Blue Wonderment Exhibition The theme ‘Blue Wonderment’ came to Jan as she reflected on her experience of Covid times in Norway. The year 2021 was a difficult period for the entire world, with many people sad and worried, at times rather cold and blue. But blue is also a color for deep contemplation, curiosity, and even hopeful planning. People have had more time at home, time to think about what really matters, and a chance to plan together for a better future. Painting Series
Year of the Cow Series 12 items from 2021/2022 Cow welcomes 2021, Flying cows, Golden steer, Bovine factory, Gender fluid bull, Cubist bull portrait, Cubist standing bull, Majestic bull, Forest steer, Hidden bull, Cave art bull, Red woven bull. —— In China, each year corresponds to one of twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. The Covid-19 pandemic arrived in Norway in the Year of the Cow, and this series represents the artist's attempt to capture the different moods of this complicated time in the form of 12 different bulls, each with a unique character. The series includes the following 12 works: Cow welcomes 2021, Flying cows, Golden steer, Bovine factory, gender fluid bull, cubist bull portrait, cubist standing bull, majestic bull, forest steer, hidden bull, cave art bull, and red woven bull. cubist standing bull Cubist Standing Bull Contrasts Series Quarantine Windows (2020) Whale and Wave (2 black & white miniatures) (2020) Inexplicable Gear (2020) Twisting Layers (2021) ——The Contrasts series is comprised of 3 medium-sized paintings and 2 black and white miniatures. The first, Quarantine Windows was painted during the first month that the Covid- 19 pandemic came to Norway, and its contrasting colors of red and yellow show the sun and moon of the world, while the diverse windows give people a limited view onto the world during isolation. Whale and Wave (2 black & white miniatures) remind us of the power of nature, with hidden contrasts in black and white. Inexplicable Gear shows our attempts to alter something complex, even in ways that are not possible. Twisting Layers depicts rotations and textured spirals as we try to return to nature. Inexplicable Gear Chinese Dream Series Pear Flower Scent on Teacher's Day (September 2020) Ginkgo Leaf's Flight (2021) One Day, Two Festivals (October 2020) —— The Chinese Dreams series was developed partly out of nostalgia for China, where the artist has been unable to visit to see family for nearly 2.5 years due to pandemic travel restrictions. Pear Flower Scent on Teacher's Day was painted on China's national Teacher's Day to represent how flowers can bloom and scatter in a way that represents the ideas and students of a great teacher. The Ginkgo Leaf's Flight is intended to show how lovely leaves of the Gingko, a common ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, can be lightly tossed in the breeze. One Day, Two Festivals is the most difficult painting to explain to those who are not Chinese, but it represents how two deeply meaningful festivals occur on the same day in China, the National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Pear Flower Scent on Teacher's Day Organic Unraveling Series Dragon spine (twist) (2021) Spinal tap (white cells) (2021) Vertebral spring (black folicles) (2021) —— The Organic Unraveling series came after a time that the artist's Father had painful spinal surgery. In modern life, many people develop back problems from too much sitting in one place, which is why traditional Chinese massage can be an important practice for everyone to learn, so they can relax and be healthy. Dragon Spine is a fantastical image of compound textures, while Spinal Tap shows unraveling materials from the spinal column, and Vertebral Spring shows explosive springing out of black follicles of nerve endings. Dragon spine Dragon Spine Blue Miniatures Series Siberian lilies by water (2021) Ice crystals on snow (2021) Secret garden (2021) Crystal staircase (2021) Muddled maze (2021) ——The Blue Miniatures series features various images associated with cool water, ice crystals, and other natural forms. Siberian Lilies by Water is inspired by remarkable flowers that unexpectedly grew in spring beside the artist's home. Ice Crystals on Snow displays surprising textures encountered during walks in the Norwegian forest. Secret Garden depicts layers of frozen leaves in winter that obscure an opening. Crystal Staircase shows layers of reflective depth, while Muddled Maze challenges us to find a path through the cold confusion. Secret garden Secret Garden Betwixt Webs Series Grass-web (green/white) (2021) Life-web (black/pink) (2021) Space-web (two black holes) (2021) —— The Betwixt Webs series displays web-like textures from various angles. These include Grass-Web, which shows gossamer twisting through blades of grass, Life-Web, which depicts a life force threatened by pitch-black angst, and Space-Web, which challenges us to enter a woven space to a new dimension. Life-web Life-web Larger Independent Works Mossy Numerals (2019) Sound painting (2021) —— Two relatively large independent paintings are included in the exhibition. Mossy Numerals is a work that reveals numbers constructed of mossy stones that are juxtaposed against a zero, or null, nothing. We are reminded that somehow zero is always both the smallest and the largest number of all. Sound Painting depicts reflected layers of light and shadow, and was created during a live streamed performance of improvised music by Jostein Stalheim, Stefan Ostersjo, Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Sergej Tchirkov, and Claudio Jacomucci in 2021. Sound painting Sound Painting Life Textures Series Floral Splash (2021) Organic Depths (2021) Windy pair (2 small paintings) (2021) Liquid Music (2021) Edelweiss (2021) —— The Life Textures series shows active movement in natural textures of water, wind, and flowers. These works include the colorful Floral Splash, the plunging Organic Depths, and the graceful lines of Windy Pair ( 2 small paintings ). Also in the Life Textures series are the curious angles and ripples of Liquid Music, and Edelweiss, with petals on suspended silkscreen. Liquid Music Leaves Series Leaves and Butterflies (2021) Ferns and Golden Foliage in Autumn (2021) Glimpsing Sky from Beneath Dazzling Leaves (2022) Gentle Brook Beyond Foliage (2022) —— The Leaves series shows the unappreciated beauty to be found in aging, as life is lost bit by bit, leaving remnants all around us each Autumn. From this series, Leaves and Butterflies shows fluttering of glass-wing butterflies amongst bluish leaves, while Ferns and Golden Foliage in Autumn is a collage that evokes hints of spearmint and bee pollen. Two paintings from 2022 are Glimpsing Sky from Beneath Dazzling Leaves, which depicts hope in dark places, and Gentle Brook Beyond Foliage, which shows a tranquil place unaffected by human struggles. Leaves and Butterflies Wool-felting Fish Series
Fish Series 10 from 2021: Cod (torsk), Yellow Perch, Pike, Waddling Red Fish, Pouncing Trout, Fighting Fish, Dragon Fish, Flounder, Deep-sea Anglerfish, Dumbo Octopus 1 from early work: Flying Fish (c.2015) —— Wool has been an important material for Scandinavian women’s crafts since the Viking Age. Fishing has been a major industry and source of sustenance in western Norway for equally long. For these reasons, the artist set out to make original works depicting fish of all kinds through the splendid technique of wool felting. The Fish Series includes 10 works from 2021 as well as an early work from c.2015. Specifically, these are: Cod (torsk), yellow perch, pike, waddling red fish, pouncing trout, fighting fish, dragon fish, flounder, deep-sea anglerfish, dumbo octopus, and Flying fish (c.2015, early work). cubist standing bull Yellow Perch Children's Fish Series 3 Pufferfish family (tan-father, gold-mother, red-baby) 2021 1 Mobile with four baby fish 2021 —— Children of several friends in Bergen were asked to draw fish. The artist later transformed their sketches into wool felted fish. These became a hanging mobile with suspended baby fish as well as an entire pufferfish family. The works in the Childen’s Fish series are Pufferfish Family (tan-father, gold-mother, red-baby), and Mobile with Four Baby Fish. Pufferfish Family (father) |