Olek (artist)

Last updated

Olek
OLEK.jpg
Olek in 2016
Born
Agata Oleksiak

(1978-04-05) 5 April 1978 (age 46) [1]
NationalityPolish American
EducationAdam Mickiewicz University
Known forperformance, installation, sculpture, fibre art
Patron(s)National Endowment for the Arts, [3] Fund for Creative Communities [4]

Agata Oleksiak (born 5 April 1978), [1] known as Olek, is a Polish artist who is based in New York City. Their works include sculptures, installations such as crocheted bicycles, inflatables, performance pieces, and fiber art. They have covered buildings, sculptures, people, and an apartment with crochet and have exhibited in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Turkey, France, Italy, Poland, and Costa Rica.

Contents

Early life and career

Olek graduated with a degree in Cultural Studies from Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland, in 2000. [5] They then attended LaGuardia College, where they won the National Arts Club's award for sculpture. [6] Their early work included sculptures, costumes, and inflatables.

Olek first used crocheting as part of their art in 2003 after moving to the United States. They "wowed critics" at the Williamsburg Arts and Historical Society Surrealist Fashion Show that year. [7] In 2004, Olek created "a large tentlike piece made of crocheted strips of cloth, hair, cassette tape and stuffed animals" work for a four-person show. The New York Times said this work gave the show at 5BE Gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan, "a tour-de-force center to work around." [8] Their crocheted sculpture Spill (2005), featured in the Washington Post, included 1,300 skinny white balloons cascading in an "intestinal shape". [9] They participated in The Waterways, a "socially conscious" art project on a vaporetto water bus during the 2005 Venice Biennale; their work, called Camouflage, "exploring the androgyny of fixed identity, sexuality, and culture". [10] In September and October of that year, Olek crocheted the windows of a burned-out, abandoned building near their artist residency in Utica, New York. [11] [12] During this period, their costumes for theatre and dance performances drew critical praise, [13] [14] although a dance performance relating to one of their sculptures was criticized. [15]

Philosophy

Olek's creative philosophy is that "Life and art are inseparable." [11] In 2009, they stated:

I think crochet, the way I create it, is a metaphor for the complexity and interconnectedness of our body and its systems and psychology. The connections are stronger as one fabric as opposed to separate strands, but, if you cut one, the whole thing will fall apart. Relationships are complex and greatly vary situation to situation. They are developmental journeys of growth, and transformation. Time passes, great distances are surpassed and the fabric which individuals are composed of compiles and unravels simultaneously. [16]

As an active supporter of women's rights, sexual equality, and freedom of expression, Olek has used the broad appeal of their work to display their solidarity with those stifled by oppressive laws worldwide. Through their body of work, Olek has always sought to bring color and life, energy, and surprise to the living space. [17]

Selected works

Olek has exhibited in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Turkey, [18] France, Italy, Spain, [19] Finland, [20] Sweden, [21] Poland, and Costa Rica. [5] In 2009 and 2016, they were a resident artist at Brazil's Instituto Sacatar. [16] [22]

Olek's crocheted full body clothing, dubbed "wearable sculptures", [23] has been used in various projects where Olek took their participants onto the New York City Subway. [24] Olek's DUMBO Arts Festival piece was "Painting to Shake Hands" on an "event score" in Yoko Ono's Grapefruit . Participants wore their sculptures and placed a hand through a stretched canvas to shake the hands of passers-by. [11] A second performance was dubbed "Crocheted Grapefruit". [4] Performance piece "Thank You for Your Visit, Have a Nice Day", performed on Manhattan's 14th Street during the 2009 event, Art in Odd Places:SIGN, was inspired "by a uniformed attendant holding a "Hold the Handrail" sign in a Taipei metro station". [25] Performers held placards based on signs noticed by Olek that were "emphatic, ironic or amused dialogue with their location." [23]

