Chris Otley has an ongoing interest in the landscapes, structures, flora and fauna of the coast. In an ongoing series of etchings with aquatint, he has drawn quiet comparison between the refuge shelters found on the wonderfully liminal tidal causeway of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Northumberland (close to where he grew up), and the 'adjacent' beaches of Denmark, surrounded by industrial shipping ports and abandoned Nazi-era bunkers. Beaches and coastlines can be seen as at the heart of ideas of nationality and community, whether they welcome or guard against incomers. Otley studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art (BA 2005, MA 2006). He has regularly exhibited both independently and in group exhibitions. Recent highlights include his solo show ‘Coast’ at Magdalen Road Studios, Oxford; the International Original Print Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery (2024); The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024); the Bainbridge Open (2023); and the Society of Graphic Fine Arts at the Mall Gallery (2022). He has been awarded residencies at Cill Rialaig, County Kerry (2019) and Outlandia, Glen Nevis (2017), organised by London Fieldworks and the Nevis Landscape Partnership.
Chris Otley has an ongoing interest in the landscapes, structures, flora and fauna of the coast. In an ongoing series of etchings with aquatint, he has drawn quiet comparison between the refuge shelters found on the wonderfully liminal tidal causeway of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Northumberland (close to where he grew up), and the 'adjacent' beaches of Denmark, surrounded by industrial shipping ports and abandoned Nazi-era bunkers. Beaches and coastlines can be seen as at the heart of ideas of nationality and community, whether they welcome or guard against incomers. Otley studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art (BA 2005, MA 2006). He has regularly exhibited both independently and in group exhibitions. Recent highlights include his solo show ‘Coast’ at Magdalen Road Studios, Oxford; the International Original Print Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery (2024); The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024); the Bainbridge Open (2023); and the Society of Graphic Fine Arts at the Mall Gallery (2022). He has been awarded residencies at Cill Rialaig, County Kerry (2019) and Outlandia, Glen Nevis (2017), organised by London Fieldworks and the Nevis Landscape Partnership.