Lovie Olivia Tuft & Facet

Tuft & Facet is a bright, bold, and immersive display by Lovie Olivia that aims to criticize, survey, comment on, and celebrate the diverse southern-queer-community. Tuft & Facet takes its cultural cues from black, queer, domestic aesthetics and notions of place. Imbued with southern flair and flamboyance, the exhibition includes ‘neo’ frescos and sculptures molded from plaster and found objects.

In the decorative arts, “tuft” is a collection of marks or tentacles clumped together in harmony; “facet” indicates one of many sides, angles, or characteristics. In Tuft & Facet, Olivia approaches the concepts of “tuft” and “facet” with the intention to broaden the reach of cultural exchange among conflicting communities. She uses these the terms “tuft” and “facet” as devices to visually and conceptually express the knotty, elaborate variations of identities that can simultaneously exist while also offering a nod to her hybridized material process and techniques. Within Tuft & Facet, Olivia creates an exhibition which flirts with the multidimensionality of life at the margins.

Lovie Olivia is a native Houstonian and self-directed visual artist who graduated from High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA). Her practice includes painting, printmaking, and installation.

Olivia has exhibited her work at Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Jam Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Womanmade Gallery, Chicago, IL; Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN; Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, TX; Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, TX; Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, TX; University Museum at Texas Southern University, Houston, TX; and Arthello Beck Gallery in Dallas, TX. Early solo exhibitions include Thrice Removed at SPACETAKER ARC (FreshArts, Houston, TX), MATERIA-LIES (Project Row Houses, Houston, TX), and DAMASK (Art League Houston, Houston, TX). Olivia’s work is included in numerous private and public collections including the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institute.

Currently, she collaborates extensively with organizations including Project Row Houses, Art League Houston, and DiverseWorks. She has participated on public panels including BLMHTX, Rice University, Panel Discussion: Queer Political Art In The Wake Of HERO, The Kinder Institute for Urban Research, and NextCity. Olivia is the recipient of two Individual Artist Grants Award, which are funded by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.