About
Olivia Walko
Illustrator & Fine Artist,
Chicago IL
Education
Illustration BA, Columbia College Chicago, 2026
Gallery Showings
Made It Here!, Hokin Gallery, Chicago IL
Group show, June-Sept. 2026
Project Exhibition, Wabash Arts Corridor, Chicago IL
Group show, May 2026 - May 2027
About the Artist
Olivia (Liv) Walko is a Chicago based illustrator and fine artist. They are a recent grad from Columbia College Chicago's illustration program, which helped them develop their whimsical style present in their drawings and paintings.
Liv's favorite medium to flesh out their creatures is watercolors; the texture and vibrance of the medium lends itself well to the intricacies of their work. Alongside watercolor paintings, Liv engages in a variety of mixed media practices, such as sculptures with ceramic and handmade paper, with more experiments still to come.
The mythical monsters and metamorphic figures of this imagined world encourage viewers to recoil, but careful detail and wild color make it hard to look away. Liv is currently exploring the transmutable quality of identity and the structures beneath the human condition. Concepts like imperfect symmetry and transformation drive their work and ask the viewer to acknowledge their own monsters, in all their real and uncomfortable glory.
Aside from art, Liv spends a lot of time practicing yoga asana, cooking for family, and adoring their cat, Lyra. They are open to artists trades and collaboration; reach out with proposals and inquiries!