Below is an essay written by James Lawrence for my Masters Exhibition – Thank you James xx
Wise words by James Lawrence….
The clues for Gitte Steen Andersen’s painting practice lie in her childhood. Her earlier work resonates of the near death experience which occurred when she became trapped under a boat as a young child. “I saw a peaceful and undulating river of colours coming towards me. It lifted me and carried me away. I remember it being completely quiet and calm. It was such a serene and beautiful experience. I felt totally immersed in colours, just wanting the experience to go on forever. It all ended as I was dragged out of the water and I recall the sorrow I felt when the beauty disappeared and I was brought back to reality. Since that experience I have held an ongoing and forever changing image of colours in my mind. I have always been able to mentally connect with this special place, the liminal space, between absolute presence and a higher, slightly detached place”.
I remember Gitte’s earlier paintings as being many layered organic shapes captured in a slow moving stream of infinite depth, opulent and sensual yet remote, tactile and reflective, suspended in time, paintings that were moving but restful, contemplative paintings where one could become lost. Quintessentially solitary statements, private places, magnified and brought out of hiding.
From this beginning Gitte has expanded and diversified her arts practice. As a Danish born, multi-culturalist and frequent world traveller, Gitte is able to draw upon global sources and ideas to inform her art making. The need to be heard, above the relentless techno-noise and visual media saturation of modern life, has led her down a path of sensory exploration outside the strict boundaries of paint and canvas. One of her early influences was Danish designer Verner Panton. Panton managed through his design practice to create psychedelic environments that utilized colour and haptic sensibilities in a utilitarian environment. Gitte took from this, the idea of expanding the limits of painting to include viewer participation. By using fabrics and assorted attachments presented in a painting format she is able to call into question the methods and preconceptions that have previously been associated with painting. The fabrics and hardware invite touching hence bringing into play the idea of experiencing visuality through touch. This haptic concept directly opposes one of the great unwritten laws of painting; “Thou shalt not touch”. Presenting works focusing on surface and sensation, Gitte is able to garner our attention through the use of beauty and humour, the breaking down of barriers, and by re-defining aspects and concepts of what constitutes painting in the Twenty First Century.
Gitte’s environmental mixed-media paintings are covered with colourful sensual fabrics that through impact and sensuality announce the artist’s intent without equivocation. One must enter, sometimes by invitation, because of prior socialisation; to feel experience and utilize one’s senses more fully. “Touch awakens sensations, feelings, memories and associations. The intimacy of touch creates a relationship with the artwork, an active relationship, and a dialogue between viewer/participant, artwork and artist”. Gitte’s work challenges the viewer to become a participant, to venture inside, to touch, and thereby experience through physical connection what is hidden.
“Touching provides a pleasurable experience, which can be natural and unconscious. However, for many people, touch, sex and pleasure have become so closely associated that some people have become de-sensitised and are no longer able to be open or to fully engage with other tactile experiences and might even feel embarrassed, exposed and vulnerable when experiencing sensual forms and materials”. Gitte endeavours to address the age-old question ‘is it art, is it painting’ by seeking new ways of expression in a world saturated with information. As an artist you produce something, part soul part other… When another person responds the connection is made and both are richer.
James Lawrence MFA, BA, BFA 2009 ©
Wise words by James Lawrence….
The clues for Gitte Steen Andersen’s painting practice lie in her childhood. Her earlier work resonates of the near death experience which occurred when she became trapped under a boat as a young child. “I saw a peaceful and undulating river of colours coming towards me. It lifted me and carried me away. I remember it being completely quiet and calm. It was such a serene and beautiful experience. I felt totally immersed in colours, just wanting the experience to go on forever. It all ended as I was dragged out of the water and I recall the sorrow I felt when the beauty disappeared and I was brought back to reality. Since that experience I have held an ongoing and forever changing image of colours in my mind. I have always been able to mentally connect with this special place, the liminal space, between absolute presence and a higher, slightly detached place”.
I remember Gitte’s earlier paintings as being many layered organic shapes captured in a slow moving stream of infinite depth, opulent and sensual yet remote, tactile and reflective, suspended in time, paintings that were moving but restful, contemplative paintings where one could become lost. Quintessentially solitary statements, private places, magnified and brought out of hiding.
From this beginning Gitte has expanded and diversified her arts practice. As a Danish born, multi-culturalist and frequent world traveller, Gitte is able to draw upon global sources and ideas to inform her art making. The need to be heard, above the relentless techno-noise and visual media saturation of modern life, has led her down a path of sensory exploration outside the strict boundaries of paint and canvas. One of her early influences was Danish designer Verner Panton. Panton managed through his design practice to create psychedelic environments that utilized colour and haptic sensibilities in a utilitarian environment. Gitte took from this, the idea of expanding the limits of painting to include viewer participation. By using fabrics and assorted attachments presented in a painting format she is able to call into question the methods and preconceptions that have previously been associated with painting. The fabrics and hardware invite touching hence bringing into play the idea of experiencing visuality through touch. This haptic concept directly opposes one of the great unwritten laws of painting; “Thou shalt not touch”. Presenting works focusing on surface and sensation, Gitte is able to garner our attention through the use of beauty and humour, the breaking down of barriers, and by re-defining aspects and concepts of what constitutes painting in the Twenty First Century.
Gitte’s environmental mixed-media paintings are covered with colourful sensual fabrics that through impact and sensuality announce the artist’s intent without equivocation. One must enter, sometimes by invitation, because of prior socialisation; to feel experience and utilize one’s senses more fully. “Touch awakens sensations, feelings, memories and associations. The intimacy of touch creates a relationship with the artwork, an active relationship, and a dialogue between viewer/participant, artwork and artist”. Gitte’s work challenges the viewer to become a participant, to venture inside, to touch, and thereby experience through physical connection what is hidden.
“Touching provides a pleasurable experience, which can be natural and unconscious. However, for many people, touch, sex and pleasure have become so closely associated that some people have become de-sensitised and are no longer able to be open or to fully engage with other tactile experiences and might even feel embarrassed, exposed and vulnerable when experiencing sensual forms and materials”. Gitte endeavours to address the age-old question ‘is it art, is it painting’ by seeking new ways of expression in a world saturated with information. As an artist you produce something, part soul part other… When another person responds the connection is made and both are richer.
James Lawrence MFA, BA, BFA 2009 ©