Anna Ostoya (B. 1978)

With its poignant play of black and white collaged images, interrupted by a staccato of grey vertical stripes, Exposures: 20.02.2011 is a beautiful example of Anna Ostoya’s original practice that engages with the history of art, from Conceptualism and Dada, to Minimalism. Fragmented figures collide in a harmony of barely distinguishable impressions, while a photograph of a man crouching, camera poised, breaks the regularity of dark stripes in the lower right corner. Conceptually reminiscent of On Kawara’s Today series, Exposures: 20.02.2011 is made of collaged pieces from that specific day’s newspaper, and constitutes a visual account of a passing moment in the life of humanity, an impression highlighted by the shuttering effect created by the rhythmic alternation of grey stripes. She writes, ‘In my painting I deconstruct images to construct new ones. I vivisect images into fragments letting new connections and new contents appear. Then I arrange what I see, trying to enclose the chaos in a lasting picture’
(A. Ostoya, Disclosures, http:/ bortolamigallery.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Anna-Wall-Text-in-Disclosures.pdf?23a211).