Their first solo exhibition, "Knitting is for Pus****", [26] was held at Christopher Henry Gallery. In 2010 they exhibited a false apartment in which the contents, including the residents, were covered in crocheting. [27] The installation took years to prepare using yarn skeins. [28] It was originally scheduled to run from 9 September to 17 October 2010, [29] but closed in May 2011 after a series of extensions. During that period, the gallery exhibited their work at the SCOPE Art Show in Miami. [30] In this and other works, members of the public or the media were included, [31] crocheted directly into suits without traditional fasteners. [24] [32] According to the gallery, after the exhibition closed the work was priced at $90,000. [28]

In late December 2010, Olek installed a crocheted suit over "Charging Bull" (1989), a statue on Wall Street, as a tribute to Arturo Di Modica, who installed the sculpture without permission. A park caretaker tore the suit from the statue two hours later. [33] [34] Olek was the 2010-2011 Workspace artist-in-residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, [11] during which they created and performed at the Whitney Museum of American Art. [35] In May 2011, they won the "Sculpture In Situ" category at the second Urban Arts Awards (Artaq). [36]

Olek in their installation Homage to Keith Haring, 2011 Olek by olek.jpg
Olek in their installation Homage to Keith Haring , 2011

In August 2011, Olek held a solo exhibition at Jonathan LeVine Gallery. [37] They collaborated with director Gina Vecchione and producer Michelle Price to create a short silent film called YARNANA, through Kickstarter-based fundraising. "Inspired by the silent film genre, it relies solely on powerful music, sound design and physical expression. The characters speak through modern dance, physical comedy, capoeira, martial arts, poi, belly dancing, breakdance, acrobatics, gymnastics and the instincts of soul searchers." The project's funding was ultimately canceled on Kickstarter, [38] [39] but the film was still created, and it won a film festival award. [40] [41] Their first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom, called "I do not expect to be a mother but I do expect to die alone", was influenced by their experiences while they lived there. [42]

Olek changed materials for a joint exhibition with David E. Peterson in New York City; [43] they used thousands of semi-inflated balloons, [44] crocheted like yarn to create a cave-like structure inside the gallery. The artist noted their love of the ephemeral nature of the medium; the balloons often popped during the creation of the installation, and required immediate repair to prevent it unraveling entirely. [45] The installation will gradually wither. [46] They said that balloons represent "the happiest moments in life — which are often just as impermanent". [45] Some visitors noted a pungent scent of latex. [44] Olek was inspired by their time as a traveling clown for Health Plus, when they would visit poor New York neighborhoods. [47] They had previously used balloons during their residency in Brazil. [47]

They were included in the Renwick Gallery's 2012–2013 40 under 40: Craft Futures. [2] [48] [49]

In 2014, as one of a number of underwater crocheted works produced in collaboration with PangeaSeed to draw attention to threats to the oceanic ecosystem, Olek covered a bomb-shaped sculpture at the Cancún Underwater Museum in Mexico with a crocheted "cosy"; the museum complained that this had harmed aquatic life. [50] In 2015, as part of St+Art Delhi 2015, they covered a women's shelter in Delhi with crochet to raise awareness of its existence among those who need it. [51]

In April 2016, they draped the facade of Virginia MOCA with a giant crocheted New York Times front page, dated 2020 and featuring ecologically themed good news stories. [52] Also in 2016, they created an installation at Verket, a museum in Avesta, Sweden, and was aided by Syrian and Ukrainian women refugees; after hearing their stories, they were inspired to cover a house in Avesta and another in Kerava, Finland, entirely with pink crochet to illustrate the power of women. [53] [54] While working in Avesta, the refugee women described their stories of how they had lost everything during the war. This motivated Olek to create a short film, "In the Blink of an Eye," where they exploded a crocheted house inside the Verket Museum. [55] On 3 November 2016, a pink blanket crocheted by Olek and thirty-eight volunteers, featuring Hillary Clinton's face and the hashtag #ImWithHer in black and white, was nailed to a billboard in New Jersey. [56] In December 2016, Olek exhibited the piece entitled, "You Can't Fool All The People," at MANA Wynwood in Miami. [57]

