Tamara Osso
FEATURED WORK
THE PARADISE OF NORMALITY | Body is healing
The paintings are a celebratory rendering of our “exhale” as a family. They dialogue with everyday rituals which include walking, playing, sitting, painting and watching. They are a reflection on routine; that it could be consistently repeated instead of interrupted by seizures or traumatic events. This concept became the performance for which the paintings began to hold space.
DATES
21 May 2022
SOLO EXHIBITION
The Firestation, Rosebank
Arrive 10:30am for 11am
15 YEARS OF MAKING & MOVING
Body of work
“Osso’s artworks grapple with the connection between the immediacy of performance and the physicality of painting. In her career, she excelled as a ballet and contemporary dancer and performed with numerous local and international theatre companies before pursuing her studies in the visual arts field. She is a qualified teacher and currently runs workshops from her studio.”
NIRVANA | Body is released
a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. Also, a 90s rock band characterized by Grunge themes such as social alienation, psychological trauma, and a desire for freedom.
TUTU | Body is seeking
Choreographed Production
2017
Tutu is a short story written and produced for Dance Umbrella 2017 by Tamara Osso. In collaboration with Shanell Winlock, Laura Cameron, Kgotsofalang Moshe & Nathan Attie Botha from Moving into Dance Mophatong. The story is about reorganising social, cultural and personal structures. The challenges people face and the impact of their responses to those challenges.
Tea before the last supper
The photograph displays two women/ artists/ mothers dressed in top hats and bunny ears frantically serving a never-ending supply of tea. The piece is both a commentary on the patriarchal stillness of The Last Supper image as well as its exclusion of women. In Osso’s version there is no time for betrayal and the characters are not concerned that there might be someone important sitting in the middle.
SUBURBIA | Body is disembodied
2014
A piece developed in response to living in a gated community.
Individual hand-blown glass sculptures available
PREGNANT | Body is consumed
Installation with convex safety mirrors
2014
This installation piece was produced when Osso was pregnant. It explores how growing a fetus inside one’s body forces an examination of one’s external reality. The experience is alien.
Available for purchase
ODE TO YVES KLEIN | Body is engaged
Performance piece with paint and canvas
2014
This performance is an acknowledgement to the practice of Yves Klein. His avant-garde, ritualised approach to painting and conceptual gestures have influenced Osso’s exploration of movement and materiality.
VIRTUALLY REAL | Body is removed
Painting exhibition
2014
The first painting exhibition which explored the movement experienced when scrolling through social media platforms like Facebook. It is removed yet intimate all at once.
2 paintings available from this body of work
TOUCHWORKS | Body is here
Ongoing since 2016
Touch-works are paintings on glass developed as physical and emotional check-ins. It is a painting ritual, performed once a week.
“They help me to orientate where my body and mind are and how I am feeling in a particular moment” – Tamara Osso
This piece is titled ‘Nervous’
Various touch-works available
DISORDER OF ANTICIPATION | Body is stressed
Painting Exhibition
2018 – 2020
The Disorder of Anticipation Series is a psychological exploration of paint in relation to chaos, sadness and trauma. All of which are present when living with a person who suffers from epilepsy.
This piece is titled ‘Seizure’ (framed) – available for purchase
SELF-PORTRAIT V | Body is engaged
Photographed performance piece with paint on glass
2012
Can the dancer and the painter exist in one space?
Yes.
Limited edition of 3. Self-Portrait I – V available
OSSO
Artist Statement
“Osso’s artworks grapple with the connection between the immediacy of performance and the physicality of painting. She explores movement, the tempo of ritual and the rhythms of everyday life as they present in Johannesburg, South Africa. In her career, she excelled as a ballet and contemporary dancer and performed with numerous local and international theatre companies before pursuing her studies in the visual arts. Johannesburg is a city of many limitations (especially for women and people with disabilities) and Osso’s obsession with the dynamism of movement and mark, within such limitations, became emphasised after her son was diagnosed with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. In 2014 she completed her MAFA degree (with distinction) at WITS University and later, her PGCE certificate (with distinction) in education. She is currently running a teaching studio and making art.”
A Maker & a Teacher
If you are a self-taught artist still searching for your true expression, I believe I can help. I have a Masters Degree in Fine Arts and have been a practicing artist for 20 years.
I’d love to hear from you