Hauser & Wirth Somerset • Artiste Angel Otero. About the artist • Agua Salada • 2 May – 18 October 2026 • Photo: Javier Romero • Press Release
Angel Otero est né en 1981 à Santurce, à Porto Rico, où il a vécu jusqu'en 2004, année où il a obtenu
son BFA à la School of the Art Institute of Chicago. En 2009, peu après l'obtention de son MFA,
il a participé à l'exposition « Constellations » au Museum of Contemporary Art de Chicago.
Il partage actuellement son temps entre New York et Porto Rico. Otero a fait l'objet d'importantes expositions personnelles en 2016
au Contemporary Arts Museum de Houston et en 2017 au Bronx Museum of the Arts de New York.
La démarche d'Otero repose sur la construction et la déconstruction : il superpose des couches de peinture à l'huile sur verre, les laisse sécher partiellement, puis décolle délicatement ces « peaux » fragiles
au Contemporary Arts Museum de Houston et en 2017 au Bronx Museum of the Arts de New York.
La démarche d'Otero repose sur la construction et la déconstruction : il superpose des couches de peinture à l'huile sur verre, les laisse sécher partiellement, puis décolle délicatement ces « peaux » fragiles
qu'il repositionne sur la toile. Cette méthode fait appel à l'imprévisibilité, intégrant le hasard
dans la composition finale et permettant des transformations et des évolutions constantes.
Chaque œuvre devient un palimpseste de gestes, de couleurs et de durées, portant en elle sa propre histoire, où transparaissent les traces de marques antérieures. Ainsi, Otero harmonise processus
et intention : par la superposition et l'entrelacement minutieux de fragments provenant de sources disparates, il évoque la manière dont la mémoire, imprécise et souvent déformée, se reconstruit sans cesse et se fond dans notre présent.
L'œuvre d'Otero figure dans de nombreuses collections publiques et privées, notamment le Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx (New York) ; Istanbul Modern, Istanbul (Turquie) ; le Kemper Museum
L'œuvre d'Otero figure dans de nombreuses collections publiques et privées, notamment le Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx (New York) ; Istanbul Modern, Istanbul (Turquie) ; le Kemper Museum
of Contemporary Art, Kansas City (Missouri) ; le Long Museum, Shanghai (Chine) ; le Moderna Museet, Stockholm (Suède) ; le Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico ; le Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (Illinois) ; le North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh (Caroline du Nord) ;
le Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (New York) ; le Speed Art Museum,
Louisville (Kentucky) ; et le Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (Virginie). et le Whitney Museum of American Art, à New York.
About the artist
Angel Otero was born in 1981 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, where he resided until moving in 2004 to obtain
his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2009, Otero was included in the exhibition
‘Constellations’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, shortly after receiving his MFA.
He currently splits his time between New York and Puerto Rico. Otero was the subject of major solo exhibitions in 2016 at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and in 2017 at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY.
Otero’s process remains one of construction and deconstruction: building up surfaces of oil paint on glass,
allowing them to partially dry, then carefully peeling the fragile ‘skins’ that he repositions onto canvas. This method embraces unpredictability, welcoming chance into the final composition and allowing for continual shifts and transformations. Each work becomes a palimpsest of gesture, colour, and duration, carrying its own history on its surface where traces of previous marks bleed through. In this way, Otero brings process and intention into alignment: through the careful layering and interweaving of fragments from disparate sources, he evokes the way memory, imprecise and often distorted, is continually reconstructed and collapsing into our present.
Otero’s work is in numerous public and private collections including The Bronx Museum of the Arts,
Bronx NY; Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Turkey; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City MO;
Long Museum, Shanghai, China; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
de Puerto Rico; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago IL; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh NC;
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York NY; Speed Art Museum, Louisville KY; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond VA; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York NY.
Otero’s process remains one of construction and deconstruction: building up surfaces of oil paint on glass,
allowing them to partially dry, then carefully peeling the fragile ‘skins’ that he repositions onto canvas. This method embraces unpredictability, welcoming chance into the final composition and allowing for continual shifts and transformations. Each work becomes a palimpsest of gesture, colour, and duration, carrying its own history on its surface where traces of previous marks bleed through. In this way, Otero brings process and intention into alignment: through the careful layering and interweaving of fragments from disparate sources, he evokes the way memory, imprecise and often distorted, is continually reconstructed and collapsing into our present.
Otero’s work is in numerous public and private collections including The Bronx Museum of the Arts,
Bronx NY; Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Turkey; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City MO;
Long Museum, Shanghai, China; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
de Puerto Rico; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago IL; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh NC;
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York NY; Speed Art Museum, Louisville KY; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond VA; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York NY.
Copyright and Courtesy Credits:
Studio portrait of Angel Otero, Puerto Rico, 2026
Photo: Javier Romero • Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Detail of work in progress by Angel Otero, 2026
Photo: Javier Romero • Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Studio portrait of Angel Otero, Brooklyn, 2026
Photo: Javier Romero • Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Press Contacts:
Laura Cook • lauracook@hauserwirth.com • +44 (0)1749 814 595
Joseph Lamb • joseph@suttoncomms.com • +44 (0)7715 666 041
Photo: Javier Romero • Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Detail of work in progress by Angel Otero, 2026
Photo: Javier Romero • Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Studio portrait of Angel Otero, Brooklyn, 2026
Photo: Javier Romero • Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Press Contacts:
Laura Cook • lauracook@hauserwirth.com • +44 (0)1749 814 595
Joseph Lamb • joseph@suttoncomms.com • +44 (0)7715 666 041
www.hauserwirth.com • @hauserwirthsomerset
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