Gina Osterloh

Image of a person dressed in black sitting on the floor in a white room, black rods pressed against their eyes, protruding out of the image frame

Gina Osterloh, "Pressing Against Looking, Fixed," 2019; archival pigment print; 34 x 43 in. Courtesy the artist, Higher Generation New York and Silverlens Manila and New York.

Ohio
Visual
Artist in Residence, 2023
↗ www.ginaosterloh.com

Body

Hidden

Self

Artist Statement

Photography’s innate drive to categorize and name its subjects forms the core tenets of my art. Through photography, film, performance art, and steel text works, I activate photographic conditions including replica, representation, flatness and volume, presence and absence, illusion and the Real, desire and repulsion. My artistic strategies include abstraction, mark-making, the tracing of my own silhouette, and wrapping my body in reflective tape, to interrogate preconceived notions of identity, in particular race and gender. I meticulously construct photo tableaus and drawings for the camera to expand what portraiture and photography can be. Symbolic elements such as the void, orifice, camouflage, and the grid, in addition to a heightened awareness of color and repetitive pattern, appear throughout my work. My experiences growing up as a mixed-race Filipino American in Ohio are formative experiences that led me to photography, larger questions of perception, and how a viewer perceives difference and sameness.

While at Headlands

A keloid is a condition in which a body’s scar tissue grows out of control as it tries to heal a wound. While at Headlands, I will expand a project titled her demilitarized zone through photographs and text works that address our current keloidal state of image/text militarization. My art practice asks me to slow down and inhabit a space of duration and attention. With the beautiful studio space at Headlands, I look forward to regimented studio time. I will also honor the opportunity to reflect upon the arc of my work. The residency comes at a much-needed time, following the opening of two museum solo exhibitions. The Bay Area holds a special place in my heart. It is where I first became an artist. I look forward to the renowned food at Headlands, dinners with artists, and the Headlands community.

Selected Work

Gina Osterloh, “Shadow Woman,” 2018; live performance at The Broad Museum, Los Angeles; 5 min 30 sec. Curated by Nao Bustamante and Xandra Ibarra for En Cuatro Patas.

Gina Osterloh, "her demilitarized zone," 2021; steel with hand welded text; 14 x 11 in. Courtesy the artist, Higher Generation New York and Silverlens Manila and New York.

Photo of a figure seated on the floor of a room covered win a black and white grid. The figure holds another figure formed out of black facets.

Gina Osterloh, "Holding Zero," 2020; archival pigment print; 43 x 56.5 in. Courtesy the artist, Higher Generation New York and Silverlens Manila and New York.

Gina Osterloh, "Orifice Blue, Holding Space," 2018; archival pigment print with custom lacquer frame; 34 x 35.5 in. Courtesy the artist, Higher Generation New York and Silverlens Manila and New York.

A photograph of a figure seen from the waist up, unclothed, wrapped in silver mylar tape, against a black background.

Gina Osterloh, "Mirror Woman," 2020; archival pigment print; 31 x 22 in. Courtesy the artist, Higher Generation New York and Silverlens Manila and New York.

Image of a person dressed in black sitting on the floor in a white room, black rods pressed against their eyes, protruding out of the image frame. Th eimage is blurred or double-exposed, evoking a trembling movement.

Gina Osterloh, "Pressing Against Looking, Movement," 2019; archival pigment print; 34 x 43 in. Courtesy the artist, Higher Generation New York and Silverlens Manila and New York.

Gina Osterloh

Spring Open House