Bio

O. Rae is a multimedia artist primarily focused on painting with vibrant hues of gouache and acrylics. Their work incorporates other methods of creation through stitched fabric, reconfigured wood slices, printmaking, and collage. A puzzle that can only sometimes be solved, these hypnotic works are distinct to the artist’s aesthetic interests. O. Rae creates compositions of organic abstraction through pattern making that incorporates controlled figuration, aided by reference images captured by the artist. There is an element of play in the work through the artist’s methods and sometimes through the interaction of the viewers. The goal of their work is to create a moment of curiosity, about a scene, a person, a design. O. Rae is currently working in Portland, OR and attending PNCA as a MFA candidate. Their work has been featured in a number of group shows, most recently at the Pullen Arts Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Pattern is more than a decorative element in my work; it is a language—a means through which I abstract myself and express the unseen forces that shape our world. I have spent years developing a key of patterns akin to an alphabet of sorts. I have no intention of creating perfect repetition, this painting style is filled with human error. This is a key part of painting for me, the human aspect. We are not machines. The organic, repetitive linework I use is not intended to fade into the background, but to represent the invisible threads that connect us all: energy, sound rippling through space, the movement of air, and the spiritual currents that pulse beneath everyday life. 

In my paintings, I create spaces where subtle narratives may unfold. I work primarily with acrylic and gouache, utilizing the different sheens of these paints to add depth and dimension. Neon hues, which react to changing light sources, introduce an element of transformation—allowing the work to shift even though it remains a still image. This tension between stillness and movement, between the serious and playful, between what is visible and what is not, is central to my practice. Our world is so polarized. I think about finding the positive in the tension of dichotomy. The work does not directly deal with the heaviest topics at the forefront of our society. I know that my strength is greater in the area of diversion. I hope to offer a breathe away from the seriousness, a pause from the weight by intentionally creating a space for playfulness. 

I often work from photo references, which I sketch and occasionally project if the scale is great enough to demand it. Scenes of casual entertainment, portraits of an individual, entirely abstract works of pattern, echoes of the natural world, fragments of figures in space, these are the scenes I create. This is a place filled with depth that the viewer can linger in to discover and connect with the work. A place that the viewer is invited to touch, to feel in a tactile sense, as well as an emotional one. Above all, I design my paintings to evoke curiosity. I want viewers to feel as though they’re encountering something familiar yet strange—a playful invitation.