Michael Oliveri

Bio / CV

Bio

Michael Oliveri is a conceptual artist whose practice centers on bringing complex, often contradictory ideas into physical form. Engaging contemporary technologies—most recently artificial intelligence—he develops works that translate abstract systems into material, experiential artworks. His approach produces a critical poetics grounded in embodiment, where meaning emerges through the tension between concept and object.

With a career spanning over three decades, Oliveri’s work is rooted in an intersection of art, science, and biology. Educated in microbiology, sculpture, and new genres, he approaches his studio as a site of empirical exploration. His projects draw from a wide range of tools and processes, including digital fabrication, microscopy, and signal-based technologies, forming an expansive material language aligned with contemporary art discourse.

His work reflects both the experimental conditions of the artist’s studio and the analytical discipline of the laboratory. As the founder of the ArtX program at the University of Georgia, he developed a platform for exploring emerging technologies through conceptual art practices.

Currently, Oliveri continues to investigate the human–technology interface, focusing on how intelligent systems can be directed and realized through physical media. His work bridges conceptual inquiry and material execution, producing objects and environments that make complex systems tangible and perceptible.

Academic Leadership

Associate Professor (Tenured) — University of Georgia, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Athens, GA (2006–Present)
Founder & Chair, ArtX: Expanded Forms — 2001–2009; 2017–2020
Founded and developed ArtX as a conceptual fine art program focused on the integration of emerging technologies and physical media. Established it as a platform for interdisciplinary experimentation within contemporary art.
Assistant Professor — Florida State University, School of Art, Tallahassee, FL (1999–2001)

Research & Artistic Inquiry

Generative AI & Teaching Faculty Fellow (2025–2026)
Research focuses on AI-driven artistic experimentation and the human–technology interface within contemporary art practice.
Center for Ultrastructural Research — University of Georgia
Produced large-scale works derived from scanning electron microscopy, transforming microscopic structures into photographic and sculptural forms.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Artist Residency (2011)
Developed work in response to marine scientific research, engaging field-based observation and material translation.
Nanotechnology Collaboration — University of Georgia
Created Innerspace, a body of work translating nanoscale structures into large-scale visual and physical artworks.

Education

M.F.A., New Genres — University of California, Los Angeles (1995)
B.F.A., Sculpture — San Francisco Art Institute (1992)

Awards

Generative AI & Teaching Faculty Fellow, University of Georgia (2025–2026)
Gold Award, World Art Expo, Seoul (2024)
The M. G. Michael Award, University of Georgia (2012)
Virginia Mary Macagnoni Prize, Willson Center (2012)

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2024 — World Art Expo / International Association of Art — Seoul, South Korea
2019 — Fragments of a Violent World — Albany Museum of Art, Albany, GA
2017 — UFO Roadshow — Dashboard Gallery, Joshua Tree, CA
2015 — Under the Sun — Gallery Protocol, Gainesville, FL
2015 — Still Life Images of the Dead: Micrographs — Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA
2010 — Innerspace: The BIO Works — Twin Kittens, Atlanta, GA
2008 — Innerspace, Permaculture and UFOs — Cheekwood Museum, Nashville, TN
2006 — Ultraviolet Acquiescence & Deep Space Drip Culture — Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh, PA
2004 — Fast Food Hydrocarbons and Waves in Outer Space — Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, GA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2021 — Phenomenology of Outer Space — Soil Gallery, Seattle, WA
2015 — NEW YORK NOW — Javits Center / Karen Alweil Studio, New York, NY
2013 — Photo Paris Art Fair — Grand Palais, Paris
2013 — Temporal Distortions — Linda Matney Gallery, Williamsburg, VA
2009 — Darwin (Innerspace series) — Schatten Gallery, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2008 — Innerspace 2 & 64 — Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, IL
2008 — Innerspace 4 — Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
2007 — Power Ball 9 — The Power Plant, Toronto
2002 — The Armory Show — Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Pier 90, New York
2002 — Art Basel — Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Miami Beach, FL
2000 — Havana Biennale — Havana, Cuba

Deep Space Drip Culture

Nasa Nourishment

Hydrocarbons

Pollo Doh Loco

Mice & Polar Bear

Cage'n Fish

Reverse Skinner Box

Neon

Havana 2000

Public Art

Drawings from Jupiter

Nano Insects

Mieses to Pieces

Nano Scapes