Artist's Statement No. 01.

Art


I believe in, one can't understand the art of present times, if he doesn't know of the past. This has been crucial in my insight of the development in art of all times. For years I have been working on my skills within traditional crafts as well as the knowledge of the history and theory of art. My intense exploration of visual arts began, when I choose painting and drawing as my media.

It is no understatement that I have dedicated my life to the work of Fine Arts. In my view, technical skills are necessary as the means that serve art, but an artistic expression of a true self is even more important. During the past year I have been engaged in a struggle in pursuit of an authentic artistic expression, which entailed a deeply personal recognition of a life long escape from the past and my childhood. Due to this excavation - this allowance and acceptance of myself - I am now able to produce an art of a higher sincerity and presence that shall also influence my future work.

My curiosity works as an engine thrusting forward towards new ways of expression. To dare getting out of one's depth is one of my working methods, as I believe in the occurrence or creation of vital and sincere art at this stage. Being willing to step into this area, where one is to be ruled by unpredictable impulses, nerves and temper, is of the greatest importance to me. I seek to express authentic perception, without too much interference by the intellect. Forcing obstacles with my heart at first, and the mind later on.


A description of some of the works


I strive to let my person and story at heart, become the content of my work. In the series [Pre-existent, In movement (Tsunami), Boating, Copenhagen, La Gran Puta y sus Hijas, The Window and Goats, I worked with the theme of glimpses from passing times. A frozen moment of that Second past and future meet and become the present. Both melancholy and sweet memories are at present in those works. We all know the feeling of our forth-coming death, when memories remind us of the decay of times. A mutual goal in that series was the attempt to integrate abstraction and figuration in one painting. The surroundings andabstract elements are free for interpretations, as I believe in the great importance of leaving as much as possible, to the imagination of the spectator...

In my still life paintings I always seem to get back to the personality of the objects. I work on a rather narrow view of a selected area and environment. The composition is essential as well as my choice of palette and method of painting. My still life works seem to be a portrait of my own state of mind. Tables left behind, to create the scenery of solitude.

In some of my latest paintings I have been working in a large-scale format, where the motives were enlarged to a size larger than 1:1 (Thoughtful #1 & #2). Those were experiments to see how a fragmentfrom an intimate situation would appear on a format far away from it's actual size, and at the same time it's capability to express my need of being close.


The future


The understanding of this era is of great significance when taking action in relation to it. We live in an age of technology that urges us to work on fine arts interaction with other media. In my quest I've been experimenting with film/ video and theatre works, closely together with traditional painting and vice versa. This is something I wish to further develop, as I am convinced that new ideas on what painting is, was, and will be, are bound to appear. My goal is to relate to my contemporaries and participate in the progress of contemporary art of our time.

Paintingis my choice of media. A continuation of my current style is not an option, where as I wish to work towards new directions and draw on the new inspiration and challenges of the surrounding environment. I wish to advance in my abilities of self-critical analysis and make further studies of the use and capabilities of visual art. I want to work on the development of a more articulate pictorial language and search the use of traditional painting combined with abstraction and other medias.


Future expectancy


I'll probably learn the most, where I expect it the least. I expect to be in ongoing dialogues and guidance with my surroundings, future experiments, contemporary artists and theoreticians. I believe in the importance of learning from others and especially, when going abroad, as the meeting with other cultures forces one into new ways of thinking. Being in conversations, debates and dialogues is a veryimportant process to me. The advantages of getting critical advise andwork in an environment with others, which are in the same situation asone self. I wish to become part of a collaborating group of individuals with different cultural backgrounds, areas of investigation, means of creativity and critical awareness. I wish to be enriched and enrich others with my person, experiences and cultural background and personalstory.

I will meet my future and live with the past and keep on searching the art and it's possibilities.

Yours Sincerely,
Martin Thaulow