Otero’s practice is known for employing a highly innovative approach that challenges the parameters of his materials, revealing the intrinsic qualities of paint. In a reversal of the typical painting process, Otero begins each new work by painting the foreground on plexiglass, then working backward over the course of many paint layers. The ‘oil skin’ is then peeled off from the plexiglass at a partially dried state and collaged onto a canvas, culminating an ingenious form of expression.
‘Wet Books’ (2023) exemplifies such mastery of the artist to explore oil paint’s materiality and potential for self-reflection. Here, Otero's abstractions are not only formally accentuated by the rhythmic layering of colors and syncopation of etched lines, but also deeply rooted in personal experience and art history. With childhood memories and artworks by canonical painters serving as creative catalysts, Otero formulates a unique visual language that transforms historical reminiscences into new creations.
About the artist
Angel Otero was born in 1981 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He moved to Chicago in 2004, where he received his MFA at the School of the Art Institute. Otero is known for employing highly innovative techniques that challenge the parameters of his materials, revealing the intrinsic qualities of paint. His works are rooted in abstract image making and engage with ideas of memory through addressing art history, as well as his own lived experience. Otero is well known for the ‘oil skin’ works he began in 2010, an ongoing series that demonstrates the inherently transformative nature of the artist’s practice as well as his dedication to expanding the visual field of abstract expressionism.
Artwork images © Angel Otero. Photo: Thomas Barratt
Portrait of Angel Otero © Angel Otero. Photo: Javier Romero