RANDOM BEAUTY OF SKIN & PETALS
CARLA VAN DE PUTTELAAR
Is it a random idea to compare a young woman’s nude body to a old fading flower? Probably. But when you see their juxtaposition, as photographer Carla van de Puttelaar portrays them, the aesthetic relationship makes perfect sense. Human skin and flower petals become their own landscapes.
Van de Puttelaar’s photographs examine the skin and texture of both the post-prime flowers and female bodies in their prime. Both are sensual, translucent, luminous, delicate and captivating. They are highlighted in the artist’s new book, Adornments
The photos invite you to “touch” skin and petals on many levels, as Van de Puttelaar examines them in detail. The seemingly fragile shapes and structures beg for restraint and inspire awe.
Inspired by Dutch master painters, Rembrandt in particular, Van de Puttelaar is herself a master at working with natural light -- mostly northern light. She works it seductively, as it plays with each curve and tendril.
Van de Puttelaar has long been fascinated with female bodies and portraits. She’s explored them on her own artistic journey as well as via commissions, such as the series done in 2015 for The New Yorker.
Women’s faces, isolated body parts, and entire bodies, —often shown nude, sometimes partially clothed in lingerie, are elevated to almost divine proportions as are the drying flowers. Lit like porcelain against black backgrounds to heighten their translucency, they look both retro and modern, sensuous and pristine.
“The female body is my source of inspiration,” Van de Puttelaar explains. “I have my own tale to tell, which is different from [the] nude images the media want to show. . . . The differences in women’s bodies . . . show their individuality and their many different forms of beauty.”
The Rembrandt House Museum, in Amsterdam approached Van de Puttelaar to create a new series of works inspired by Rembrandt’s nudes. The parallels are remarkable in their sublime mastery of light, shadow, composition and strong light-dark contrasts.
“Rembrandt’s nudes inspired me to create new works in which I have been able to capture magical moments in new works of art,” Van de Puttelaar says. The exhibition is ongoing.
“I am especially interested in the skin, the sensations that give away somebody’s mood. I also like the differences in women’s bodies as a whole, which show their individuality and their many different forms of beauty, “ van de Puttelaar explains. “I often hear from both men and women that my work could only be made by a woman and that is the biggest compliment I can get.”
Carla van de Puttelaar is a graduate of the renowned Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Her work has been exhibited in The Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Korea and the United States.
Collections holding van de Puttelaar's work include Museum Winterhur (Switzerland), Huis Marseille Museum voor Fotografie (The Netherlands), and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London). She has had her work published in numerous press publications, with a monograph published by Le Caillou Bleu (Belgium) in 2008.
Carla van de Puttelaar is represented by the Danziger Gallery, Arusha Gallery, box galerie, Kahmann Gallery and Photo-Eye Gallery.
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