2011 arrest

On 6 October 2011, Olek and a man were involved in an incident in a bar in London. Charged with unlawful wounding, unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and two counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place, [58] Olek was tagged with an ankle monitor, was under house arrest for over a month, [58] but was allowed to attend a show in Poland. [47] [59] In September 2012 at Southwark Crown Court, they were found not guilty of unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, but guilty of unlawful wounding; [47] the following November they were sentenced to home curfew. After serving their sentence, they installed a crochet piece with the message "kiss the future" on "5 block[s] of Hell in Vancouver" and then a 65-foot crochet banner with the same message in Polish in a prison in Katowice. [60]

Notes

  1. Olek is sometimes listed as being from Silesia, Poland; Ruda Śląska is a city within the administrative division of Silesia.

Related Research Articles

Crochet is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term crochet, which means 'hook'. Hooks can be made from a variety of materials, such as metal, wood, bamboo, bone or even plastic. The key difference between crochet and knitting, beyond the implements used for their production, is that each stitch in crochet is completed before the next one is begun, while knitting keeps many stitches open at a time. Some variant forms of crochet, such as Tunisian crochet and broomstick lace, do keep multiple crochet stitches open at a time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knitting</span> Method of forming fabric

Knitting is a method for production of textile fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarn</span> Long continuous length of interlocked fibres

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or other lubricants to withstand the stresses involved in sewing. Embroidery threads are yarns specifically designed for needlework. Yarn can be made of a number of natural or synthetic materials, and comes in a variety of colors and thicknesses. Although yarn may be dyed different colours, most yarns are solid coloured with a uniform hue.

<i>Alamo</i> (sculpture) Sculpture at Astor Place in Manhattan, New York, U.S.

Alamo, also known as the Astor Place Cube or simply The Cube, is an outdoor sculpture by Tony Rosenthal, located on Astor Place, in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is a black cube, 8 feet (2.4 m) long on each side, mounted on a corner. The cube is made of Cor-Ten steel and weighs about 1,800 pounds (820 kg). The faces of the cube are not flat but have various indentations, protrusions, and ledges. The sculpture's name, Alamo, is designated on a small plaque on the base and was selected by the artist's wife because its scale and mass reminded her of the Alamo Mission. It was fabricated by Lippincott, Inc.

The Albert Einstein Memorial is a monumental bronze statue by sculptor Robert Berks, depicting Albert Einstein seated with manuscript papers in hand. It is located in central Washington, D.C., United States, in a grove of trees at the southwest corner of the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences at 2101 Constitution Avenue N.W., near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Two replicas exist at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daina Taimiņa</span> Latvian mathematician

Daina Taimiņa is a Latvian mathematician, retired adjunct associate professor of mathematics at Cornell University, known for developing a way of modeling hyperbolic geometry with crocheted objects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gagosian Gallery</span> Contemporary and modern art gallery with multiple locations

The Gagosian Gallery is a modern and contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. As of 2024, Gagosian employs 300 people at 19 exhibition spaces – including New York City, London, Paris, Basel, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Rome, Athens, Geneva, and Hong Kong – designed by architects such as Caruso St John, Richard Gluckman, Richard Meier, Jean Nouvel, and Annabelle Selldorf.

<i>Amigurumi</i> Japanese craft of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures. The word is a compound of the Japanese words 編み ami, meaning "crocheted or knitted", and 包み kurumi, literally "wrapping", as in 縫い包み nuigurumi "(sewn) stuffed doll". Amigurumi vary in size and there are no restrictions about size or look. While the art of amigurumi has been known in Japan for several decades, the craft first started appealing to the masses in other countries, especially in the West, in 2003. By 2006, amigurumi were reported to be some of the most popular items on Etsy, an online craft marketplace, where they typically sold for $10 to $100.

