Arie Otten, born in 1954 in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, is a self-taught visual artist whose work thrives on spontaneity and the raw honesty of the abstract. With no formal training, Otten has built a practice rooted in freedom, experimentation, and emotional resonance. His medium of choice spans across acrylics, oils, organic pigments, and repurposed materials—anything that invites new ideas and unexpected outcomes. Known for beginning with a blank canvas and letting the work unfold through process, Otten’s pieces often carry echoes of his past work in emergency services. Faces emerge, fragmented or hidden, revealing the quiet imprint of human experience. His 2018–2019 exhibition of 17 wooden panel paintings exemplifies his intuitive approach—starting from nothing and discovering form along the way. In this interview, Otten shares insight into his creative process, love for materials, and the joy he finds when his work moves others emotionally.
Here is the artist’s interview.
1. What is your creative process like?
I made these series of 17 paintings on wooden panels , for an exhibition in December 2018/Januari 2019. I always start my work with a blanco idee and during my painting process and gradually something emerges and I then work on that.
2. Do any personal experiences shape your work?
Yes, before I started as an artist, I worked on the ambulance and that’s why faces often appear abstracted in my work. I am a people person and love people and animals.
3. What challenges do you face as an artist?
I love the experimentation and challenges that come my way. I also find working with used and unusual materials fascinating.
4. What do you want people to feel when they see your art?
If people become happy and sometimes emotional about my work, that makes me very happy. Then I know it is good and that it suits them.
Arie Otten’s journey as an artist is grounded in curiosity, compassion, and a strong belief in creative freedom. His intuitive method, shaped in part by his past on the ambulance, lends his work a quiet depth that resonates with those who encounter it. Whether through abstracted faces or unconventional materials, he seeks connection—between the artwork and the viewer, and between feeling and form. His goal isn’t perfection, but sincerity. When someone smiles or feels stirred by his work, that’s when he knows it’s complete. Otten’s art invites us to pause, feel, and follow the unexpected.
