Oetgen Pictures

Oetgen's pictures of colorful and whimsical objects in unique contexts recall both POP art and the surrealists, particularly Duchamp and Magritte. Like these artists, Oetgen takes found pieces from our environment, and marries them to exotic places and unusual contexts to play with reality and illusion. For instance, a creamic figure appears in front of a theatrically curtained window that looks onto the Bienalle Giardini in Venice. Pieces from the exhibition recall Magritte's CE N'EST PAS works. The viewer immediately wonders "What does this mean? What is going on here?"

For the exhibition, the simple graphics of everyday images are rendered in brilliant chroma and wall spanning size. They are charming and whimsical in their extrapolated commentary on the human condition.

— Brenda Masie, HAGEDORN FOUNDATION GALLERY