Netty van Osch (Netherlands, 1962)
Netty van Osch plays with words, images, and raw emotions.
Through a disorienting combination of sweetness, humor, and grim venom, she seeks to challenge the preconceptions of her audience and create space for her story.
Her inspiration comes directly from the source: the life experiences of the artist herself. Her installations are the heart of her work, with her sculptures serving as pawns and accomplices positioned on the playing field of these installations. They help her tell a story of conflict and reconciliation.
She deliberately uses children’s portraits because adults, with their pimples, wrinkles, and other distractions, cannot serve her purpose. Preferably, she uses photos from the 1950s when children were less familiar with photography, allowing their emotions to appear pure.
Photography is a key inspiration for her objects—not only because of the emotions captured in these portraits but also because she strives to infuse her objects with a photographic visual quality.
Using colored clay slips, she creates areas of light and shadow on her sculptures. This is one of the reasons her objects leave such a sharp impression on the viewer.
Dolls
Netty van Osch seeks works that provoke. She is drawn to paradoxical situations, ominous scenes, double standards, and conflicting layers of meaning. Not without reason does she call her sculptures “dolls,” a term that immediately evokes innocent childhood toys.
Her works, with their materiality and visual language, appear doll-like and soft, but their facial expressions, clothing, and settings reveal a different side entirely.
Play
One theme runs deeply through Netty’s work: play. It is evident in the composition and styling of her installations, the arrangement of her sculptures, and the ambiguous names and titles she assigns to her works. A dialogue between the inner and outer worlds is a consistent thread in her work.
She does not shy away from irony and humor and sometimes plays games with the viewer. Those who casually glance at and judge her work may miss the essence entirely; curiosity is rewarded with glimpses into a rich inner world.
Eyes
Netty van Osch sculpts her portraits by hand.
To complete her portraits, she uses artificial eyes, which are a crucial element in every piece. The eyes break the autonomy of her objects.
Through their eyes, the sculptures connect with their surroundings. Lighting is essential—when the light falls perfectly on the eyes, the sculptures seem to come alive
Netty van Osch