Women and Colours of the World
“Woman and Colours of the World”
Series “Woman of the World”
I always have been fascinated by women from ethnic minorities. Here I portrayed some of them in their traditional costumes and striking, yet to us partly outlandish body decoration. It was my desire to capture the atmosphere of the moment, to convey the feelings of these women, even up to the point of their suffering, and to touch and simultaneously provoke the onlooker.
Abstract series “Colours of the world”
In contrast to this, my abstract series is less attributed to any given place or persons.
I rather dedicate the configuration of the pictures to autonomous basic elements. The paintings are an expression of subjectivity and intuition in the free space of the canvas.
The observer should be animated through the colour intensity of the pictures and vitalized in thought, feelings and senses. The partly haptic painting style using a spatula is an invitation to follow the motives not only with the eyes, but also with the hands.
About the Artist
Observations by Prof. Dr. Werner Schiedermair
The artistic creativity of Aylin Özdogan is widely diverse. It ranges from precise representational realism to abstract painting. One finds portraits as well as expressive informal compositions. All the creations are executed with technical expertise and a command of colour. Light always plays an essential role. In all her works, the personality of the artist is unmistakably evident.
Aylin Özdogan embodies the present characteristically based on her origins and her life's path. She was born on October 28, 1964 in Turkey and has lived in Germany since 1968. She attended school here and then was professionally engaged in various areas. She obtained her artistic training at the Vocational College, Drawing Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. She is currently completing training as an art therapist at the Art Therapy Institute.
Her interests are primarily people, psychology, poetry and music. Her multi-culturalism inspired her to travel in the world's most varied cultures.
A special focus of her painting is the representation of people and here especially of women of very different ethnicities. She always presents them in their traditional cultural environment. Costumes and ornaments fascinate her. She meticulously records the physical deformations to which the women are often exposed, such as the conspicuously stretched necks of the Padaung women through the use of neck rings, special hair decoration or appearance-alienating makeup, which can sometimes make masks out of faces. However, she avoids judgments or accusations. As the type of representation consistently reveals, she is most of all concerned with the presentation in its traditional cultural environment. Her aim is to induce in the viewer, past all information, a dialogue, reflection and confrontation with the unquestioned, established traditions. Thus she addresses the, also in the visual arts, highly topical gender issues.
When approaching this topic, Aylin Özdogan benefits from a technically sophisticated painting ability. Her works are not only compositionally well thought-out and designed, but she also sets great value upon a richly nuanced implementation of painting. She excels in the finest colour nuances. With the use of all of these means, she actually succeeds in presenting reality to the viewer as she sees it. She makes it clear that tradition does not necessarily mean peace and security, but may also include melancholy and even nightmares. The portraits of women by Özdogan-Tegmen are not merely narrative reproductions, but they are, in spite of all objectivity in presentation, a confrontation with the perceived.
The abstract paintings of the artist are no less significant. They do not come from specified shapes or colours, but, as Aylin Özdogan herself formulates it, subjectivity and spontaneity stand in the foreground. Swirling waves, agitated sea and permanently changing cloud formations seem to have given inspiration. Always to be found, as in the portraits of women, is the presence of travel experiences. Again, the richly differentiated colours stand out. The artist loves intensive colours and exploits the most sensitive graduations from the colour palette. In addition, there is the deliberate use of light. Radiant, inserted light underscores the dynamics of the forms and the richness of the colours. Evidently it is also of importance to the artist to show light. She deals with the challenge of making transfiguring, life-giving and hope-spreading light visible. Bizarre shapes also emerge. In this way, she encourages the viewer into a dialogue with her works.
If one looks at Aylin Özdogan's work as a whole, then the goal which she pursues can be sensed. Emanating from humans and their earthly bondage, she struggles with colour and form. With colours and light she creates a positive, forward-looking and optimism-filled atmosphere for a dialogue between the viewer and her works. Her experiences with different cultures are incorporated into her artistic sensibility. The life-affirming basic attitude, which is most apparent in the abstract paintings, with their movements and encounter-challenging effects, makes the artist and her work, without any obtrusiveness, seem especially sympathetic. All visitors to her exhibitions have to thank her for the confidence and trust offered them.
