Colour Etchings

“You may also take a picture as a dream sometimes…”

(Paul Klee)

 

Numerous graphic prints tell the spectator about African primeval forests with their flora and fauna, about distant desert cities, mysterious castles and about reveries in a poetic, fairy-tale way.

When looking at the colour etchings, you will discover two different groups, which at first glance differ considerably from each other:

On the one hand, you have Elfriede Otto’s well-known fairy-tale subjects which have a very positive effect on the human mind. Pictures inviting the spectator to immerse in his dreams with phases of recreation for the stressed contemporary and visions of a fairy-tale world. (Dr. Orpel)

On the other hand, there are etchings which differ considerably in colour and form from the above-mentioned group. Here, the spectator will notice, for instance, archaic forms of expression, which Elfriede Otto discovered during her scholarship on the Norwegian Lofoten Islands when looking at rock drawings of the first inhabitants. It is these forms of expression of prehistoric art which lead Elfriede Otto to abstraction.

Triennial Festival of Grenchen , 2000

The cycle “Vision 2000” comprises etchings which were created in the Carborundum/ Aquatint technique, with the large format four-plate etching “Aufbruch ins All” (Departure into Space / 165 cm x 120 cm) certainly being a pinnacle of her success. Not only was this etching exhibited at the renowned Graphic Triennial Festival in Grenchen/Switzerland, but it was also purchased by the Triennial Commission for the Art House of the City of Grenchen.