In Milan, the solo exhibition of Dutch photographer Carla van de Puttelaar

From March 31 to May 2022, Other Size Gallery in Milan hosts the solo exhibition of Dutch photographer Carla van de Puttelaar (Amsterdam, 1967), Northern Lights, curated by Claudio Composti.

Her photographs are inspired by the refined Northern European portraiture of the seventeenth century, projecting it into the contemporary world: the author tackles, at the same time delicately and powerfully, the theme of the female body, enhancing it in all its idiosyncrasies and uniqueness in a gaze that always makes it beautiful and poetic. Favorite subjects are indeed female portraits and still lifes.

“The female body is his main subject,” says the curator, “but in recent years he has also begun to portray the beauty of flowers, particularly those on the verge of wilting. Floral surface that like skin, thin and protective, characterizes the flower and undergoes the passage of time and has always represented the symbolism of the transience of life and beauty that, precisely, fades. Epic memento mori, typical of Flemish still-life.”

A black background and the light from a north-facing window are the ingredients the Dutch photographer needs to portray her subjects. Natural light is one of her most important assets along with a keen interest in the painting of the old masters of the Dutch Baroque that led her to obtain a doctorate in seventeenth-century portraiture. All her references coexist in her photographs: the dramatic effect given by alternating light and darkness, the mathematical precision and detail, and the refinement of still lifes.

The exhibition will feature some shots from her most famous series: those from the Rembrandt Series, commissioned by the Rembrandt House in Amsterdam itself, which invited her to confront the Flemish master’s portraits; the photographs from the Galatea project inspired by the Greek myth of Pygmalion who, having fallen in love with his sculpture, begged Aphrodite to make her human; and the shots from the Hortus Nocturnum series in which flowers are treated as if they were human bodies.

The exhibition is part of Milan Art Week.

Hours: Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday.

Image: Carla van de Puttelaar, Hortus Nocturnum (54 x 77 cm).

In Milan, the solo exhibition of Dutch photographer Carla van de Puttelaar

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.