Wikipedia:Otgonbayar Ershuu

Otgonbayar Ershuu (Эршүүгийн Отгонбаяр; 18 January 1981 in Ulan Bator) is a Mongolian painter. His artist name is OTGO.

Life
He grew up among seven siblings and one adoptive brother. Interested in painting from an early age, he had his first solo exhibitions by the age of fifteen. From 1996 to 1998, Otgonbayar studied traditional Mongolian painting in Ulan Bator and received his degree as a painter. He decided to learn the craft of Mongolian miniature painting, studying on his own as there was no course of study offered in the subject. During the years 1998 and 2004, Otgonbayar traveled to Mongolia's historic sites and took part in numerous cultural and social projects. After his studies he participated in several expeditions to historical sites in Mongolia as a painter and conservator. Otgonbayar studied the different techniques and iconography of miniature paintings as well as their spiritual backgrounds at the Buddhist-lamaist monasteries. Otgonbayar has been active as a freelance artist since 1998. Ershuu has lived in Berlin since 2005. From 2007 to 2010 he studied at the Institute for Art in Context, Faculty of Fine Arts, Berlin University of the Arts and graduated with a Masters of Arts in 2010. Otgonbayar Ershuu has exhibited his work in international exhibitions in Japan, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, India, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Moldova and Mongolia. In 2018, a retrospective of his art was held at the Mongolian National Art Gallery.

Thangka painting
Otgonbayar was inspired to learn the traditional technique of thangkas. His working method is to paint his depictions directly on the canvas. Otgonbayar has created 600 thangkas. Mongolian Thangka painting has been miniaturized according to the tradition of his country and even the iconography has been adapted to the diverse existing beliefs. Otgonbayar's repertoire of figures draws on the theotechny of Shamanism, of Tengerism and Buddhism. His miniature gods are partial details of bigger paintings or pictorial interpretations of a sculpture. They are still, however, individualized in regards to style. During the production of his thangkas Ershuu uses different primers. In order to obtain these it is necessary to pre-treat his canvases. The black primer is a mixtures of carbon black, chalk, and vodka or milk liquor. He adds to this a mixture of pigments, minerals and plants. Finally the mixture is bound with glue extracted from yak hide and applied to both sides of the canvas.

Comic
One of the works of long continuation by Ershuu has been his Secret History of the Mongols, configuring the style of Mongolian painting as a comic. This consists of about 600 pages, which are divided into 12 chapters. The Secret History of the Mongols was written about 800 years ago and is considered the oldest and most significant Mongolian work of literature. It did not contain any illustrations originally. In order to make this history more comprehensive and interesting, Ershuu decided to transform the content into Mongolian miniature painting. One of his main concerns was to create an authentic portrayal which necessitated extensive research.

HUN painting
Otgonbayar's painting HUN replicates the traditional art of Mongolian miniatures, much expanded on the large scale of 2.2 m x 6.6 m. Viewed closeup, the canvas seethes with tiny people and animals such as snakes, pandas, and lions interacting with each other.

Film

 * ZURAG – a film about Otgonbayar Ershuu; Germany/Mongolia 2010; produced by Tobias Wulff (the movie was broadcast twice on Mongolian State television in 2011)
 * HUN - Otgo, Hosoo, Transmongolia (Art Documentation), Germany 2012, A film by Dave Lojek

Publications

 * Otgonbayar Ershuu: HEARTFELT HEAVEN. Printed in Hiimori Printing Co., Ltd Ulan Bator Mongolia 2004, ISBN 99929-74-08-7
 * Otgonbayar Ershuu: THE GODS Printed in Hiimori Printing Co., Ltd Ulan Bator Mongolia 2004, ISBN 99929-74-07-9
 * Otgonbayar Ershuu: BLUE Munkhiin Useg Verlag, Mongolia 2016 ISBN 978-99973-58-38-7

Awards

 * 1996: Awarded with the gold medal "Knowledge" by the culture palace of Mongolian Children institution, Ulan Bator
 * 2004: Awarded as "Best Mongolian National Talent" by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of Mongolia
 * 2013: "Diploma of Excellence Art" by "The International Biennale of Painting" Chisinau, Moldavia
 * 2015: "Grand Prix" by "The International Biennale of Painting" Chisinau, Moldava

Critiques
(Åsa Jonsén newspaper review „Nerikes Allehanda“ newspaper, 11/17/2007 (Örebro, Sweden))
 * From time to time his art tilts towards the almost grotesque, as if the picture was so full of humans that they start to devour each other. Whole armies disappear into the mouth of another human; masses of humans wriggle closely around each other and it may either be associated with overpopulation or a perishing global orgy.

(Uwe Ahnert, gallery owner, Collection Freudenberg, Berlin 2009) (Martina Busch, Berlin 2010)
 * Through his studies OTGO has brought miniature painting to new heights. In modifying his position in regard to the picture the onlooker discovers the picture-in-picture composition as if looking through an artistically arranged prismatic telescope, which reveals detailed sceneries with completely independent meanings with every approaching step. This obfuscates the painting's overall impression of the playful handling of colors and motifs and the peaceful coexistence of stencil-like precise, seemingly light and cheerful elements which may only be perceived from a distance. With each step towards the picture the onlooker discovers a new and diverse aspect of its interiority.
 * Otgonbayar Ershuu has become “a Mongol with a thousand horses…” In colorful herds, they gallop across the canvases and carry us away into a multi-facetted miniature universe. Minimundus explains the world to us OTGO will explain Mongolia – Land of the horses – to us. Who else could do it, who else painted half a million horses?