Olivia Guterson

Olivia Guterson is a Detroit-based multidisciplinary artist and mother who in her practice is thinking about brokenness, refusal, and fugitivity. She choreographs bones, shells, beads, soil, and colors into textures, gestures, rhythms, and offerings that challenge notions of her sense of becoming human as contained and fixed.

Her practice is a way of communing with and honoring her Black and Jewish ancestors. In 2024, she received her MFA in Painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She has been awarded the 2024 Beau Award, the 2023 Gilbert Fellowship, the 2022 Gilbert Fellowship, and the 2022 Emerging Artist Fellowship. She has held residencies at McArthur Binion’s Modern Ancient Brown (Detroit, MI); Sibyls Shrine (Pittsburgh, PA); and El Sur (Mexico City).

Olivia is a founding member of ArtMamas Alliance and was the inaugural visual artist for Michigan State Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Juneteenth Proclamation in 2022. Her work has been shown at the Cranbrook Art Museum, Arab American National Museum, EXPO Chicago, Louis Buhl Gallery, Prizm - Art Basel, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Jewish Artist Salon, Scarab Club, Janice Charach Gallery, and more.

Her work can be found in many private collections, as well as public, including the Book Tower (Detroit,MI) and the Shinola Hotel (Detroit, MI). She is a published author, muralist, and birth advocate.