JUSTINE OTTO

Otto’s dynamic, multilayered work navigates the space between figuration and abstraction. Trained at the Städelschule in Frankfurt, Otto has developed a distinctive visual language that combines expressive brushwork with stamping, scraping, and geometric fragmentation. Otto’s work often explores the layered complexities of identity, memory, and the interplay between the human figure and abstract spaces. Known for her expressive depictions of human figures, often mythic or militarized, and appearing fragmented, her layered oil paintings depict ambiguous figures ranging from youthful protagonists to archetypes of authority, rendered in vivid, jewel-toned palettes that evoke both intensity and dissolution. Her paintings challenge traditional representations of power, identity, and emotion. Otto’s process embraces tension and contradiction: forms emerge and vanish, realism collides with ornament, and narrative is suspended in psychological ambiguity. Her work offers a critical lens on power, gender, and vulnerability, and has been exhibited extensively across Europe and the U.S.