OLYA SALIMOVA
olya salimova is a Russian American visual and performance artist who takes the human body as a center and starting point to examine such themes as compassion, time and memory, transformation, migration, adaptability, home and belonging, rituals, mythology, human relationships with the Earth, and poetry.
salimova moves across the borders of disciplines and her work manifests through a fluid interplay of media and methods. her paintings and sculptures are characterized by rich textures, the presence of organic materials, solid yet morphing human forms, and imaginative narratives.
salimova often uses her own body in performance where she tests its different abilities, the idea that has been present in her work since her bodybuilding era. she pushes her body to communicate by gesture and spoken word, and by interacting with other human bodies, found objects, nature, masks, and music.
salimova draws upon a diverse background including degrees in philology, English, BFA and an MBA, as well as her previous experiences as translator and bodybuilder. her studio in Chicago is also a hub for other artists to congregate for conversation, share work, and collaborate.
outside her studio, salimova can be often found in her garden, tending to plants and bees, or building and repairing things for sustainable living.
salimova (b.1978, Vladivostok, Russia) earned her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2022, and a BA in Philology at Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia, in 2000. notable solo exhibitions include Arrival at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL; The Cyborgs Undone, the Ghosts Came to Light, the Ancestors Control the Future, at the Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL (2024); and Beesworks, SITE Galleries, Chicago, IL (2021). recent group exhibitions include What Immigrants Bring, Agitator, Chicago, IL (2025); Elemental Impact, Epiphany Center for the Arts, Chicago, IL (2023); Form Within: Unveiling Hidden Aesthetics, CSI Project Space, Chicago, IL (2023); Dreamer Warriors, Detroit Artists Market, MI (2023); Concerning Landscape, Detroit Artists Market, MI (2023); Responding to Rhythms, Beverly Arts Center, Chicago, IL (2022); Don’t Mind The Thing, Wedge Projects, Chicago, IL (2021), among others. salimova is a recipient of the 2021 Fund Your Practice Grant, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, and recently completed a 2023–2024 BOLT Artist Residency at the Chicago Artists Coalition, IL. notable performances include Earth in collaboration with experimental sound musician Jacob Artillery, Trinity Colledge, Palos Heights, IL; Rememberings with cellist Timothy Fawkes, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL (2024); Origins with Ále Campos, Juliette Morris, and Spencer Gale, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL (2023); Consecrations, SITE Galleries, Chicago, IL (2021); Work, SITE Galleries, Chicago, IL (2021); Body Into Dill, Brooklyn, MI (2021); and Muscle Memory, Brooklyn, MI-Chicago, IL (2019). salimova collaborated with photographer Lillian Heredia in a project And Our Bodies, Like Seasons, Come and Gone: Performance For Winter Corn, Brooklyn, MI (2025); and with Chuck Pringle in Excavations: Performance for Traveling Body, Raymond, MI (2023). salimova currently lives and works between Chicago, Illinois and Brooklyn, Michigan.
cv
Solo
2025
Arrival, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL
2024
Alma x CSI, ALMA, Chicago, IL
The cyborgs undone, the ghosts came to light, the ancestors control the future, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
2021
Beesworks, SITE Galleries, Chicago, IL
Group Shows
2025
What Immigrants Bring, Agitator, Chicago, IL
2024
EXPO Chicago, Chicago, IL
2023
Elemental Impact, Epiphany Center for the Arts, Chicago IL
Works in Progress, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
Form Within: Unveiling Hidden Aesthetics, CSI Project Space, Chicago, IL
Alive, CSI Project Space, Chicago, IL
Dreamer Warriors, Detroit Artists Market, Detroit, MI
Seeds Of Change / Resilience, 22 North, Ypsilanti, MI
MSA Select, Pam Miller Downtown Art Center, Lexington, KY
Story Time, CSI Project Space, Chicago, IL
Concerning Landscape, DAM, Detroit, MI
Little But Bold, CSI Project Space, Chicago, IL
2022
Responding to Rhythms, Beverly Arts Center, Chicago, IL
By Degrees, 3D4D, Chicago Sculpture International, Chicago, IL
2021
COME|BACK, SAIC Galleries Wellness Center, Chicago, IL
Don’t Mind The Thing, Wedge Projects, Chicago, IL
New Work 2021, SAIC Galleries, Chicago, IL
Making It, SAIC Galleries Wellness Center, Chicago, IL
Import/Export Exhibition, Kent State University, Kent, OH
Where We Are, SITE Galleries, SAIC, Chicago, IL
2020
Art Over COVID, online
Art-In-Place, CNL Projects+Terrain Exhibitions, MI-IL
Public Sculpture
2024
Flight of Butterflies, Nature Museum of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Performance and photography projects
2025
And our bodies, like seasons, come and gone: performance for winter corn, Brooklyn, MI
Earth, Trinity Colledge, Palos Heights, IL
2024
Rememberings, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
2023
Origins, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
Excavations: performance for a traveling body, Raymond, CO
2021
Consecrations, SITE Galleries, Chicago, IL
Work, SITE Galleries, Chicago, IL
Space Travel, online
Body Into Dill, Brooklyn, MI
2019
Muscle Memory, Brooklyn, MI-Chicago, IL
Community work
2021
Beeswax wrapper workshop, campus of School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Grants
2021
Fund Your Practice Grant, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Lectures/artist talks/engagements
2021, 2025
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2024
The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2022
Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL
Residences
2023-2024
BOLT Residency, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL