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— Ostensibly Speaking

ARTIST STATMENT

I build miniature worlds through surreal paintings that examine reality through a philosophical lens. Grounded in my lived experience, I alchemize emotions into colorful paintings and intricate linework to challenge our human understanding of reality and encourage introspection. Eyeball motifs are often present among the organic forms not as an embellishment, but as presence. Eyes animate the canvas itself, allowing it to look back at the viewer in an exchange of awareness: you perceive the painting, and the painting perceives you. This reciprocity transforms a still illustration into a conscience entity. I often work with audio artists to visualize sounds from concerts, albums, or studio sessions into a tangible form. I encourage viewers to self reflect on what it means to be alive by emphasizing the importance of deliberately noticing details in these illustrations and, more importantly, in everyday life.  

ABOUT

Ostensibly Speaking is a Contemporary Fine Artist based in Brooklyn, New York specializing in bold acrylic paintings and fine line ink drawings. Her art being a physical manifestation of her emotions depicting a glimpse into her psyche through vibrant miniature worlds.

Pictured: Tardigrade (2025) and Birds & Bees (2025) Group Exhibition, Listen to Your Mother (Mother Nature, that is), Brooklyn, NY.

Pictured: Emotional Load (Emergence Collection, 2025)

"I am not an artist because I want to be, I am an artist because I need to be."

Raised by parents immersed in construction and design, Osten learned early to see making as both utility and expression. In her childhood she could often be found heely-ing through Home Depot or collecting knock out from old electrical boxes to decorate mud castles. "I grew up surrounded by creativity. Some of my fondest memories are playing with discarded materials at building sites," she recalls. 

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Through the years she handcrafted many projects, ranging from millinery to fashion design, macrame to beadmaking, and painting everything along the way. As a frugal artist, she often sourced materials from thrift and consignment stores in awe of the potential around her. "I always intend to cause the least amount of harm to Mother Earth so sourcing secondhand materials was a win for my pockets and the environment."

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Osten poses with paper dolls on mound of dirt in front of house framing (2007).

Osten pictured in Buzz Picasso,  wearing oversized flower hat made from materials sourced from the store (2021).

This foundation  took on many art forms in her commission from home decor to customized clothing. She encouraged her clients to come with their own vision and sees herself a vessel to bring those ideas to life. She recalls her biggest challenge at the time was finding her own art style. "I would get tons of requests for realism, which was not my favorite category to work in, but the feeling of handing over a finished piece and knowing it is going to a happy home was always worth it." She often added a small, personal detail from the client to the back of a piece to make it feel extra special and allow her to express some of her own creativity. 

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Client's motorcyle handpainted on riding jacket

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500 hand rolled paper beads strung between two stalks of bamboo

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Satin lined faux fur bucket hat

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Eat the Big Apple (Emergence Collection, 2025)

In 2022, she earned a BBA in Marketing from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business and entered corporate retail. This experience led her to NYC and began what she thought would be her dream career in product development.

From an outside perspective she had made it, but inside something was quietly starving. After 4 years this career would come to a unexpected halt upon being diagnosed with a neurological disorder. Osten credits art as the best medicine. "I treated my art as a side project for so long by bottling up my creativity and putting it on a shelf for later. But the body keeps score in ways a spreadsheet could never. I am not an artist because I want to be, I am an artist because I need to be." She left the stability of a traditional job that looked like success and started to follow her intuition using art on her journey to heal. 

Osten was introduced to the music scene by vocalist Insãne Shinobi, taking on the role of personal designer and live painter. It is no surprise that music became the muse to many of her paintings as she often found herself inspired by studio sessions and performances around Brooklyn. "Musicians are my favorite people to work with because they understand how to hear things that aren't there yet, in the same way I can see things that aren't there yet." Her most recent collaborative pieces include the NY x VA hat and the Color Theory Album cover. "Painting is about capturing a moment in time. Its the alchemy of turning sound into something that you can stare into." Her fondness of  painting along to music marked a shift toward more audio collaborations.

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Shinobi concert performance handpainted on denim jacket

EXHIBITION EXPERIENCE

Group Exhibition, Pancakes & Booze, Brooklyn, NY

 

Live Painting, Insane Shinobi Concert, Hampton, VA

Group Exhibition, Listen to Your Mother (Mother Nature, that is), Brooklyn, NY

Group Exhibition, The Neighborhood Art Series: Interstellar, Brooklyn, NY

2025

2026

OSTENSIBLY SPEAKING

Behind
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© 2025 

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