Osterburg, Lothar

German, b.1961

BiographyLothar Osterburg builds miniature models out of salvaged objects, urban refuse and other unconventional materials, such as soap, twigs, rose thorns, and root vegetables, creating convincing representations of indoor and outdoor scenes recalled from memory. After photographing the minute constructions, often no more than an inch wide, Osterburg prints the images as photogravures. This traditional printmaking process, which involves etching the photographic image into a copper plate, yields a wide range of continuous black and gray tones and a textured quality that compliments the rough fabrication of Osterburg's models.

Osterburg received his BFA and MFA in printmaking and film from the Hochschule für Bildende Kunste in Braunschweig, Germany. After four years as master printer at Crown Point Press, in 1993 he established his own photogravure atelier in New York, through which he has worked with numerous artists, including William Wegman, Sol LeWitt, Kiki Smith, Jim Dine, Lorna Simpson, John Baldessari, and Christian Boltanski. Osterburg has taught at Cleveland Institute of the Arts, Bard College, Columbia University, and Cooper Union.