Oltheten, Paulien

BiographyPaulien Oltheten travels the world observing the patterns of behavior that people intuitively adopt as they walk through or exist in public spaces. In her practice, she makes photographs and videos of people reenacting gestures or motions that she first witnesses and then asks them to replicate. In her multimedia installations, her negotiation of present and past, and of foreign and familiar, becomes apparent through photographs, texts, and videos that vivify the minute, unconscious activities and details that occur as we navigate our surroundings. With distinct acuity, she uncovers meaning in even the most mundane human routines and reveals the ways we encounter others at random and subtly shape their experience, as they, in turn, shape ours.

Paulien Oltheten studied at the Rijksakademie, Amsterdam until 2006. She was a resident artist at the International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York (2013). She has exhibited internationally, including solo shows at Braunschweig Museum for Photography, Germany (2014); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2014); and Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam (2011). She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Dutch Doc Award (2012) and the Lecturis Art Award (2010). Oltheten's work is held in the collections of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Huis Marseille, Museum for Photography, Amsterdam; FRAC Basse, Normandy; among others.