Profile
Alan Oliver is a South-east London based artist. A self-taught weaver, he completed his MA in Textile Design at Chelsea College of Arts in 2020. His work, encompassing woven textiles, painting and print, is often rooted in a physical place, and explores themes around urban decay, migration and displacement, whilst referencing folklore, song and personal history.
Taking inspiration from his surroundings; the huge, imposing modernist housing estates of Southwark and Lambeth, and the textiles of the pioneering female weavers of the Bauhaus, and often employs the visual language of modernism in his work.
A master craftsman with a keen eye for detail, and possessing a concise, reckognisable design style, Oliver’s work often crosses the divide between art and craft. The very human need to create and the evolution of art born out of functionality is central to his practice.
Education
2020 Chelsea College of Arts (UAL), London | MA, Textile Design
(Recipient of the Neal’s Yard Remedies MA Textile Design Scholarship)
2006 Birkbeck College, University of London | CertHE, Creative Writing
Exhibitions
2025 Critical Edge #5 (Group Show) | ASC Gallery, London, UK
2022 Three in the Chapel (Group Show) | Brompton Chapel, London, UK
2022 Convergence (Group Show) | The Bakery Gallery, London, UK
2021 Here & There | Bermonds Locke, London, UK
2021 Time & Place (with Brian Reinker) | The Fitzrovia Gallery, London, UK
2020 Art Now (group show) | Pretty Vacant Art Space, London, UK
2019 Under Your Feet, The Contemporary Rug | Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin, UK
2018 Convex, Concave | Joanna Bird Gallery, London, UK
2018 MAKE! | Barbican Centre, London, UK
Commissioning Work
For any questions about commissioning work you can send me a message here.