“I can experience art on many levels and in many different ways. Then I look for aesthetics and eloquence but also for a particular angle. I make contemporary engaged art. It has a certain urgency. It is reflecting us, people and the zeitgeist. Images speak louder than words and basically appeal very directly to our feelings. My images are something of a mix between activism and philosophy, they want to engage in dialogue.”
I am born in Hoorn (NH) (1970) and have been working as a visual artist since 1994. My studio is located at the Rieteweg 10 in Zwolle. I am a multidisciplinary artist. My autonomous work includes painting, collage, installation, digital art, photo manipulation, video art and 3d. I also work on commission and on a project basis.
Abrasive aesthetics.
Typical for my autonomous work is the key role for man in its shape and behaviour. It is often a reflection of current social themes, but also mundane and personal issues are important sources of inspiration. Through small interventions, repetitions, inversions, or breaking surfaces with architectural forms, a new image is created in a somewhat familiar image. Although my work can be seen as aesthetic, it often conceals certain uneasiness, abrasive aesthetics. This duality or ambiguity is also a recurring theme. Do you see what you see?
The resulting images are often on the cutting edge of fiction, realism, graphic and plastic.
Work in various mediums.
Paintings – The features of acrylic paint fit best with my clean approach. I build up the work in layers. Thick layers alternating with transparent ones create a an accumulation stack of colour nuances. Within the limitations of the medium (smooth, little structure and dries quickly) I try to create depth and layering in the image. The surface of the painting is often smooth. I have united my graphic background with my autonomous artistry. A graphic artist likes to make a cool image, an artist leans more on eloquence. I unite both, the bold image with power of expression.
On average, I work on a canvas for one or two months. That way, the idea matures along with the progress of the painting. I work in series.
More here: https://maritotto.nl/schilderijen/
Collages- Since 2018 I started a series of collages by the name Remains Of Today. At the time, I had no idea how extensive this series would eventually become.
By now it is a series of more than 200 small communicating artworks of text and image collages from magazines and newspapers and found street trash. The project is still on going and has turned into a multi-media installation which involves writing, music and video and a publication.
More about this project: https://maritotto.nl/remainsoftoday/
3 dimensional– I have a different approach to 3d objects. I am playing and exploring in 3d more than anything else. Regularly I use ”ready-mades” as a basis. Then I consider the technical possibilities and potential character and start ‘messing around’, see what works. The skin, the finish, is finished with one material and then suggests unity. Plaster is perhaps the most commonly used material but I also use such materials as metal, cardboard, foam, inflatables and MDF.
More here: https://maritotto.nl/digital-art/
Digital media. Next to the traditional media, I also enjoy working digitally. This includes digital photo manipulation, digital graphic illustrations and recently also video art. I often use images from my own archive but also images I find on the Internet.
By combining, manipulating and intervening, whole new worlds, a new context and a whole new narrative arise.
Meer hier over: https://maritotto.nl/digital-art/
In addition, there are autonomous art projects that are not included in the above, mavericks, special collaborations with unusual materials or /and with a clear social message. These include [RE]CLAMED ARTSPACE, Dedicated Follower and Duo Ongezoet (Sugar Free)
Art is fluid.
Contemporary (sur)realist?- My work cannot be placed in a tradition or movement. There are certainly surrealistic elements in my work and occasionally some abstraction, but in terms of style I draw from (contemporary) realism. Until now, I have been able to express myself best in the figurative, although I do not rule out anything for the future. As far as I am concerned, art is fluid and and artist never stop evolving.
I do not wish to limit myself, neither to a medium, nor to autonomous art. I see myself much more as a conduit of concepts and ideas. Often my ideas are interspersed with philosophical questions and/or social themes that occupy me. I therefore sometimes set myself the task of casting these in project form, if only within the limitations of visual art. This has resulted in a number of projects varying from social to future-oriented.
Meer hier over: https://maritotto.nl/projecten-2/
Other activities- Next to my autonomous work I am active with art projects in concept and implementation, community art projects, educational projects, I am a graphic designer, art coach, guest curator and I also work as museum teacher at the Fundatie as a member of the committee Visual Arts Zwolle and board member of Kunstruimte Langhuis, Zwolle, stage for contemporary and experimental art.
Atelier 007 Within my studio I make a distinction between Atelier Marit Otto, autonomous art and Atelier007, the applied side. This has arisen from the need to lay a solid economic foundation under my artistry, so that my autonomy is guaranteed on both the artistic and the personal level. Working on commission and on a project basis also allows me to be completely free and concession-free in my autonomous work. Although there is a clear dividing line between autonomous (no concessions) and commissioned (what is the question), I like to play with the limitations of a commission and to give space to the autonomous soul. But I also love to be of service and to immerse myself in the client’s question. From my own passion and love for the profession, I hope to inspire others.
A bit of history: In 1994, I permanently chose to be an artist. With all that that entails. I found a studio in the former squat and cultural breeding ground DOAS (De Oude Ambachtsschool, Zwolle), also known as the Mimosa. Here I was immersed in a great hatchery of creativity and, through trial and error, established myself as an artist. I worked at DOAS for 13 years, both as an autonomous artist and as a member of the board. In order to give shape to my professional practice and to justify my existence, in addition to my autonomous work I have devised and executed art projects, worked on commission, taught classes and used my graphic knowledge.
In addition to that, many collaborations/cross-pollinations have taken place during the DOAS period, friendships with fellow artists that will always last. I can say that this time has shaped me into who I am today; a multidisciplinary artist with a network of many colleagues with whom I still regularly devise and implement projects under the motto;
anything is possible and the sky is the limit. I do not believe in limitation but in unbridled passion and love for art. In recent years, I have often moved ‘pseudo’ nomadically from one studio to another, often special locations.
Come and visit me Make an appointment? Tel: 0620661723, or mail: maoatelier007@gmail.com
