Residency artist: Vanessa Larsen
Nordingrå Konstby is mainly a work place for artists and our aim is that our artist residency will allow artists the opportunity to develop, focus and rest. We also aim to nurture artistic exchange between those who visit us and those who work in our art village on a daily basis. At the moment Vanessa Larsen, an artist from Norway is staying in our artist residency. Here, you can read about Vanessa and her work.
Born in 1990 in Bergen, Norway, Vanessa Rosalia Larsen studied at Glasgow School of Art where she received her BFA in Painting and Printmaking in 2013 and her MLitt in Curatorial Practice in 2016. Her work has been exhibited throughout the world including in Oslo, London, Berlin, Istanbul and New York. Her drawing `Directional Shading´ is included in the public collection at Glasgow School of Art Archives & Collections. She lives and works in Sandnes, Norway.
Vanessa’s project concept:
I take inspiration from things that I find interesting in my natural surroundings. One of the reasons I selected Nordingrå Konstby was to experience Swedish nature and to inspire a new project. The tranquil surroundings and time away from distractions will allow me to produce a high level of artistic work.
As I can see the sunrise from the Nordingrå Konstby studio, the focus of my project will be on the sun. The drawings will begin with the idea of a sunburst. This will influence the grid patterns and shading techniques that I will use in the drawings. The various processes and techniques will lead to geometric patterns in the artworks that will ultimately take on a form of their own.
Coincidentally, this year the sun is at its solar maximum. Solar maximum is the regular period of greatest solar activity during the sun’s solar cycle.
The solar cycle describes an approximately 11 year period of solar activity driven by the sun’s magnetic field and indicated by the frequency and intensity of visible sunspots on the surface. Solar flares, coronal mass ejections and sunspots are just some of the solar events that are expected to increase in frequency and strength in 2024.
During certain years of this cycle, the sun emits more particles than usual. Solar maximum means more storms, and during storms northern lights occur more often, are more intense, last longer and can extend to lower latitudes than usual.
One of those years is 2024, meaning there will be more opportunities to see the northern lights. The northern lights are predicted to be stronger this year than they have been in the last decade. During my residency at Nordingrå Konstby, I am hoping to experience this natural wonder.
Read more about Vanessa and her work here:
Website:
Online Store:
www.vanessarosalialarsen.etsy.com
Instagram:
Photos by: Vanessa Larsen