Untitled (SK-MY) (Primary Title)
Angel Otero, American, born Puerto Rico, 1981 (Artist)
I realized I could create a conversation between classical and contemporary issues of painting. I want to keep up a dialogue between past and present by being loyal to what painting has been but at the same time questioning it. —Angel Otero
Otero left Puerto Rico, where he was born and raised, to study in Chicago. Now in New York, he makes paintings and sculptures that emphasize process and chance. His Skins begin with layers of oil paint applied to Plexiglas. When the paint is partially dried, Otero peels it off with homemade squeegees and blades, sliding it onto cardboard for further drying. Then he adheres the paint to canvas, where he further works the surface with brushes and knives. Oil paint came into use in the Renaissance, prized for its capacity to represent human flesh. Otero’s work takes painting well beyond representation but his thick skins drooping from canvases build on oil paint’s traditional connection to the body.
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