sculpture. The National Arts Club. New York, NY
RESIDENCIES
2013
2010
2010
2009
2005
One month fully-funded residency. Laznia Center for Contemporary Art. Gdansk, Poland
Nine month artist-in-residency. Workspace, LMCC. New York, NY
Six month artist-in-residency. Artists Alliance. Lower East Side Rotating Studio Program. New York, NY
Two month artist-in-residency, full fellowship. Instituto Sacatar. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Two month fully funded artist-in-residency. Sculpture Space. Utica, NY
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013
2012
2011
2010
2010
2010
The End Is Far. Jonathan LeVine Gallery. New York, NY
I do not expect to be a mother but I do expect to die alone. Tony’s Gallery, London, England
The Bad Artists Imitate, The Great Artists Steal. Jonathan LeVine Gallery. New York, NY
Knitting is For Pus****. Christopher Henry Gallery. New York, NY
Kiss Me, I Crochet. LIU Gallery. Brooklyn, NY
99 Cents. G-Train. Brooklyn, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012
2013
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2011
2011
2011
40 Under 40. Renwick Gallery. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Washington, DC
Installation for Noise Pop Festival. San Francisco, CA
Make Ends Meet. Flanders Art Gallery. Raleigh, NC
Crocheted diggers for the Katowice Street Art Festival. Katowice, Poland
Installation for Anti-Slavery International’s Follow Your Art – Street Art Against Slavery. Village Underground.
London, England
Installation for Bloop Fesitval. Ibiza, Spain
Synthetic Nature. Krause Gallery. New York, NY
Crocheted jacare. SESC interlagos.Sao Paulo, Brazil
Purple. Causey Contemporary. Brooklyn, NY
Installation for PALP Festival. Martigny, Switzerland
Happiness is inside job, installation commissioned by Elements. Hong Kong, China
Otulina. Kordegarda Gallery. Warsaw, Poland
No Women, No Art. Poznan, Poland
Festival of Ideas for the New City. The New Museum. New York, NY
529 West 20th Street, 9E, New York, NY 10011 | 212 243 3822 | www.jonathanlevinegallery.com
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2008
2008
2008
2008
2008
2008
2008
2008
2008
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
A New Hook. Rethinking Needlework. Museum Bellerive. Zurich, Switzerland
Miss Danger on the Loose: A Female Street Artist Exhibition. Lab Art Gallery. Los Angeles, CA
Made Skateboard. I-20 Gallery. New York, NY
Civilization and its Discontents. Nars Gallery. Brooklyn, NY
Crest Fest. Brooklyn, NY
Sing for Hope — Pop-up Pianos. New York, NY
Laguardia Community College Alumni Art Exhibition. Experimental Space at Reis Studios. L.I.C, NY
Suffolk Deluxe Electric Bicycle. Collaboration with Devan Harlen, NY Studio Gallery. New York, NY
The Sky is Pink, The Room Is Green, installation commissioned by Pacific Design Center, LA
Banzai, Art and Performance Kaleidoscopic Adventure, Brooklyn, NY
Knitting is For Pus****, Scope Art Fair with Christopher Henry Gallery, Miami, FL
Bite: Street Inspired Art and Fashion, third Streaming, NYC
Bring Your Clothes. Commissioned community-based performance. The Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn, NY
Interwoven. Evenings in Performance. The Textile Museum. Washington, DC
Collected: Work Space. Cuchifritos Gallery. New York, NY T minus 20. Christopher Henry Gallery and INGNITE. New York, NY Weaving In and Out. No Longer Empty. New York, NY
Non-Native NY. Brooklyn, NY
Stand clear of the closing doors. Pandemic Gallery. Brooklyn, NY Excess and Environment: sustainability in a world of consumption. Art for Global Justice. L.I.C., NY Glow II. LKC, Z-Bar and streets. Berlin, Germany Low Lives II — Crocheted Painting To Shake Hands. one-night exhibition of performance-based works transmitted via the Internet. Berlin, Germany
Crocheted Windows. ABC No Rio. New York, NY
Just Bring Your Clothes. Supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Chashama. New York, NY
100% Acrylic 11.07.09 (after Jan van Eyke). Part of SAVOIR-FAIRE, the first annual performance series
featuring the work of women artists. Soho20 Gallery. New York, NY
Thank You for Your Visit, Have a Nice Day. Art In Odd Places: SIGN. New York, NY (catalog)
