Buckhannon in Upshur County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)

EVENING STAR

Public Art

Photographed by Bradley Owen, March 10, 2025

1. EVENING STAR Marker

Inscription.

EVENING STAR. Public Art. Location #2 Chuck Olson . EVENING STAR . 2016 . Lithograph. Artist Statement, The image of "Evening Star" was born out of a "landscape/mountain" painting project, which is a series of ten "mountain" paintings that were to be installed at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh to stimulate conversation between patients, families, and medical staff. The question, "Which mountain are you on today and where are you on that mountain?" could open the conversational door towards healing. "Evening Star" expresses the forces of nature and reveals movements in wind, rock, water, and light in conditions of both harmony and confrontation., An image can have many lives and "Evening Star" is no exception. It is a painting. It is a lithograph. In Buckhannon, West Virginia it has become a wall. Here, elements of the lithographic version have been reassembled and enlarged to provide a more "heroic" experience of the content. The scale of this installation stresses the emotional forces of nature, far larger than the observer on the street, and presents us with constantly evolving forms. It carries elements that one can easily find in the surrounding hills, rivers, and sky of this community. It also challenges us to recognize, perhaps, the forces of life inside and outside of each one of us., Artist Biography, Chuck Olson has built his painting career over the past 40 years while leading the Department of Fine Arts at Saint Francis University. Known to be one of the best abstract painters in the Pittsburgh Region, Olson has exhibited his paintings in dozens of American and international venues, and many are included in corporate, museum, and university fine art collections. Olson was awarded the status of Master Visual Artist for the City of Pittsburgh in 2013, which coincided with a solo exhibition of his paintings at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and an archive of his work established at the Heinz Regional History Museum., Dedicated by the City of Buckhannon on "Chuck Olson Day," June 30, 2016.

Location #2
Chuck Olson • EVENING STAR • 2016 • Lithograph
Artist Statement

The image of "Evening Star" was born out of a "landscape/mountain" painting project, which is a series of ten "mountain" paintings that were to be installed at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh to stimulate conversation between patients, families, and medical staff. The question, "Which mountain are you on today and where are you on that mountain?" could open the conversational door towards healing. "Evening Star" expresses the forces of nature and reveals movements in wind, rock, water, and light in conditions of both harmony and confrontation.

An image can have many lives and "Evening Star" is no exception. It is a painting. It is a lithograph. In Buckhannon, West Virginia it has become a wall. Here, elements of the lithographic version have been reassembled and enlarged to provide a more "heroic" experience of the content. The scale of this installation stresses the emotional forces of nature, far larger than the observer on the street, and presents us with constantly evolving forms. It carries elements that one can easily find in the surrounding hills, rivers, and sky of this community. It also challenges us to recognize, perhaps, the forces of life inside and outside of each one

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Artist Biography

Chuck Olson has built his painting career over the past 40 years while leading the Department of Fine Arts at Saint Francis University. Known to be one of the best abstract painters in the Pittsburgh Region, Olson has exhibited his paintings in dozens of American and international venues, and many are included in corporate, museum, and university fine art collections. Olson was awarded the status of Master Visual Artist for the City of Pittsburgh in 2013, which coincided with a solo exhibition of his paintings at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and an archive of his work established at the Heinz Regional History Museum.

Dedicated by the City of Buckhannon on "Chuck Olson Day," June 30, 2016

Erected 2016 by ART26201.com. (Marker Number 2.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Education. A significant historical date for this entry is June 30, 2016.

Location. 38° 59.627′ N, 80° 13.82′ W. Marker is in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in Upshur County. It is on South Kanawha Street just south of East Main Street (County Route 151), on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 South Kanawha Street, Buckhannon WV 26201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Central West Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers

<i>EVENING STAR</i> and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, March 10, 2025

2. EVENING STAR and Marker

are within walking distance of this marker: Kiddy Building 1932 (a few steps from this marker); Explorations West of Blue Ridge / 8 East Main Street / Strawberry Festival 1936 / Heiskell & Company (within shouting distance of this marker); Upshur County Honor Roll (within shouting distance of this marker); Carpenter Building 1923 (within shouting distance of this marker); Crislip & Simpson Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Reger Building 1900 (within shouting distance of this marker); Strawberry Festival / Tillotson Janney House (within shouting distance of this marker); Shinn Building 1892 (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Buckhannon.

Also see . . . Homepage for artist Chuck Olson. (Submitted on March 26, 2025, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 26, 2025, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. This page has been viewed 116 times since then and 7 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 26, 2025, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.