In celebration of their 50th anniversary, The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center will present “experience and intersection” in its three upstairs galleries from May 2, 2026 through October, 2026.

The exhibit is an interesting and bold blend of work from artist John Cleaveland and his University of Georgia instructor Richard “Ole’ ” Olsen and revolves around the student and teacher's shared trip to Vietnam.

Cleaveland learned under the tutelage of Olsen during Olsen’s long tenure at UGA. Olsen served on the faculty in the Department of Art at the University of Georgia from 1969 until his retirement in 2001. Prior to that he served in the U.S. Army. He flew transport helicopters with the 33rd Division during the Vietnam War. Olsen died on April 23, 2025.

Cleaveland, who received a BFA from the University of Georgia and held a graduate assistantship in the UGA Studies Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy, has exhibited works at many distinguished institutions including the Albany Museum. Of Art, the University of Georgia, the Lyndon House Art Center, The Carter Center, the Missouri State Botanical Gardens and the Huntsville Museum of Art.

Cleaveland learned during his studies abroad trip that he preferred painting landscapes and has spent a lifetime honing that craft. Jordan Ahlers, owner and director of Momentum Gallery said in a published piece that Cleaveland is “A keen observer of the natural world. John captures light, mood and place in a way unlike anyone else I’ve seen. Technically, his oil landscapes are incredible, at once highly detailed and painterly– but even more than that is the emotive quality he conveys in his work.”

Cleaveland and Olsen took a return trip to Vietnam before Olsen’s death and Cleaveland said that trip was both transformational and the basis for the connection in ‘experience and intersection.’

Olsen returned to the country in which he served in combat and Cleaveland learned to view the world in a wider context. “It was an epiphany of sorts to see the world in a different way.”

Cleaveland said after he graduated from UGA in 1986, Olsen continued to mentor the aspiring artist with a light hand. Cleaveland said Olsen both offered encouragement and space for Cleaveland to find his true voice. “We talked about art, we talked about color and the drive it takes to be an artist. He cared about me as a human.”

Cleveland paints in a restored train depot in Farmington, GA.

The exhibit will fill galleries one, two and three at the Center. This exhibit has been made possible by a grant awarded from the Georgia Council for the Arts, the Murphy Foundation and the Cox Family Endowment Fund.

An opening reception will be held on May 2, 2026 at 6:00-8:00PM.