Teen lets her photography do the talking

Published 3:08 pm Friday, April 1, 2016

You’ll probably find Olga Zolotsev outside, wandering off to look at a bird or enjoying the rare sunshine. She has a quiet demeaner and a timid smile. She’s free-spirited, yet shy.

“I’m usually quiet. I’m not a talkative person,” says Zolotsev, shrugging her shoulders.

However at 15, Zolotsev has her own art exhibit, currently displaying at Carco Theater. In a series she calls, “Color Change Within Us,” Zolotsev’s exhibit features a vibrant, colorful and striking set of photographs.

“This exhibit has color it has nature, it has animals… it shows a lot of emotion and view,” she explains.

In her brief artist statement, Zolotsev explains how the contrasting nature of night and day reflect the world’s true nature to itself. She captures this idea cleverly in a set of photos of a father, her favorite piece of the exhibit. It’s an eccentric piece, one where her father, standing in front of a projected screen, is making a set of ridiculous faces. Each of the photos depict the multidimensional nature of his personality and captures the concept of contrast and change, much like night and day.

For Zolotsev, her father is her inspiration, her muse even. 

“I’ve always been inspired by my dad because he’s an artist,” she said. “I’ve seen my dad work firsthand. He puts a lot of passion into it. I want to put in as much passion into my photography.”

Her father, Yevgeniy Zolotsev, is a painter. And while she prefers to make art through a camera, her father’s influence is evident in the framing of her shots, the unapologetic use of patterns and colors and the subject matter themselves.

In fact it was her father who helped her get the exhibit. Yevgeniy, who has been painting a mural at Carco for few months, was showing off his daughter’s work to Carco’s Theater Manager Cassie Welliver when Welliver had an idea. She says that they usually find artists to exhibit through public calls for artist and working directly with local organizations like Renton Municipal Arts Commission and Arts Unlimited. But when Welliver saw Zolotsev’s photos, she knew that it had to be shared.

“I thought her photos were of incredible quality and that she had a unique eye for composition and subject,” said Welliver. “Although the photos have beautiful colors and charming subjects, they often hold deeper meaning upon sustained viewing. Olga truly has talent beyond her years.”

Zolotsev, a Utah native, moved to Washington last November. Having joined Lindbergh High School mid-year, she says the transition has been a little difficult. The exhibit features photos from Utah, of landscapes and people she has left behind.

The featured self-portraits show a wilder, carefree version of Zolotsev, a side reserved for those closest to her. The more abstract pieces reflect her natural eye for the complex work of color in everyday life. The exhibit is an impressive mix of Zolotsev’s life and a rare look into a 15-year-old flower child’s world.

Zolotsev says she doesn’t have concrete plans for the future yet.

“I want to travel a lot when I grow up, that’s my main goal,” she says. “I want to go to the Himalayas and I want to go to Machu Picchu and the other exotic places.

The exhibit will run till April 28. An artist reception will be held from 2-4 p.m. on April 16 at Carco Theater.