Night, Christiansø 1939

Oscar Hullgren made this painting of Christiansø in 1939, using oil on canvas. What strikes me is the surface, built up in layers, all those scrubby marks and muted colors! It feels like the painting came into being slowly. There’s something honest about seeing the marks and the layers, right? I imagine Hullgren, out there by the water, trying to figure out how to capture the stillness of the scene, the reflections of the boat. Look how the blue of the water is applied in patches, it is very physical. And the boat – it’s almost floating, created with these dabs of white and pink. Was he thinking about the Impressionists, or maybe he was simply trying to represent the island in his own way? The buildings are solid, but the sky feels light. Paintings like this remind me that artists are constantly in conversation with each other, both through and across time. They teach us to notice and feel the world differently.