Philana Oliphant

Philana Oliphant maintains a sense of wholeness by making work. The practice smooths the rough edges of living and celebrates awe. For several years, the processes of making drawings, prints, and sculpture has allowed Oliphant the freedom to present them as evolving miniature installations in which the pieces inform and foster one another. For example, when cutting shapes from paper for one piece, she considers the composition so that perhaps what is cut away can be used later. These separate pieces are therefore materially linked, and to Oliphant, these relationships suggest the ways that all things are connected, even if only at the atomic level or in ways we struggle to perceive. These flexible, evolving installations are also inherently connected through time and reflect that nothing is static or permanent in life.  

Oliphant’s recent work seeks out the dialogue and communication embedded in nature, rooted in wonder and attention. The imagery she chooses and the materials she combines—paper, metal, porcelain, and more—reflect a combination of fragility and resilience. Oliphant aims to celebrate the significance of the individual and the whole, to connect and recognize kinship in the belief that every effort counts.