Kristina Søbstad : From The Studio
June 18, 2020
Christina Parker Gallery interviewed Kristina Søbstad on her recent exhibition, Rushing Through Me. Kristina discusses the process and inspiration for her new paintings.
How did you connect to Newfoundland (NL)?
I was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but very quickly moved back to Norway for my first few years then back to Canada. My family always being open to transience, I was very fortunate to experience many corners of the world and many cultures.
I connected with Newfoundland simply because it’s always been on my radar of somewhere I always knew I wanted to experience. I had somewhat romanticized ideas of living on the island and my experience far surpassed those expectations. This place has very much stolen a piece of my heart.
Given the intuitive nature of your work, what makes a great painting in your estimation?
There’s so many variables. Personally for my own practice something has to click. A combination of physicality, emotional presence, a sense of place mentally is important to me. I feel it’s important to have a tension within the work, if there’s an unfinished quality to it I’m very intrigued, I’m left wanting something more.
Does scale play an important part in your artistic practice?
Yes! For me, yes it does. My work centres on grandiose spaces and places that I feel are best depicted on a larger scale, in part because of my process but also with the goal of creating an encompassing space.
As a painter, what artists have influenced you?
There’s so so many! And in so many ways, it’s a difficult question to answer without listing hundreds of people…but a couple for example; Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Leya Evelyn, Mark Rothko, Jared Betts… but aside from other artists my work is so heavily influenced by sound and other sensory experiences.
Does a sense of place influence how you paint?
A lot!! I very much need to be steeped in my natural surroundings to create. For my practice, residencies, cultural and remote experiences, and a studio in the wild are hugely important to my creative flow.
Christina Parker Gallery is pleased to present Rushing Through Me, an exhibition of multimedia paintings on canvas by Kristina Søbstad. This marks Kristina’s second solo exhibition with the gallery.