Douglas Dean Ohlson (November 18, 1936 – June 29, 2010) was an American

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

ist who specialized in geometric patterns. Ohlson was born on November 18, 1936, in

Cherokee, Iowa Cherokee is a city and the county seat of in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,199 at the 2020 Census, down from 5,369 in 2000. History Cherokee was laid out as a town in 1870, and was named for the Southeast Indian ...

and attended Bethel College before serving in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. After completing his military service, he attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where he was awarded a degree in studio art in 1961. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he studied at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

under abstract sculptor Tony Smith, but dropped out when he could no longer afford tuition. He worked as an assistant to Smith and started teaching at Hunter College in 1964.Smith, Roberta
"Doug Ohlson, Painter of Vivid Abstracts, Dies at 73"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 23, 2010. Accessed September 15, 2010. Ohlson's early work was included in an exhibit organized by art historian E. C. Goossen at the

Hudson River Museum The Hudson River Museum, located in Trevor Park in Yonkers, New York, is the largest museum in Westchester County, and features the only public planetarium in the county. While often considered an art museum due to its extensive collection of Hu ...

titled "8 Young Artists" in 1964, and had a solo show that year at the Fischbach Gallery, the first of seven at that location. Goossen also included work by Ohlson in the 1968 exhibition "The Art of the Real: 1948-1968" at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

which focused on the development and history of geometric art in the United States. Sharply defined and repeated geometric shapes were characteristic of his earliest painting, that were described by Goossen as depicting "yellowish pink and green dawns, blue noons, and red-orange sunsets that swiftly slide from purple to black", hypothesizing that Ohlson's experience growing up and working long days on the family's farm gave him a unique passion for color. Ohlson was recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1968.Doug Ohlson , Bio
, DougOlson.com. Accessed July 25, 2010. His works in the 1970s and 1980s, often featured at Susan Caldwell Inc., had characteristically rougher backgrounds. His later work was displayed in numerous solo exhibitions at the Andre Zarre Gallery, in addition to surveys of his work at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

and at Hunter College, where he taught for 35 years. His works are included in the collections of the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

and the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

. Ohlson died at age 73 on June 29, 2010, after a fall in front of his Manhattan apartment. He was survived by his second wife, Michele Toohey. He was divorced from his first wife, painter Jane Kaufman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohlson, Doug 1936 births 2010 deaths American abstract artists Bethel University (Minnesota) alumni Hunter College alumni United States Marines University of Minnesota alumni People from Cherokee, Iowa