Olivia De Berardinis
Encyclopedia
"Olivia De Berardinis" (November 1948 -) is an American artist
known for paintings of women, often referred to as pinup or cheesecake art. She has been working in this genre since the mid-70's. Since 2004 Olivia has been a monthly contributor to Playboy Magazine, where her art pinup page appears with captions written by Hugh Hefner
.
Born in Long Beach, California
, her childhood years were spent primarily on the east coast. She attended the New York School of Visual Arts '67 -'70.
Resided in, Soho, N.Y.C. from 1970 to '74, creating Minimalist paintings. Olivia was one of the new artists introduced in the Second Annual Contemporary Reflections 1972-73, of the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Conn
. Also presented as one of 18 new artists in the "Tenth Anniversary, the Larry Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art 1964-74" with established artists including Eva Hesse
, Agnes Martin
, and Frank Stella
.
By 1975. financial pressures forced Olivia to seek out commercial art work. She returned to the skills she had gained as a child, painting women. She did work for periodicals and paperback publishers, advertisements, and movie posters. Olivia quickly secured regular work, starting in '74, painting erotic fantasies for men's magazines. "Necessity shaped my career, I thought illustrating for sex magazines might be a fun temporary job until my "real" career started. In the back of my mind I believed I would go back to the fine arts. It wasn't clear to me then, but this work became my art." Excerpt from "Malibu Cheesecake"
1977- with partner Joel Beren, started O Card Company to publish Olivia's work as greeting card
s.
1979- married Joel Beren in NYC They created another company, Ozone Productions, Ltd., to sell and license Olivia's artwork.
1987- they moved from Manhattan
, NY. to Malibu, CA., where they currently reside.
Olivia's artwork has been shown in art galleries throughout the United States
and Japan
, and her work is collected by fans worldwide. An original Olivia painting now appears in each issue of Playboy magazine.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for paintings of women, often referred to as pinup or cheesecake art. She has been working in this genre since the mid-70's. Since 2004 Olivia has been a monthly contributor to Playboy Magazine, where her art pinup page appears with captions written by Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
.
Born in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, her childhood years were spent primarily on the east coast. She attended the New York School of Visual Arts '67 -'70.
Resided in, Soho, N.Y.C. from 1970 to '74, creating Minimalist paintings. Olivia was one of the new artists introduced in the Second Annual Contemporary Reflections 1972-73, of the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Conn
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S...
. Also presented as one of 18 new artists in the "Tenth Anniversary, the Larry Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art 1964-74" with established artists including Eva Hesse
Eva Hesse
Eva Hesse , was a German-born American sculptor, known for her pioneering work in materials such as latex, fiberglass, and plastics. -Early life:Hesse was born into a family of observant Jews in Hamburg, Germany...
, Agnes Martin
Agnes Martin
Agnes Bernice Martin was an American abstract painter, often referred to as a minimalist; Martin considered herself an abstract expressionist.She won a National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1998....
, and Frank Stella
Frank Stella
Frank Stella is an American painter and printmaker, significant within the art movements of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction.-Biography:...
.
By 1975. financial pressures forced Olivia to seek out commercial art work. She returned to the skills she had gained as a child, painting women. She did work for periodicals and paperback publishers, advertisements, and movie posters. Olivia quickly secured regular work, starting in '74, painting erotic fantasies for men's magazines. "Necessity shaped my career, I thought illustrating for sex magazines might be a fun temporary job until my "real" career started. In the back of my mind I believed I would go back to the fine arts. It wasn't clear to me then, but this work became my art." Excerpt from "Malibu Cheesecake"
1977- with partner Joel Beren, started O Card Company to publish Olivia's work as greeting card
Greeting card
A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feeling. Greeting cards,...
s.
1979- married Joel Beren in NYC They created another company, Ozone Productions, Ltd., to sell and license Olivia's artwork.
1987- they moved from Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, NY. to Malibu, CA., where they currently reside.
Olivia's artwork has been shown in art galleries throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and her work is collected by fans worldwide. An original Olivia painting now appears in each issue of Playboy magazine.