Night, Christiansø 1939

Oscar Hullgren made this painting of Christiansø with oil on canvas, but we don't know exactly when. I love the way he goes about making marks in this piece, loose and confident. It's like he's just letting the paint do its thing, you know? Looking closely, you can see how the texture of the paint gives the image a certain kind of feel. It’s not trying to hide anything, and that makes it feel really honest and present. The little strokes of light on the water are just gorgeous, they really catch the eye. It is quite loose, but somehow still feels grounded in the real world. It reminds me a little bit of some of Bonnard’s looser paintings, although Hullgren has his own voice, for sure. It’s cool to see how artists from different times and places can be in conversation with each other, even without knowing it.