Prof. Dr. Werner Schiedermair
I always have been fascinated by women from ethnic minorities. Here I portrayed some of them in their traditional costumes and striking, yet to us partly outlandish body decoration. It was my desire to capture the atmosphere of the moment, to convey the feelings of these women, even up to the point of their suffering, and to touch and simultaneously provoke the onlooker.
Abstract series “Colours of the world”
In contrast to this, my abstract series is less attributed to any given place or persons.
I rather dedicate the configuration of the pictures to autonomous basic elements. The paintings are an expression of subjectivity and intuition in the free space of the canvas.
The observer should be animated through the colour intensity of the pictures and vitalized in thought, feelings and senses. The partly haptic painting style using a spatula is an invitation to follow the motives not only with the eyes, but also with the hands.
Observations by Prof. Dr. Werner Schiedermair
The artistic creativity of Aylin Özdogan is widely diverse. It ranges from precise representational realism to abstract painting. One finds portraits as well as expressive informal compositions. All the creations are executed with technical expertise and a command of colour. Light always plays an essential role. In all her works, the personality of the artist is unmistakably evident.
Aylin Özdogan embodies the present characteristically based on her origins and her life's path. She was born on October 28, 1964 in Turkey and has lived in Germany since 1968. She attended school here and then was professionally engaged in various areas. She obtained her artistic training at the Vocational College, Drawing Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. She is currently completing training as an art therapist at the Art Therapy Institute.
Her interests are primarily people, psychology, poetry and music. Her multi-culturalism inspired her to travel in the world's most varied cultures.
A special focus of her painting is the representation of people and here especially of women of very different ethnicities. She always presents them in their traditional cultural environment. Costumes and ornaments fascinate her. She meticulously records the physical deformations to which the women are often exposed, such as the conspicuously stretched necks of the Padaung women through the use of neck rings, special hair decoration or appearance-alienating makeup, which can sometimes make masks out of faces. However, she avoids judgments or accusations. As the type of representation consistently reveals, she is most of all concerned with the presentation in its traditional cultural environment. Her aim is to induce in the viewer, past all information, a dialogue, reflection and confrontation with the unquestioned, established traditions. Thus she addresses the, also in the visual arts, highly topical gender issues.
When approaching this topic, Aylin Özdogan benefits from a technically sophisticated painting ability. Her works are not only compositionally well thought-out and designed, but she also sets great value upon a richly nuanced implementation of painting. She excels in the finest colour nuances. With the use of all of these means, she actually succeeds in presenting reality to the viewer as she sees it. She makes it clear that tradition does not necessarily mean peace and security, but may also include melancholy and even nightmares. The portraits of women by Özdogan-Tegmen are not merely narrative reproductions, but they are, in spite of all objectivity in presentation, a confrontation with the perceived.
The abstract paintings of the artist are no less significant. They do not come from specified shapes or colours, but, as Aylin Özdogan herself formulates it, subjectivity and spontaneity stand in the foreground. Swirling waves, agitated sea and permanently changing cloud formations seem to have given inspiration. Always to be found, as in the portraits of women, is the presence of travel experiences. Again, the richly differentiated colours stand out. The artist loves intensive colours and exploits the most sensitive graduations from the colour palette. In addition, there is the deliberate use of light. Radiant, inserted light underscores the dynamics of the forms and the richness of the colours. Evidently it is also of importance to the artist to show light. She deals with the challenge of making transfiguring, life-giving and hope-spreading light visible. Bizarre shapes also emerge. In this way, she encourages the viewer into a dialogue with her works.
If one looks at Aylin Özdogan's work as a whole, then the goal which she pursues can be sensed. Emanating from humans and their earthly bondage, she struggles with colour and form. With colours and light she creates a positive, forward-looking and optimism-filled atmosphere for a dialogue between the viewer and her works. Her experiences with different cultures are incorporated into her artistic sensibility. The life-affirming basic attitude, which is most apparent in the abstract paintings, with their movements and encounter-challenging effects, makes the artist and her work, without any obtrusiveness, seem especially sympathetic. All visitors to her exhibitions have to thank her for the confidence and trust offered them.
Prof. Dr. Werner Schiedermair