Arie Otten, (born 1954), the Netherlands, is a contemporary artist residing and working in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. His works are sublime, lyrical and abstract. Arie’s works involve subversive actions that highlight free flow & undefined boundaries creating a site of lyrically abstract works. Through his works on different media and art installations, Arie constructs facial description with his free style of bold strokes. Throughout his 15-year career, Arie has innovated multiple mediums expanding the horizon of his artworks, working with wooden panel to constructively using scrap material from construction sites. His artworks are an outcome of unintentional ending, seemingly deriving from the uncertain situations of life leading to more certain consequences. His works are greatly inspired by the great artists such as Anselm Kiefer, Mark Rothko, Karel Appel, Jan Cremer, Theo Wolvekamp and others.
Arie’s works have found their place in numerous public and private collections across the globe including countries such as the Netherlands, France, Italy, the USA and more. His works are permanently exhibited at Veldkamp Thuis, Tandprothetische Praktijk Van de Heg, Van Woudenberg BV and Art Café Sam Sam. Otten has conducted numerous solo shows and group exhibitions in the Netherlands.
Arie Otten (b. 1954, Apeldoorn, Netherlands) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Apeldoorn whose practice spans acrylic on canvas, mixed media on paper, sculpture, and installation. His materially incisive approach integrates found industrial elements, textiles, wood, and aluminum with acrylic paste, ash, and blood powder, generating layered topographies that negotiate between material presence and conceptual depth. Informed by the aesthetic legacies of Abstract Expressionism, art informel, and Cobra, Otten constructs a visual language defined by gestural intensity, textural experimentation, and an acute sensitivity to the ontological charge of materials.
At the core of Otten’s artistic inquiry lies his sustained engagement with Carl Jung’s notion of the “collective unconscious,” articulated through totemic archetypes, mythic figuration, and symbolic structures that occupy the threshold between the intuitive and the primordial. His works often dissolve the traditional division between figure and ground, allowing hybridized forms to surface within chromatic fields of luminous resonance. Through collaborative sculptural projects and his use of unconventional materials, Otten cultivates an eco-symbolic framework that reflects his deep affinities with natural forces, flora, and fauna. This synthesis of material experiment and archetypal inquiry positions his oeuvre as a speculative search for a renewed human subject shaped by shared memory, instinct, and ecological interconnectedness.
Arie Otten’s work has been exhibited internationally, including The Warrior Empath (curated by Dorron Britz, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Paris, 2025), Parasitó (curated by Dorron Britz, in collaboration with the Consulate of Mexico in Mumbai, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, 2025), La Rupture du Désir (Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Paris, 2025), the Global Open Studio Visit (Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, 2025), Faces (solo show, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery on Artsy, 2025), and The Power of Blue (curated by Dr. Caterina Corni, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Mumbai, 2024). His works have been exhibited at the NOISE Media Art Fair (represented by Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Vienna, 2024) and Art Miami, 2024 by Jessica Abbey. His practice has been featured in Art on World Magazine, and he received an honorary mention for Patterns of Memory at Vedica Art Studios and Gallery.
Veldkamp Thuis, Stationstraat 110, Apeldoorn
2020
Zo Mooij Gallery, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2019
Zo Mooij Gallery, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Art Studio 28, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
2017
Loolaan Gallery, Apeldoorn, the Netherland
2016
Gallery Frans Houben, Ootmarsum
2025
Parasitó, curated by Dorron Britz, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery in collaboration with the Consulate of Mexico in Mumbai, Mumbai, India
La Rupture du Désir, curated by Dorron Britz, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Yellow Cube Gallery, Paris, France
Faces, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Online Exclusive – Artsy
2024
The Power of Blue, curated by Caterina Corni, Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Mumbai, India
2023
Art On World, Arte Borgo Gallery, Bologna, Italy
2022
Arte Borgo Gallery, Rome, Italy
Arte Borgo Gallery, Salerno, Italy
Arte Borgo Gallery, Rome, Italy
Gallery PS (Kirsten Keagli Art Consulting), Zurich, Switzerland (Swiss)
2021
Gallery Mia Joosten , Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Luxembourg Art Fair, Luxembourg
2020
CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
2019
CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
2018
CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
Loolaan Gallery, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
Veldkamp Thuis, Apeldoorn , the Netherlands
2016
Galerie PS 20 , Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
Galerie PS 20, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
Galerie Frans Houben, Ootmarsum, the Netherlands
2015-2022
Tandprothetische Praktijk Van de Heg/ Van Woudenberg BV, Zwolsebinnenweg 5 Apeldoorn
2015
Sandmann Opticiens, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
2014
Gallery Pictura, Gorningen, the Netherlands
2024
NOISE Media Art Fair, represented by Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Vienna, Austria
African Woman, in a private collection, Vaassen, the Netherlands
Compositions in Red Nr.1, 2, 3, 4, in a private collection, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
Colorful Face, in a private collection, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
Cutting Red Nr. 2, in a private collection, Loosdrecht, the Netherlands
Geometric Composition in Yellow and Pink Nr.4/4, in a private collection, New York, USA
Man with Dog, in a private collection, Zurich, CH
No Title, in a private collection, Vaassen, the Netherlands
Pablo, in a private collection, Paris, France
Two people with animal, in a private collection, Hoogeveen, the Netherlands
Woman with Yellow Bag, in a private collection, New York, USA
2024
Patterns of Memory (honourable mention), Vedica Art Studios and Gallery, Mumbai, India
Siddhant Khattri, “Parasitó: What are we consuming – And what’s consuming us?” in e-book by Vedica Art Studios and Gallery at [https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/X92QJMAZYWT6G] consulted in September, 2025.
Ksenia Drobyshevskaya, “La Rupture du Désir” in Art On World Magazine (2025)
Siddhant Khattri, “Studio Visit x Arie Otten” in Artsy Viewing Room consulted in December, 2024.
Joas Nebe, “Parasitó, an exhibition by Vedica Art Studios and Gallery” in Titan Contemporary at [https://www.titancontemporary.net/single-post/parasito-an-exhibition-by-vedica-art-studios-and-gallery] consulted on 20 September, 2025.
Rajul Shah, “In my own words” in e-book Parasitó at [https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/X92QJMAZYWT6G] consulted in September, 2025.