Lara Rottinghaus
Born 1989 in Donaueschingen, Germany. Lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany
Lara Rottinghaus is a photorealist painter who explores the beauty of everyday life. Rottinghaus makes use of photographs that she usually takes herself, deploying the mimetic ability of photography.
At first glance, the works are reminiscent of classical paintings but at a closer look, traces of today's life position the works into the contemporary time frame. Such elements include, the depiction of smartphones, fashionable clothing and a free expression of gender identity. The artist's female gaze deviates from the classical sexualization of the female body as well as the macho image of the male; rather she presents her characters as liberated and empowered individuals.
Rottinghaus attempts to cherish life in all its simplicity and give significance to the "small things" such as friendship, comfort, aloneness, and companionship. Without forcing any arguments, she lets her compositions "talk" to the viewer through a kind of storytelling with which, one can easily relate through a personal engagement with the image.
Based in Düsseldorf, Lara Rottinghaus received her MFA from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf a student of Professor Siegfried Anzinger, in 2020. Selected solo and group exhibitions include: Fresh Positions, BBK Kunstforum Flingern, Düsseldorf (2021); Coming to Voice, Graduates of the Dusseldorf Academy, K21 Ständehaus, Düsseldorf (2021); Abschlussausstellung, Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf (2020) and Einhundertsiebzehn, WP8, Düsseldorf (2019).
