[1] Both studios maintained a close relationship with record label 4AD between 1982 and 1998 and gave distinct visual identities for the 4AD releases by many bands, including Mojave 3, Lush, Cocteau Twins, The Breeders, This Mortal Coil, Pale Saints, Pixies, and Throwing Muses.
[5] Through his studies his interests broadened to include inspiration from the work of Salvador Dalí, Surrealism and Pop artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol.
[3] In February 1990, Oliver was asked to bring together the work he had done so far for 4AD to be shown for the first time in an art gallery, the Espace Graslin in Nantes, France.
[7] In 1994, many of those who had collaborated with Oliver over the previous decade contributed to an illustrated catalogue for the retrospective exhibition of his work held at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, This Rimy River.
The mysterious qualities in his album art were inspired by surrealist painter Salvador Dalí, whom Oliver admired during his college years.
Oliver created album artwork for a number of 4AD bands, including Pixies, Cocteau Twins, The Breeders and This Mortal Coil.
[15] Oliver produced the artwork for the Pixies' entire discography during his lifetime, including the albums Come On Pilgrim (1987), Surfer Rosa (1988), Doolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990), Trompe Le Monde (1991), Indie Cindy (2014), Head Carrier (2016) and Beneath the Eyrie (2019), as well as numerous singles and EPs.
[16] Oliver stated that, with each Pixies release, he had looked to achieve "a sense of continuity" within the catalog but also employ a "fresh approach", and that his ethos "was always about building individual identities for bands.