Covers. The Lab Gallery. New York, NY
Tessituras. Museu do Traje e do Têxtil. Salvador, Brazil
Zakamarki, BWA. Galeria Sanocka. Sanok, Poland (catalog)
Viceroy Art. Viceroy Hotel. Miami, FL
Haute-Kraft. Posie Kviat Gallery. Hudon, NY
We Mock What We Don’t Understand. Marmara Gallery. New York, NY
NY ART BEAT First Anniversary Exhibition. DAC. Brooklyn, NY
10% What Happens to You, 90% How You React to It. The Project Space. Brooklyn, NY
Women Forward. WAH Center. Brooklyn, NY (catalog)
How the book is made. New Orleans Biennale. New Orleans, LA
TATENT PReVIEW 09. White Box. New York, NY
Plum Blossom is Beautiful. Blossom is Temporary. BBBP. Bronx, NY
The (Self) Promotion Show. Apexart. New York, NY
th
12 Annual Under the Bridge DUMBO Art Festival. Brooklyn, NY
U R HERE. Installation for Artichoke Dance Company. Brooklyn, NY
Text Machine. 45 Bleeker Street Theatre. New York, NY
Practical to Poetic: Fiber Invitational. Curated by Ogunsanya. The Art Center. St. Petersburg, FL (catalog)
Women’s Vision, Women’s Voices. St. Mark’s Church. New York, NY
Made in MFTA. Citibank. L.I.C., NY
ARTHaus. Miami, FL
XIV Annual International Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival ’07. Poland
The Liberator — collaborative work with Naomi White. Supreme Trading Gallery. Brooklyn, NY
Attempting the Impossible. Anthology film Archives. curated by Joseph Latimore. New York, NY
Borborygami. Installation for Mehr Gallery. New York, NY
th
Interventions at Colgate University. 30 Anniversary of Sculpture Space. Hamilton, NY
and Company. New 42nd Street Studios. The Construction Company, NY
1000 nows. Shua Group. Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church. New York, NY
Labatorio di danza contemporania. Venice, Italy
529 West 20th Street, 9E, New York, NY 10011 | 212 243 3822 | www.jonathanlevinegallery.com
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY – PERIODICALS
Off Book: Street Art episode (featured artists: Swoon and Olek). PBS Arts. September 28, 2011
http://video.pbs.org/video/12212487
Cheney, Alexandra. The Artist Who Keeps New York in Stitches. The Wall Street Journal. pA22. August 9, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904007304576496453008430400.html
Gopnik, Blake. The World’s Most Crochet-y Artist. Newsweek/Daily Beast. July 25, 2011
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/16/the-daily-pic.html
Cooper, Ashton. Hardcore Yarn. ARTINFO. August 18, 2011.
www.artinfo.com/news/story/38339/hardcore-yarn-olek-brings-her-aggressive-appropriationist-spin-on-crochet-art-to-chelsea/
Slideshow: www.artinfo.com/news/photos/3355/32383
Christofourous, Alexis. A Crocheted World. CBS News. July 22, 2011
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7374207n
Wollan, Malia. Graffiti’s Cozy, Feminine Side. The New York Times. Thursday, May 19, 2011 (Styles pE1-E2)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/fashion/creating-graffiti-with-yarn.html
+ Related NYT online content: Getting Cozy in Public (slideshow) and A Wooly Trend (video)
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/05/19/fashion/19Yarnbomb_ss.html?ref=fashion
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/05/18/style/100000000824815/a-woolly-trend.html?scp=1&sq=olek&st=cse
Goodman, Wendy. 6 Spaces, 6 Obsessions. New York Magazine. May 9, 2011
http://nymag.com/homedesign/spring2011/agata-oleksiak-2011-5/
Olek Crochets Everything. NBC News, February 6, 2011
http://vimeo.com/19591751 Olek: Crocheted Charging Bull. Design Boom. January 2011
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/12705/olek-crocheted-charging-bull.html
Caporosso, Michele Wad. Crochet Art: The Yarn and Hook Guerilla. VOGUE, Italy. January 13, 2011
http://www.vogue.it/en/people-are-talking-about/from-new-york/2011/01/crochet-art
Green, Grace. Wall Street Bull Covered in Crochet by NYC Artist Olek. Huffington Post. January 4, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/06/nyc-artist-olek-crocheted_n_805105.html
Comstock, Courtney. WATCH: Guerilla Artist Crochet the Wall Street Bull in Neon Yarn. Business Insider. January 3, 2011
