For the first time in Belgium, Dutch artist Femmy Otten (°1981, Amsterdam) will present a large scale solo exhibition at de Warande in Turnhout.
In her work, Femmy Otten explores a very hybrid world of inspirations. Ranging from sculptures of ancient Greece and Italian painters from the quattrocento to the American outsider art and up-to-date contemporary art. She collects these influences and brings them together in a precise yet unfathomable iconography that radiates timelessness. The use of different media is demanded by necessity and because the development of the work requires it.

Otten's artworks testify to the desire to transcend transience. She is fully aware that this is a lost battle from the start, but she strives for it time and again. The creator communicates directly with the viewer through the artwork. An image created thousands of years ago also directly appeals to a viewer today.

In her solo exhibition 'Rainbow Woman', Otten combines her early work with recent work. Remarkable are several large wall drawings in which she creates a mythical world in pastel, through serene lines in tempera. Contrary to many ambiguous figures in her earlier work, the woman comes to the fore in 'Rainbow Woman'. The woman who "just is" remains an underexposed and precarious theme to this day.
Otten records her identity as woman and mother, hoping to dispel the vulnerability that motherhood entails. Visualizing this soft and magical primal power is not out of naivety. With her purified images, Otten puts an unctuous and soothing layer on top of today's fast-paced visual culture

Artists: Femmy Otten