by Taliesin Thomas
With an eye toward the American dream from an immigrant’s perspective, A Celebration of the Small at Pamela Salisbury Gallery and Carriage House in Hudson presents a series of small-scale models, photogravures, and sculptural installations that explore a realm between fact and fiction. This adventurous solo exhibition — the artist’s third with the gallery — takes us on a journey into the past 25 years of Lothar Osterburg’s creative practice through artworks that conjure nautical worlds full of potential and abandoned realms that defy the imagination, all carefully constructed by way of analog methods and techniques. His photogravure “The Great Wave” (2014) is an image of a small boat at sea made entirely of crumpled paper. His miniature three-dimensional models offer a peek into his previous studio spaces through a fisheye lens, and works such as “Summer Cabin” (2024) and “Attic” (2021) are incredibly detailed in their mini movie set appearance. Osterburg’s delicately suspended worlds reveal a curious loneliness, while also leaving space for wondering and wandering.
[Excerpt; click here to read full article]