Erik Ortvad - unique - Portrait of CoBrA Artists

1996

Unique work in mixed media. 
Portrait of the Danish CoBrA artist Erik Ortvad, reworked by the artist himself. 
Edited photo print on watercolor paper. Hand-signed in red crayon “E.O.” in the middle. Bottom right on the mount signed by hand and dated (19)96 by the photographer Aernout Overbeeke. Framed in a bespoke wooden frame, with art glass for superior clarity and preservation.Framed: Approx 120 x 85 cm 

In 1995 Dutch photographer Aernout Overbeeke (b.1951) made a remarkable series of portraits of seventeen renowned CoBrA-artists. At a distance of three meters Overbeeke zoomed in on the hands and eyes. The portraits were printed on large-size watercolour paper. 

These portraits were transformed by the CobrA-artists themselves in their own style into unique mixed-media pieces, using techniques such as watercolor, drawing, crayons and pencil. The series was exhibited at the CoBrA Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen. Here we present one of those portraits. 

Erik Ortvad (1917-2008) was a Danish painter and member of the COBRA movement, known for his bold, expressive colors and abstract, playful compositions.