In Reaching New Heights[Finding New Lows], Jacob Olsen’s mixed-media works combine stark geometric isolation, pattern, and evocative imagery to convey a paradoxical sense of stability and unease to the viewer. Using collage material sourced from US Cold War era media, Jacob reveals a disembodied American lexicon, exposing psychological projections of a nation on the brink. This body of work inspects the way Americans project and experience their own culture through a lens of wealth and status tinted with fear and unquenchable desire.

All images are collaged image transfers from magazines and acrylic on cradled birch panels.