Archive of Author | Lindsay Olson

About Lindsay Olson

Lindsay Olson’s artistic practice grows out of an intense curiosity about the ways our society is supported by science and technology. Lindsay uses textiles techniques borrowed from high fashion to both connect with viewers and create richly textured, stitched, and beaded surfaces that reflect the research she invests in her artwork. She has partnered with: Fermi National Accelerator as their first artist in residence, the CMS experiment at CERN in Switzerland, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Center for Acoustics Research and Education at the University of New Hampshire, and the Field Museum. Lindsay speaks widely about her projects and has given lectures for: The Textile Society of America 2020 symposium, the University of Illinois Saturday Physics for Everyone, the Field Museum’s Women in Science lecture series, The Chicago Council of Science and Technology, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Lake FX event, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. She taught in the Fashion Studies Department at Columbia College Chicago for over 20 years and her work has been featured in Scientific American, Physics Teacher Magazine, Sci/Art Magazine, Surface Design Journal and Textile Artist.org. Lindsay’s unique pieces have also been exhibited at the Schingoethe Art Museum, Woman Made Gallery, Zhou Brothers Art Gallery, the Field Museum, Illinois Institute of Technology, The Bridgeport Art Center, and the University of New Hampshire. Her works are currently touring in Europe.

Lindsay Olson’s artistic practice grows out of an intense curiosity about the ways our society is supported by science and technology. Lindsay uses textiles techniques borrowed from high fashion to both connect with viewers and create richly textured, stitched, and beaded surfaces that reflect the research she invests in her artwork. She has partnered with: Fermi National Accelerator as their first artist in residence, the CMS experiment at CERN in Switzerland, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Center for Acoustics Research and Education at the University of New Hampshire, and the Field Museum.

Lindsay speaks widely about her projects and has given lectures for: The Textile Society of America 2020 symposium, the University of Illinois Saturday Physics for Everyone, the Field Museum’s Women in Science lecture series, The Chicago Council of Science and Technology, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Lake FX event, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. She taught in the Fashion Studies Department at Columbia College Chicago for over 20 years and her work has been featured in Scientific American, Physics Teacher Magazine, Sci/Art Magazine, Surface Design Journal and Textile Artist.org.  

Lindsay’s unique pieces have also been exhibited at the Schingoethe Art Museum, Woman Made Gallery, Zhou Brothers Art Gallery, the Field Museum, Illinois Institute of Technology, The Bridgeport Art Center, and the University of New Hampshire. Her works are currently touring in Europe.

Articles with Lindsay Olson

Our Once and Future Wetlands: Art, Ecology and Engineering

Lindsay Olson’s artistic practice grows out of an intense curiosity about the ways our society is supported by science and technology. She has worked as Fermi National Accelerator’s first artist in residence, with the CMS experiment at CERN in Switzerland, with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Field Museum, the Chicago Botanic Garden and with the Center for Acoustics Research and Education at the University of New Hampshire.

In 2022/24, she worked as the first artist in residence with The Wetlands Initiative, a scrappy wetland restoration group working in the Midwest,USA.

The Art and Science of Sound in The Sea

“We are visual creatures. But underwater, visibility falls off dramatically and the kinds of visual observations that biologists use to study terrestrial ecosystems are not practical. Studying what is happening under the ocean requires a different approach. Ocean Acoustics uses sound to listen in to what’s happening and collect data that illuminates life in the ocean. Land ecologists study landscape, geology and weather. Ocean acousticians study soundscapes. This project makes visible the invisible world of sound in the sea. I created densely embroidered silk panels that help describe what researchers are discovering. The artwork illustrates the largest daily migration of zooplankton, the sound enhancing SOFAR channel, phytoplankton and the dramatic vocalizations of marine life gathered by hydrophones. I drew inspiration from the work of the Swiss embroidery artist Lissy Funk and the work of textile artist Lenore Tawney.” – Lindsay Olson.