Olivia Kays
okays@mica.edu
Olivia Kays integrates how ideals of femininity have been both constructed and consumed, in the sense of how they function as systems of control disguised as aspirations. The postwar period represents a milestone where femininity has always been a social expectation, but became much more emphasized as a marketed product. This moment continues to infect contemporary life and shapes how women ultimately internalize notions of beauty, value, and respectability.
She is continuing her schooling and getting her Master of Fine Arts at the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting. Her work is currently spread throughout Indiana and Maryland for permanent displays and exhibitions.
Education
MFA 2025-Current. LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art
BFA 2022-2025. Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts, Purdue University
Recent Exhibitions
2025 - Current
Featured Artist, Wall Installations, Adee’s Tulips, Fells Point, Maryland.
Solo Wall Installation with Ongoing Artwork Display, The Lobby by Greyhouse Coffee, Lafayette, Indiana.
(Work displayed throughout the coffee shop with a dedicated wall in the dining room)
Featured Artist, Solo Wall Installation, The Eleventh House Coffee, Lafayette, Indiana.
2025
Purdue Senior Exhibition, “Untitled” 2025, Legs That Kill, As Pretty As Can Be, Overtime Worker, Inches Matter, Patti and Rusty Rueff Gallery, Pao Hall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
National Society of Arts & Letters Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition 2025, Free In My Heart! (Featured Artwork), FAR Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana. (Featured on promotional flyers)
Purdue Exhibition - 2025, You’ll Never Be More Than Just A Woman, (Awarded First Place In Painting), All I’ve Become, Robert L. Ringel Galley, Stewart Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Just 13 Pounds Away From Love (Solo Display), Art Office on the Third Floor of the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Yue-Kong Pao Hall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
2024
Purdue Juried Photography Exhibition - 2024, A Collaboration, You’ll Never Be More Than Just A Woman, All I’ve Become, Patti and Rusty Rueff Gallery, Pao Hall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Emptiness- 2024 (3rd Annual Exhibition and Promotion,) Biafarin, International Online Exhibition.
Anti-War 2024 (3rd Annual Exhibition and Promotion,) Biafarian, International Online Exhibition.
People - 2024 (2nd annual Exhibition and Publication,) Biafarian, International Online Exhibition.
Existence: Birth, Life, Death - 2024 (Annual Juried Exhibition, Promotion, Sales,) Biafarian, International Online Exhibition.
Boundless - 2024 (Annual Juried Exhibition, Promotion, Sales,) Biafarian, International Online Exhibition.
True Beauty - 2024 (3rd Annual Exhibition, Promotion, Sales,) Biafarian, International Online Exhibition.
Still Life - 2024 (2nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Publication, Sales,) Biafarian, International Online Exhibition.
2023
Indianapolis Art Center College Gallery Invitational, Tuesday, BPD, Schizophrenia, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.
HMVC Gallery [Unveiling The Layers,] Displayed in New York on Screens in Times Square, Intentional Online Exhibition.