Norwegian printmaker Jan Albert Fürst Kolstad opens a new season at the Westmont Rideley-Tree Museum of Art in Santa Barbara August 23 – October 13.
Kolstad's work is hauntingly beautiful, based on the expressiveness of the patterns and gradations of colors of nature -- especially from outer space phenomenon. The work represents a synthesis between science and art. The exhibition will consist of etchings, photogravures, silkscreens, photo- etchings, and artist's books. Some are small works, but most are large, especially an impressive series of 20 gravures.
Most of the works have all been created in the last two years. In this recent work, Kolstad has been experimenting with themes from nature such as snow melting, or the water's edge where the ocean meets the land. Most of the works depict springtime especially focused on the weather and the regenerative cycles of nature as they relate to conditions in Kolstad's northern region. “My starting point is the human experience of nature”, says Kolstad, “a poetic insight that is raised by intuition, myths and the intimate reality of our dreams”.
The exhibition will also include older works for which Kolstad is well known such as his large etchings of landscapes and starry skies and sun drenched flowers in subtle shades of gray. Some these pieces were done in collaboration with Kolstad's friend David Rollison, former professor of English literature, and a poet.
Kolstad studied at the College of Art and Design in Oslo and the California College of Arts and Crafts, where he was an active part of the radical community in the San Francisco area in the 1960s. In San Francisco, he also encountered Asian art, which was of decisive importance for Kolstad’s further development. Kolstad has had many solo and group exhibitions in Norway, New York and other galleries around Europe.