Noah Olsen

Noah Olsen is a Missouri Ozarks–based painter whose work blends classical technique with surrealist narrative. His paintings are meticulously rendered in oils and often explore symbolic themes of birth, life, transformation, self-reflection, decay, and death. Merging the precision of realist painting with dreamlike imagery, Olsen creates visual myths—scenes that draw the viewer into a climactic moment and invite them to interpret the unwritten story through their own experience.

Though his subjects often lean toward the somber or macabre, Olsen’s work is defined by a delicate, atmospheric beauty. Each painting balances psychological depth with technical clarity, offering an intimate look at the human condition through symbolic storytelling.

Born in Rhode Island in 1992, he earned his Associate in Arts degree from Bristol Community College in 2013 before pursuing a more rigorous traditional training at the Academy of Realist Art Boston, where he studied for three years after receiving their 2016 scholarship. Olsen has received numerous accolades for his work, including Best in Show awards from the Richeson Small Works Exhibition, the Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition, and the Guild of Boston Artists Juried Exhibition.