USA Projects

Scott Oliver is best described as a project-based artist. His work has taken many forms including in-home sculptural interventions, a symbiotic restaurant, a collection of discarded LPs, and an elaborate parlor game with students. An interest in the relationship between individuals and their everyday objects and encounters runs throughout Oliver's practice. He commonly uses narrative ellements such as audio interviews and written texts in his projects. He also makes objects, and while he does not claim any particular medium, his background in design and woodworking are often evident in his work.

His current project, Once Upon A Time, Happily Ever After…, is a multi-faceted, semi-public work exploring Oakland's Lake Merritt through different forms of storytelling. It includes an audio tour, artist-designed souvenirs, and a series of interpretive signs. Oliver has been awarded several grants for this project including an Investing In Artists Grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation, an East Bay Fund for Artists Grant from the East Bay Community Foundation, and an Individual Artist Grant from the City of Oakland.

He has exhibited nationally, and widely at Bay Area venues, including the Oakland Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission, Southern Exposure, and the de Young Art Center. In 2005 Oliver co-founded Shotgun Review (now part of Art Practical) with Joseph del Pesco. He was an artist-in-residence at Recology in 2007 and at Headlands Center for the Arts in 2009. Oliver has taught at UC Berkeley and California College of the Arts. Currently his time is divided between parenthood and his art practice. He lives and works in Oakland, CA with his wife and their son.