Shannon Okey is an American writer and knit designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Hand Knitting Association</span>

The UK Hand Knitting Association (UKHKA) is a not-for-profit British organisation dedicated to promoting hand knitting in the UK. Through a variety of initiatives and the assistance of a nationwide network of volunteers who pass on their skills, the UKHKA focus on ensuring a vibrant future for all aspects of yarn crafts.

A knitting club is a social group in which knitting and crochet enthusiasts gather to do needlework together. They are a feature of the 21st-century revival of hand knitting which began in America and has spread to most of Europe. Despite the name, knitting clubs are not limited to knitting; both crochet-centered and knit-centered clubs are collectively called "knitting clubs." While knitting has never gone away completely, this latest reincarnation is less about the make-do and mend of the 1940s and 1950s, and more about making a statement about individuality and developing a sense of community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knitta Please</span> American art group

Knitta Please, also known as simply Knitta, is the group of artists who began the "knit graffiti" movement in Houston, Texas in 2005. They are known for wrapping public architecture—e.g. lampposts, parking meters, telephone poles, and signage—with knitted or crocheted material, a process known as "knit graffiti", "yarn storming" or "yarnbombing". The mission is to make street art "a little more warm and fuzzy."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Koons</span> American sculptor and painter (born 1955)

Jeffrey Lynn Koons is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania. His works have sold for substantial sums, including at least two record auction prices for a work by a living artist: US$58.4 million for Balloon Dog (Orange) in 2013 and US$91.1 million for Rabbit in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Wilson (artist)</span> American visual artist (born 1949)

Anne Wilson is a Chicago-based visual artist. Wilson creates sculpture, drawings, Internet projects, photography, performance, and DVD stop motion animations employing table linens, bed sheets, human hair, lace, thread and wire. Her work extends the traditional processes of fiber art to other media. Wilson is a professor in the Department of Fiber and Material Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarn bombing</span> Type of graffiti or street art

Yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk. It is also called wool bombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting, or graffiti knitting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lion Brand Yarns</span> Business enterprise, producer of knitting and craft yarns

Lion Brand Yarns, also known as Lion Brand Yarn Company and Lion Brand Yarn, was founded in 1878 in the United States. It is the oldest producer of knitting and craft yarn in the United States, and also publishes several knitting and crochet newsletters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knit the City</span> London knitting group

Knit the City is a group of "graffiti knitting and crochet" street artists founded in London, England in 2009. The collective is credited with being the first to go beyond the simple 'cosies' of early graffiti knitting to tell 'stitched stories', using knitted and crochet amigurumi creatures and objects in their public installations. This practice has been taken up by groups internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illusion knitting</span> Form of textile art

Illusion knitting or shadow knitting is a form of textile art, in which the knitting is viewed as simply narrow stripes from one angle, and as an image when viewed from another angle. Illusion knitting has been recognised as an art form since 2010, largely due to the advances made by Steve Plummer who has created several large and detailed pieces. Similar effects occur in Tunisian crochet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Duneier</span> American economist

Stephen Duneier is an American professional investment manager, strategy consultant, speaker, lecturer, author, artist and Guinness World Record holder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tempestry Project</span> Arts project promoting climate change awareness

The Tempestry Project is a collaborative fiber arts project that presents global warming data in visual form through knitted or crocheted artwork. The project is part of a larger "data art" movement and the developing field of climate change art, which seeks to exploit the human tendency to value personal experience over data by creating accessible experiential representations of the data.

