"At AiR Green, I will continue to engage with textiles, drawing inspiration from the surrounding natural environment. The residency offers a unique opportunity to immerse myself in this landscape, allowing it to shape my practice in subtle, unexpected ways. Through sketches, research, and the careful observation of my surroundings, I aim to distill these experiences into a new series of works—perhaps a quilt or a collection of smaller textile pieces. This process will be one of absorption, of allowing the environment to influence both the materials and the narratives woven into my work. In this dialogue between nature and craftsmanship, I hope to create a body of work that reflects not only the external world but also the internal transformations that arise from this encounter.."
Artist´s Statement
Central to my practice is the use of sewing, a labor historically linked to femininity and domesticity, which I reframe through large-scale textile installations, sculptures, and drawings. This approach not only redefines the female body but also celebrates sewing as a physical and artistic labor, emphasizing empathy, resilience, and solidarity with overlooked social groups. My work explores the intersections of art, research, and cultural practice, challenging traditional iconographies, especially those surrounding the female body. By revisiting Western visual histories with a subversive, contemporary, female-centered gaze, I invite reflection and re-evaluation of these deeply embedded symbols and narratives.
Biography
Olga Ulmann is a German artist and artistic researcher. She holds an MFA in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths University of London and an MA with distinction in Art Education and Art History from Goethe University, Frankfurt. Her work has been exhibited in both solo and group shows in independent spaces and cultural institutions, including the Ministry of Science and Art Wiesbaden (GER), Godsbanen, Aarhus (DEN), Frappant, Hamburg (GER), as well as the White Cube Gallery and Saatchi Gallery (UK).
Ulmann has been invited to serve as a juror and to give art talks internationally, including at The Brooklyn Rail, USA, and at MAWA in Winnipeg, Canada. Her work was nominated for the BLOOOM Award in 2019, and in 2021, she was awarded the annual artist residency at Künstlerhaus Meinersen, accompanied by the Landkreis Gifhorn Foundation scholarship. In 2023, she participated in an artist residency at Schwanenwerder, Berlin, provided by the Cordts Art Foundation. In 2025, she will be attending artist residencies at AiR Green, Norway, and L’AiR Arts Cite Falguiere, Paris.
