Hamilton-based artist Olivia Brouwer’s work examines themes of seeing and misperception. As a partially blind artist, Brouwer’s inkblot series began as a way to explore her own limitations of vision through abstract painting. When we speak, she’s in the midst of back-to-back residencies, working not only in painting and printmaking, but also fabricating art for all the senses, sometimes mixing her media by sewing strips of silkscreen on top of a canvas or drawing beneath to add dimension. From braille passages exploring questions of self-inquiry, to printmaking and sound installation, Brouwer’s work is all-encompassing, tactile at times to resonate with those who are non-sighted, and rendered all the more powerful within the context of a global pandemic.
Published in Invest in Style magazine, Winter 2021.
