Visions and Ideas       ( jump to part nr --> )   I     II      III

 

I

My emotional life has always been very intense; at some times even overwhelming. I´m not only talking about the grand emotions; rather the nuances and poetry of what we call everyday life. Reading Gaston Bachelard, was a revelation for me, finding confirmation for a distinction between pure fantasy and the power of imagination; the former being a more "flashy" instrument with which we create shimmering effects; the later being a vehicle for a profound exploration of the inner and outer realms that makes up our everyday life: the dream, the puddle, the shard, the stone…events in the past that seems to repeat themselves in the present, stories who wants to be told over and over again.

The creation of an urge is obvious; all that is let in must find an outlet. As long as I can remember I have more or less consciously tried to find the means and I still do.

My very first memories are associated with numinous experiences; moments filled with light and energy. Sudden burst of sheer happiness, perhaps realted to what is usually called flow or peak experience. C.S Lewis describes his first meeting with such a phenomena in his "Surprised by joy". Personally I´m just as he is, inclined to give them a religious significance, a choice, conviction and interpretion that has steadily grown over the years; orienting me towards what is usually called Christian Mysticism: an openminded listening related to for instance Zen and sufism. As a constant source of inspiration, these experiences is an essential part of my imaginary world.

During a blissful wandering through one of my shows; my former teacher Kenneth Abrahmsson revealed a new aspect of my paintings for me. "Your pictures are related to moods and images found in symbolist paintings" he said…"Moreau, Redon and others." I was rather perplexed by that statement, but almost instantly grasped the truth in his observation. In my poetry and songs and even photography it´s all more obvious; the fascination for Somnium Umbrae..the dreams of shadows; the states of mind found in daydreaming and in the twilight zone just before you drift away into sleep.

"Beneath the silent, dreaming, bright and colourful surface of Peter Gustavssons paintings; you can find a stange agitation that is contagious" said art critic Rune Gunnarsson ages ago..and that is what I´m talking about: powerful existential stories that wants to be told; tellings from the subconscious that trickle through the almost decorative forms within my images.

I really appreciated that conversation; how lovely really, to be the object or subject; whatever ;for a fellow artist discoveries and observations. Today, I´m exploring the works of the symbolist artists as a mean for further development. Art Magick is a wonderful site to visit if you want to follow me into those imaginary worlds.

At times I try keep myself ajour with the development within modern art; but I often wind up in company with the avantgard from the early 20th century, finding much more substance and enthusiasm in their work and ideas. For me, it seems a bit like the train ran of track ages ago. Just consider the few years "spent" in each -ism since the changes that began perhaps within the last years of impressionism. They all barely had time to get started before it was time to hurry into something else and now painting is considered to be "dead". Pure enthusism is ofcourse partly responsible for the present situation and what´s the big deal you might ask? Well, for me it seems that we deprived ourselves of wonderful means of expression when we just had begun to scratch the surface.

What I would like to encourage these days, is not a regression, but a sane perspective where we can let "toil take it´s time" in a genuine reflection over what the pioneers of the early 20th century can teach us.

I´m by no means against conceptual art and installations for instance. On the contrary. In the 70 ths I fiddled around with land art and multimedia experiments and I would for sure like to develop ideas of mine that could be considered as installations. As an old S-F fan I consider almost anything to be possible and I for sure encourage good computer generated art..there is so much crap out there that needs to be seriously challenged.

What I´m talking about basically, is quality, concern and sincerity. And…please, we don´t need to be chocked all the time. Sometimes..yes for sure, we must the be awakened; but we also need to be reminded about how fantastic creation is and how awesome the future could be if we all pull ourselves together within a "sense of wonder".

II

My interest for the creation and the created is immense and I get easily carried away. Sometimes my enthusiasm is missinterpreted as some kind of childishness and it´s both a bit awkward and funny to see how different people react. Who cares now, but when I was younger I could be hurt and had to learn how to "restrain" myself. I have also been considered as stuck-up, letting myself go into different subjects that kindles my imagination. Basically however, I´m just a grown up version of the enchanted boy I once was.