References

  1. 1 2 "Olek-Info". Facebook. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  2. 1 2 Wendy Goodman (May 2011). "I Yarn-Bombed This". New York Magazine. New York NY: New York Media Holdings. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  3. Olek, Agata (15 October 2009). "Please, join me! and JUST BRING YOUR CLOTHES". OLEK. New York NY. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 Olek, Agata (17 May 2011). "Crocheted Grapefruit Performances June 19 (Sun), 20 (Mon), 21 (Tues)". OLEK. New York NY. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Olek Archived 12 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine ", professional resume. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  6. "28th Annual Student Show" (PDF). The National Arts Club Bulletin: 3. Spring 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  7. Cukrov, Claudia (7 May 2009). "Crochet Work by Olek". pskf. New York NY. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  8. Cotter, Holland (6 August 2004). "ART IN REVIEW; 'The Day After I Destroyed the Women I Wished I Had Not Destroyed Them'". The New York Times. New York NY. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  9. Padget, Jonathan (10 February 2005). "Knit One, Swirls Too". Washington Post. Washington DC. p. C05. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  10. "Waterways 2005 Hits the Venice Biennale". Varaart-issued press release. New York NY: PRWEB. 9 June 2005. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Gagliano, Maria (5 January 2011). "Made in Brooklyn: Olek". Brooklyn Based. Brooklyn, New York City NY. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  12. "Agata Olek Oleksiak". SculptureSpace. 2005. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  13. Dunning, Jennifer (14 June 2007). "Sex-Positive Feminism and the Single Snail". The New York Times. New York NY. Retrieved 13 June 2011. In "Snail" Ms. Anthony slowly moved around the stage in a fantastical piece of looping, wearable sculpture of yarn, rope, twine and wire, created by Agata Oleksiak.
  14. Dunning, Jennifer (9 December 2006). "The Performer Onstage and Her Image on Walls". The New York Times. New York NY. Retrieved 13 June 2011. Agata Oleksiak's costumes, bunched and lacy scraps of white and bright color, added to the fairy-tale look.
  15. Dunning, Jennifer (21 November 2005). "Disrupting Surprises Pounce Amid Serenity". The New York Times. New York NY. Retrieved 13 June 2011. The solo was less interesting when they related to a sculpture by Agata Oleksiak - "unwrapped for the first time" on Saturday, the program promised breathlessly - that consisted of a small stepladder wrapped in white muslin and crammed with balls.
  16. 1 2 Lee, See-ming (16 October 2009). "Agata Olek / 13th Annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival NYC 2009: Part 8 of 10 / Art + Artists". SML Pro Blog. New York NY. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  17. "Olek: White Mermaid". heliotrope foundation. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  18. "Olek". Workspace: Current Session. Manhattan NY: Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. 2011. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  19. "Olek - Delimbo Gallery - Arte urbano & Graffiti". Delimbo Gallery - Arte urbano & Graffiti (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  20. Lott-Lavigna, Ruby. "Agata Oleksiak is helping refugees find their voice – using yarn". WIRED UK. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  21. Writer, Priscilla Frank Arts; Post, The Huffington (6 September 2016). "Proof That Covering Houses In Pink Yarn Makes The World A Better Place". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  22. "Fairy Tales Are Not Real". INPUT Journal. New York NY: INPUT Journal Foundation. 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  23. 1 2 "Art in Odd Places 2009". Time Out New York. New York NY. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  24. 1 2 Romano, Jowy (20 October 2010). "The World of Olek". Subway Art Blog. New York NY. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  25. Collet, Michele (2010). "The Incredible Crocheted World of Olek". Environmental Graffiti. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  26. Note that this is indeed the official name, with asterisks. This represents "Knitting is for Pussies".
