Born in Fargo, North Dakota in 1949, Solien earned a BFA from Moorhead State University, Moorhead Minnesota, and an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He has enjoyed national recognition as an artist and has received many honors and awards including the Whitney Biennial Exhibition (1983), and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship in Painting (2008). He is currently a Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
