CHALLENGE ARTISTS > 2001-2002 >

Michelle Oosterbaan

	Sitting at the Base of a Tree (detail), 2000, gouache on paper, 72 x 42 inches

The paintings of Michelle Oosterbaan explore visual expectations and perspectives through the paradox of what is and what is remembered. Oosterbaan uses expanses of strong color to lure the viewer, then floats provocative images on the surface, allowing one to find a personal order out of the seemingly random placement of figurative elements. By moving from the general to the specific, the viewer creates one's own unfolding narrative of discovery, finding that multiple visions exist within the same reality. Ms. Oosterbaan received her BFA from Washington University, St. Louis, and her MFA from Indiana University, Bloomington.