  27. Caporosso, Michele Wad (13 January 2011). "Crochet art". Vogue Italy. Milano, Italy: Condè Nast S.p.A. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.; "Crafting a crochet world - in pictures". The Observer. London. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.; Parent, Marie-Joëlle (11 April 2011). "De l'art urbain au crochet". canoe divertissement (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  28. 1 2 LaBarre, Suzanne (16 May 2011). "An Entire Apartment Covered In Crochet, On Sale For $90,000". Fast Co. Design. New York NY: Mansueto Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  29. ""OLEK: Knitting is for Pus****" at Christopher Henry Gallery". SOHO Journal. Manhattan NY. 2010. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  30. "Olek - Knitting is for Pus**** Closing Party!". Artlog. Brooklyn NY. 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  31. Dicker, Geoffrey (4 February 2011). "Untitled segment". NBC News at 5. New York NY. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  32. Olek, Christopher Henry (26 November 2010). Knitting is For Pus**** (streaming video, also as MP4) (documentary short). New York NY: Vimeo. Event occurs at 00:00:10. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  33. Perler, Elie (27 December 2010). "Olek crocheted the Wall Street Bull". Bowery Boogie. New York NY. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  34. Blanco, Octavio (28 December 2010). "Cozy Wall Street Bull sends warmest wishes". CNNMoney. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  35. Ciari, Sabina. "Model/Performance Artist- Wearable Sculpture by Olek". Sabina Ciari portfolio. Behance. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  36. "Nominated for the Artaq Awards 2011 and winners". 2nd Urban Arts Award. 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  37. "Olek: The Bad Artists Imitate, The Great Artists Steal". Jonathan LeVine Gallery. New York NY. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  38. "YARNANA (Canceled)". Kickstarter. 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  39. Perler, Elie (13 June 2011). "Olek's Next Project is "YARNANA" Film". New York NY: Bowery Boogie. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  40. "Nice Shoes Color Grades YARNANA". Below the Line. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  41. "New York". Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  42. "OLEK London Solo Exhibition". Hooked. London UK. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  43. "Exhibit: OLEK and David E. Peterson – 2 person show – "Synthethic Nature"". Art In New York City. New York NY. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  44. 1 2 Perler, Elie (16 March 2012). "Olek's Crocheted Balloon Funhouse at the Krause Gallery". Bowery Boogie. New York NY. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  45. 1 2 Shapiro, Julie (16 March 2012). "Balloons Replace Yarn in Crochet Artist Olek's New Show". DNAinfo. New York NY. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  46. Tetzloff, Adam (17 March 2012). "Olek". Downtown at Dawn. New York NY. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  47. 1 2 3 4 Zuckerman, Esther (17 March 2012). "Olek Inflates Her Work At New Show". The Village Voice. New York NY. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  48. O'Steene, Danielle (23 July 2012). "'40 under 40: Craft Futures' at the Renwick Gallery". The Washington Post.
  49. "40 under 40: Craft Futures". Renwick Gallery. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution. 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  50. Thomas, Emily (20 August 2014). "Artist Olek's Underwater Crochet 'Bomb' May Have Killed Marine Life". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  51. Rojo, Jaime; Harrington, Steven (25 March 2015). "Gender, Caste, And Crochet: OLEK Transforms A Shelter In Delhi". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  52. Rojo, Jaime; Harrington, Steven (25 May 2016). "Olek Crochets The New York Times: 'Good News' At Virginia MOCA". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  53. Chua, Jasmin Malik (1 September 2016). "Olek Covers the Facade of Houses in Sweden, Finland With Pink Crochet". Ecouterre. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  54. Bellucci, Tara (2 September 2016). "This House in Finland is Totally Covered in Pink Crochet". Apartment Therapy. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  55. "In the Blink of an Eye". Vimeo. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  56. Crocheting Hillary - The New Yorker
  57. EvanPricco. "Juxtapoz Magazine - The Juxtapoz Clubhouse @ MANA Wynwood". Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  58. 1 2 "WHY do I need your help?". Olek's appeal. London UK. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  59. Gray, Rosie (14 December 2011). "Crochet Artist Olek Is in Legal Trouble in London". The Village Voice. New York NY. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  60. "Street Artist Olek Goes To Jail in Poland". Brooklyn Street Art. 18 January 2014.