ShapeShifter is thrilled to present the multi-layered paintings and collages of Meredith Olinger. This show uses the language of pattern and surface to chart the domestic and intimate, taking inspiration from all aspects of life. 

“Every pattern I make is a story, a journal entry, a moment in time. Like the pattern drawn from highlighter pens during my brief stint at a desk job; the pattern I made as a fashion designer; or the pattern I drew from the schefflera I inherited from my grandmother. These patterns get used and reused constantly. This narrative is cyclical, its own pattern repeating. I paint on walls and make paintings that are made to be hung on walls then make wallpapers from installations of paintings on walls. My work is always in motion, looking forward and backward, inward and outward.”

Olinger works with collage, paper, paint and ink. Patterns are layered on top of each other, then ripped away, creating texture shifts - slick with rough, delicate with graphic, handmade with digital - so that no single technique is dominant. Everything is smashed together. This collision creates new and unexpected moments, packing as much information into each piece as possible. 

Since becoming a mother in 2022, Olinger’s work has further focused on how homes accumulate meaning. Our interiors are embedded with care, absence, and continuity. She often repurposes patterns from her household, moving private material into public view.

She states: “Everything in my life is up for grabs. I play with design vs. art, digital vs. handmade, and painting vs. installation. I work to blur, confuse, and eradicate these distinctions.” Olinger has been included in many group shows, including Art of the South, sponsored by Number Inc. Magazine, Painting in the 21st Century at Site: Brooklyn Gallery, and The Color of the Year Exhibition sponsored by Pantone. She has also been featured in multiple publications including New American Paintings, Studio Visit Magazine, and Suboart Magazine. Olinger holds a Masters of Fine Arts from Memphis College of Art and a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Memphis.

Show run: September 1st through October 17th
Opening reception: Friday, September 11th, 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Artist talk: October 3rd, 11:30 am

View the artist's work here.