Scandinavian fairy tales on the canvases of the artist Christer Karlstad (Christer Karlstad)
Scandinavian fairy tales on the canvases of the artist Christer Karlstad (Christer Karlstad)

Video: Scandinavian fairy tales on the canvases of the artist Christer Karlstad (Christer Karlstad)

Video: Scandinavian fairy tales on the canvases of the artist Christer Karlstad (Christer Karlstad)
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Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad

Christer Karlstad is a Norwegian artist who works in a figurative manner. In each of his paintings, you can see a slight breath of death and nostalgia. Post-apocalyptic landscapes are a symbol of inevitability, impossibility to change fate. And yet, who is in control of the situation in the paintings? Animal or human?

Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad

The fear of the end of the world can be traced in some of the artist's works. In his visual world, time ceases to exist, and the usual reality appears in a new light. The new world is a place in which people and animals do not know each other at all. The rules are unknown, the first-person narrative is ambiguous, and the hierarchies are confused. The artist's work reflects his understanding of the universe. He participates freely in myths, symbols and archetypes. The viewers faced with his paintings have many questions: the hero of the picture died or is just sleeping, where the line is between good and evil, consolation and anxiety, but all the answers are hidden in the questions themselves.

Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad

- First, tell us a little about yourself.

I am an artist from Norway, born in 1974. My relatives on my father's side were farmers, so my last name is the name of the family farm. I was born in Relingen, just 30 minutes from Oslo. A couple of months ago, my friend and I moved to the small town of Drammen. Now we live in a big house, where I finally have a spacious studio overlooking a beautiful garden.

Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad

- How did your creative career start?

When I was 5 or 6 years old, I saw a painting of a dramatic landscape in an encyclopedia. A small black and white photo of a waterfall in Telemark was the most surprising discovery at the time. After that, my mother took me to the National Gallery, where I could see this painting in all its glory. I have been drawing my whole life, but I started to learn this professionally only at the age of 18. All my acquaintances said that it is impossible to become a famous artist without doing some crazy thing. For example, committing suicide or cutting off an ear. And I, of course, believed everything at that time. I have never imagined myself at work, where I would have to constantly depend on someone. Gradually, I, and then my family, realized that the only possible way was a creative career. Probably, this is my fate, which to some extent can be perceived as a curse.

Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad

- What inspires you to create psychedelic pictures?

Psychedelic? There are many other words to describe my work, but I understand what you mean. I often walk in parks and forests with a camera and sketchbook. Nature, animals and people are a source of inspiration. But usually, the first bright idea comes before I fall asleep, and my brain is about to shut down. I have come to the conclusion that many of my ideas are born out of fear of loss and change.

Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad

- Are there any new techniques in your field that you would like to try? Yes, there are a lot of them, but after experimenting with different genres during my school years, I lost interest in constant change. I want to grow as an artist, creating more complex and intriguing works every day, but so far my technique can be described as follows: "always different, always the same."

- How do you motivate yourself to create new projects?

Nobody paid attention to my work about 3 or 4 years ago. I guess I kept on some kind of stubbornness, bordering on motivation, and, of course, the help of my family. I try to always be honest with myself, not paying attention to what someone wants or expects from me. Lack of motivation or idea is not a problem. This is my life, and pictures are a reflection of my soul. This is not something I do out of a sense of duty.

Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad

- What contemporary artists are you most attracted to? In addition to my colleagues and friends, whom I sincerely sympathize with, the works that attract my attention were not created by contemporaries. I like mannerism, especially portraits of Bronzino, Caravaggio, Italian Baroque, including Goya and artists of the Romantic era, in particular Caspar David Friedrich. Also, I am interested in the work of the Symbolist artist Fernand Knopf.

Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad
Scandinavian Tales by Christer Karlstad

Artist Monica Cook also adheres to the figurative manner of painting. Her work evokes an ambiguous reaction from the public: some enthusiastically follow the constant updating of collections, while others cannot endure a cursory look at paintings, sculptures or photographs.

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