Soul and Body by Oli Coyle

about this exhibition

Oli Coyle was born July 6th, 2003, in upstate New York. After graduating high school, they moved out to Denver, Colorado, to attend the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and pursue a degree in fine arts. Coyle works mainly in mixed media oil painting, focusing on expressing their LGBTQ+ identity through surrealist self-portraiture. They currently have a Spivak student residency on the RMCAD campus, where they are building a body of work surrounding this theme as they approach their graduation in December of 2024.

Soul and Body marks Coyle’s first solo exhibition, which includes much of the work they have created so far. As a queer non-binary individual, their practice heavily revolves around the societal, political, and personal aspects of what it means to be a gender non-conforming being in a world that so deeply values conformity. Many of the pieces on display employ their own body as to highlight the intimate nature of this type of self-expression. There is a freedom in living one’s truth to the fullest extent, but there is also pain and alienation – it is a dichotomy that thoroughly underlines their practice. To exist between such contentions is to face many struggles, and by way of painting Coyle attempts to reconcile those struggles while also bringing them to light for others.

June 21 - August 16, 2024

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ABOUT THE RUDE GALLERY

The Rude Gallery showcases work and projects proposed by RMCAD students and features the Annual Student Symposium Exhibition. This intimate gallery offers close interactions with works and encourages experimental projects and installations.