My ideas has changed and developed through the years; but some fundaments are there from the beginning. We have talked about the numinous experiences, the power of imagination and have grazed childhood experiences of immense beauty.

These "forces" needed form to be mirrored in a genuine way. In early years I found my first true love in Pierre Bonnard; within his calm and silent rooms I found something I could relate to. Lightfilled images with perhaps a hidden drama going on somewhere out of frame.

An early loveaffair that some people find traces of in my paintings, is Roberto Matta.

After that I let myself be carried away into modern territories: artists like Lucio Fontana, Vieira da Silva, Tapies, Mark Rothko, Mark Tobey, Georgia o´Keefe, Gerhard Richter and so many others. Of the Swedish painters…well Inge Schiöler to begin somewhere; Lage Lindell, Lennart Rohde, the early Karl Axel Pehrsson, the Pierrot Lunaire suite by Hardy Strid and so much else. From what is called The Gothenburg Colourists, I have possibly inherited my colours; the deep blues and green of the ocean and tidal pools; the rich and abundantly deep hues of cliffs and forest.

Of the more conceptual artist, I prefer for instance Richard Long and Joseph Beuys.

Multimedia caught my attention in 1976; beginning with my friendship with Ewa Braun and Roland Olsson. We together explored possibilities within theatre ( yes..a little bit of that too..) poetry, music, art and just about everything else. To take a stand politically was important for us and we even started conversation groups with fugitives from different parts of the world. In 1977 and 78 we initiated The Cultural Days of Varberg.

It is impossible for me to describe or depict all the ideas that has entered my mind since those days. They are numerous and of different quality. I have started to make notes however and in the future I might share them freely here. Time will never last for them all.

At the end of the 70ths, my world changed forcefully and abruptly. Uncle Karl died and then ,one by one, they all passed away for me: some of them after a long and painful illness. This of course affected my work. I was pretty much alone in my generation of the family and had to tend to them all. It all culminated between 1992 and 2000, when I did not have one single show of importance. Sadly, out of my contact with Jo Duncan, a friend of Chagall and Picasso, came nothing. I was to worn out to take my chances then.

My grand luck within those years of darkness, was to meet my lifecompanion Rakel. We became a pair in 1978 and was married in 1988. Our love still grows by the day. She is a wonderful sculptress and warm and sincere mother to our 12 year old daughter Sara.

Slowly; I rose out of the ashes so to speak. I had never stopped to paint and realised that my pictures where better than ever; expressing also the pain and turmoil I had been through.

III

My fascination for water has been with me for all these years. The suites Stella Maris and Tidal Pool finds it´s orgin in 70ths and more recent themes such as I can hear the Waters dreaming and On the Ledges of a Sunken Garden are developed but related attempts to convey my profound and composite feelings for the ocean and water altogether. When I start up a new series of paintings after a month or two of necessary relaxation ( at least I try; I was so wound up before and after our show at the mill..) it will try a new idea And the Night turned into Ocean, originating in polynesian mythology. Very dreamy stuff.

Lithocronos is a new suite being in preparation these days; inspired by the extremly slow processes that I imagine within certain transparent and halftransparent minerals.

 

In the studio

My extensive reading of everything from poetry and novels to astronomy, philosophy and psycology etc, provides me with so much inspiration; a blissfull meandering through the vast delta of human thought. ( In the future I want to add a page to this my homepage, where I can tell you about books and music etc, that I want to recommend to everyone.)

I not only have to tend to the garden of my mind; my not to large, but rather complex garden takes it´s time, but gardening grows on me by the day. Perhaps it has something to do with age; however, my uncles wonderous garden was a great and magic part of my childhood. Some of my Vitriograms are inspired by stalks and undergrowth from our flowerbeds.

The childhood geographies are with me everyday, since we live here in my ancestral home Oskarsdal: rooms, not measured in feet or yards, but with emotion and true poetic experience. The same goes for objects..Giorgio Morandi knew that; a rhopography is possible also for the grown up. After so many hundred years; still lifes are wonderful vehicles for an understanding of what we can observe when we slow down a bit and look behind the clichés and poor,mundane understandings of an everyday life that is just a poor substitute for something much grander.

Carpe Diem!

Peter Gustavsson. June.2002