About

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Working with pictures is work in solitude for the most part. The decisions I make when working are soon forgotten and the only thing left is the artpiece be it what it may. Blogging is a good way for me to keep track of my work and a vent for thoughts that are difficult to fetch from the organic harddisk. You may find that it seems as if I’m talking to myself and you are correct but you have the option to talk back by posting comments.

I work in Vesterålen, Northern Norway. Here me and my spouse are building our plattform for working with art in Stokmarknes oldest house. You can have a look at what we are doing with it in “the house” category.

Please feel free to contact me at papirarbeider@gmail.com if you have any questions about my work.

Artist Bio

I was born in 1973 in Stokmarknes, Northern Norway. I started studying art at 17. The initial fascination was with the materials and colours.  I was fortunate enough to study at Einar Granum Artschool in Oslo which at the time was traditional. It satisfied my need to explore traditional techniques and mediums.  I soon discovered that the field of art is virtually limitless. That freedom was quite overwhelming and my twenties were spent trying to get a grip of the possibilities art represents. Soon enough I chose to return to Northern Norway where I continued my studies and got my first proper studio.  Years were spent in a feverish obsession with art and its possibilities. It was a state of mind that I’m still waking up from.  

My work is essentially esoteric in its nature. I am inspired or at least fueled by nature and what little I understand of philosophy. I have had little interest in society apart from the opportunity for art in it.

In recent time the focus has been gradually moving towards looking at practical sides with working with art in the outskirts of the Western world. Working with art here in what I could almost describe as an outpost makes it feel all the more necessary beyond my personal need to satisfy my visual lust.

Artist Statement about drawing
Drawing is the central engine of my work. As far as possible I start my workday with a sheet of 1/16 300 gsm Arches hot pressed paper. I use fountain pens and usually a ruler. In the drawings I explore small ideas to see what they will look like. I don’t follow a strict program but my work tends to follow a cycle through the concepts that are important to me. In this way the small ideas overflow into each other and make room for new small ideas. I tend to prefer to do work that has a repetitive element. When crosshatching a piece of paper I am fascinated with the irregularities that occur. The irregularities give a gestural/natural presence to the otherwise strict application of line. To me drawing is a very revealing and unpretentious art form in a way that painting is not. I don’t use drawing as a preparatory medium but the ideas that occur in drawing overflow into other mediums.

The fact that my drawings are abstract conveys a thought that they are extensions/meditations of human thought and ultimately natural presence. They are also a record of experiences.

Best regards

Christian Skagen