http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-guerilla-artist-crochet-the-wall-street-bull-in-neon-yarn-at-3-am-2011-1
Blanco, Octavio. Cozy Wall Street Bull Sends the Warmest Wishes. CNN Money. December 28, 2011
http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/27/news/economy/crocheted_bull/index.htm
Doll, Jenn. Wall Street Bull Gets Snazzy New Yarn Coat, Briefly. The Village Voice. December 27, 2010
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2010/12/wall_street_bul.php
Crazy Holiday Sweaters. Even Wall Street’s Charging Bull Gets One. ABC News. December 2010
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/slideshow/holiday-sweaters-12383686
Exclusive Interview with Crocheted Olek: On Wall Street’s Bull and More. streeartnews.net. December 29, 2010
http://www.streetartnews.net/2010/12/exclusive-interview-with-crocheted-olek.html
th
Exhibit See: Olek’s “Knitting is for Pussies” Opens Tonight at Christopher Henry Gallery (NYC). COMPLEX. January 5 , 2011
http://www.complex.com/art-design/2011/01/exhibit-see-oleks-knitting-is-for-pussies-opens-tonight-at-christopher-henry-gallery-nyc
Selley, Melissa. Knit Wit: Better than Fashion. PAPER Magazine. Winter issue 2010/11, p. 97-99
http://www.papermag.com/arts_and_style/2011/01/knit-wit.php
Cashdan, Marina. Art Basel Miami: Three Galleries to Visit. DETAILS. December 2010, page 72
http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201012/art-basel-miami-beach-show-fair-galleries-attractions#slide=3
Hanks, Douglas. Satellite Fairs thrive around Art Basel. The Miami Herald. November 30, 2010
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/29/1949332/satellite-fairs-thrive-around.html
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Kaleem, Jaweek. Olek is keeping everyone (and everything) in stitches at SCOPE. The Miami Herald. December 2 , 2010
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/02/1954660/olek-is-keeping-everyone-and-everything.html
Kaganskiy, Julia. One Artist's Strange Compulsion To Cover The World In Crochet. The Creator’s Project. February 24, 2011
http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/blog/one-artists-strange-compulsion-to-cover-the-world-in-crochet
Siemaszko, Corky. Meet New York’s Queen of Crochet – she leaves city in stitches from walls to Wall Street. NY Daily News. Sunday,
January 23, 2011 http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/01/23/2011-0123_queen_of_crochet_from_walls_to_wall_street_artist_leaves_city_in_stitches.html
Wrap Up Warm: Artist shows off her wacky woolly wonderland (and admits her passion drives her loopy). Daily Mail, UK.
November 25, 2010 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1332904/New-York-artist-Olek-shows-wacky-woolly-wonderland.html
529 West 20th Street, 9E, New York, NY 10011 | 212 243 3822 | www.jonathanlevinegallery.com
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY – BOOKS
Blakley Kinsler, Gwen. The Fine Art of Crochet: 150 Innovative Designs by 20 Contemporary Artists. Voyageur Press, 2010
Lambrovassilis, Alexandros & Peklaris, Achilles. Hopes, Dreams and Hard Times NYC. Greece, 2010. p80-81
Johnson, Amanda & Hallett, Clive. Fabric for Fashion. UK, 2010. p27
Nii, Yuko. Women Forward. Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, 2009. p58, 59
Vincent, Lin with Waller, Sydney. Sculpture Space. 2007. p. 76, 85
LECTURES, SYMPOSIA, PANELS
2010
2010
2010
2009
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
OCD, The Art of Obsession. BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. New York, NY
Lecture at Stern College/Yeshiva University. New York, NY
Lecture at 19th Annual Matrilineage Symposium. Syracuse University. Syracuse, NY
Lecture at LaGuardia Community College. L.I.C., NY
Lecture at Art Academy. Krakow, Poland
Lecture at Loyola University. Art and Environmental Studies. New Orleans, LA
Series of lectures and performances. Colgate University. Hamilton, NY
Public Art Symposium: “Beyond the Object” – at Colgate University. Hamilton, NY
The Material for the Arts. Performing Arts Workshops. New York, NY
529 West 20th Street, 9E, New York, NY 10011 | 212 243 3822 | www.jonathanlevinegallery.com