ABOUT

Leiden, the Netherlands, 2026

For as long as he remembers, Floris Olivier has felt the need to create. At school, he would spend all of his time drawing, but he never felt that he was good enough to seriously pursue it. There would always be someone better. Around his 17th, he discovered that he could write songs and perform them. It was like an epiphany. He was struggling with finding purpose in life, and finally, there it was. After attending a music education, leaving it unfinished, and spending years performing with his band Oliver Cried Wolf, a hand injury that turned to chronic pain took away the fun of being a musician. It was time to start exploring new avenues. This started with attempting a formal education in English literature. The degree was never finished, but during his studies, Floris was introduced to the Bible, as well as the idea of storytelling. This would sow the seeds for a lot of his current work. After leaving university, the search started again. A few years after leaving university, Floris attended an exhibition where the artist showed pages of his sketchbook. The art was rough, almost childish, but beautiful, and he imagined that, even with his limited skill, he would be able to do something similar. He bought some paper and a few pens, and started sketching again. When a friend asked if he could have one of the drawings for his wall, he realised this was something worth pursuing. He learned about illustration and digital drawing through friends and focused on these. After moving to Berlin in 2024, he decided to buy a canvas and try his hand at painting. It took some trial and error before he came to the style he currently works in; illustrations combined with bold colours and rough texture. He takes inspiration from subjects like religion, punk music, his mental health, and his perception of society and its flaws. He is currently working out of Leiden where his love of art and music are both fulfilled. He paints in his studio while singing and/or screaming along to his records. ✶✶✶

Exhibitions

Kunstsalat group exhibition, Studio 4000, Berlin.