The main images of the exhibition are withered branches, fire burns, firewood logs, as well as woodpeckers as witnesses to the death of trees. Linked trees and logs form cultural images, put together and wrapped, they are raised on the podiums as a proof of beautiful and at the same time expressive simplicity.
To the subtle nuances of color created by nature, I. Karlsone has added a little celestial blue, pure white, gold to the baroque splendor and a pink shade of joyful brightness.
The three-dimensional tree works are complemented by graphic pages created by I. Carlson, which serve as a background and depict wind-bent, broken trees, stumps uprooted and log piles. “With my lines and squares on sheets of paper, I simply stepped back in front of the aesthetics and expressiveness of natural forms,” explains the artist.
The gallery “Roman Garden” also had I. Carlson’s solo exhibition “Stop Autumn” two years ago, and she liked this place, so the artist has returned. “Here is a configuration that works for me. There is not one large hall. You can go and walk here, different points of view open up, ”says I. Karlsone, therefore it is also interesting for visitors. “Maybe if there were white walls, so more light from the objects, it would be even more expressive.”
His son Reinis also helped to set up the exhibition. When the works were delivered to the gallery, they looked together at what and how to do it. The exhibition is made because, as she says, “I have no peace”, she still wants something new.
The objects to be seen are “collected here” during the walks.
“I tried to go in the morning with my dog Zuzi. Let people not look too much. I have been asked several times if I have stretched the branches for heating. I said no, it will be art, ”the author of the exhibition smiles about his experience.
Nothing is collected alive, with the exception of a bundle of wicker. “Everything is somewhere along the dunes, found on the seashore. The logs are from my shed, “says Carlson,” and it’s not like I suddenly saw the logs. I’ve always watched them, they found it interesting. When I stacked firewood in the barn, I sometimes looked at the fiber, the color, the smell, the bark and how expressive it all is. ”
The story of the burnt trees is a bit of a sharp touch. The artist says: “When you go towards the pier, there is such a terrible snort inside, and there are two campfire places for the homeless where they gather. I saw the burns and realized I needed them. I made a plan, and the next time I took the freshman with me, sawed it, wrapped it in a plastic bag, because the coal is very dirty, and I stretched it out in the pine trees, where it dried all summer. Then I took her son home. ”
Although the exhibition is ready, it is still difficult to eradicate the habit of looking for something useful during a walk. “I saw a lot of fun. She had fallen herself. I put it behind the willow, saying to myself that I don’t need it. But then I came back, took it and took it home, ”smiles I. Carlson.
Nature is very close to the artist. It has previously been depicted in paintings. Although he was born in Riga, there have always been some fields somewhere.
“In the family, our grandmother traditionally went for a walk in the woods, my mother and I went with my children to walk everywhere I could – in the countryside, meadows, forests, trails. I can’t do without it. If I don’t go out for a day, I feel like a prisoner.
It’s cool to have a doggy. It’s kind of an excuse for my walks. ”
The artist is sad that forests are being cut down so much in Latvia. Therefore, the story is not just about beauty, it is about the deeply hidden pain that people inflict on wildlife. “What does the forest and all the living creatures that live there feel, what pain does the living tree feel when it is cut. And those lonely trees, as if spared in a forest clearing, are subject to winds and storms, they are broken and uprooted, ”she explains.
The initial impetus for the exhibition comes from the work of artists Christo and Jeanne Claude. When Christo passed away last spring in memory of the artist, Carlson wanted to create something influenced by his art. Therefore, there is also the wrapping and tying of objects. But Carlson has always been interested in “earth art” or land artwhich began in America in the late 1950s.
The solo exhibition of I. Carlson will be on view at the Rome Garden Gallery until December 31.
I. Karlsone has been teaching drawing and painting at the Liepāja Secondary School of Music, Art and Design for many years. Since 1976, he has regularly participated in joint exhibitions of artists with graphics and paintings. Solo exhibitions have taken place in Riga and Liepaja. In recent years, the artist has focused on sculptural objects and installations.
