Interview with Carmen Lindahl

Reflecting on your formative years in Luxembourg and your subsequent educational journey through art capitals like Paris and Stockholm, how do these diverse cultural experiences continue to influence your artistic narrative and choice of mediums?

The studies in Luxembourg included both going to the art school and painting for an artist which gave a very good basis for working with oil on canvas which has ever since been my main medium. I started to exhibit in Paris at the local municipal art gallery and I was given the opportunity to participate at the Salon des Indépendants, which was a boost of self-confidence which we all need. The subsequent move to Stockholm gave me new opportunities; to exhibit as well as learning new techniques, often through teachers that were well established artists. As you can imagine it was very inspiring.

Göran Ståhle describes you as an artist who "never stops reinventing herself." Can you discuss a pivotal moment in your career when you decided to dramatically shift your artistic approach, and what internal or external factors prompted this change?

For several years I painted realistic series. Even if motives changed radically over time and I developed a personal style of handling colours and volume as well as being able to include more to be left to interpretation and fantasy I wanted to move to abstraction and a more spontaneous painting. With my series “Terra coloris” which was inspired by Nietzsche’s study of colors, I believe I achieved this.  I received an prize for this work, the “Hilda and Richard Wollert award” from the Svenska Konstnärernas Förening (“the Swedish artist’s association “), in2006. I was very glad for this bearing a newcomer to the Stockholm art scene. However, I will admit I went back to realistic works in painting, drawing and sculpture, but not without continuing to change motives and develop my techniques!

Your recent exploration of oil painting on paper mounted on linen canvas covered with resin marks yet another innovative technique in your repertoire. What inspired you to combine these materials, and how does this method help in expressing the unique flora of Southern France?

Everyone is probably taken aback by the colours of the Mediterranean landscape and vegetation. I had already had motives with botanical subjects. I wanted to use oil colours in my paintings but achieve a more diffuse result approaching watercolours where colours melt together. I was experimenting with a painting knife to apply the paint on a very thick paper. I mounted the painted paper on a linen canvas to give stability. It was only when I covered with resin that succeeded with getting the effect I had in mind. I wanted to use the resin to get a more ruff and modern feel of the surface than a traditional oil painting with varnish.

Having received accolades such as the Swedish Artists Association's member's award and being chosen for the Biennial in Italy, how have these acknowledgments influenced your perception of your own artistry and its reception in the broader art community?

Receiving the award you mention was truly heartening since it was my fellow members that chose me. A very encouraging moment. I was honored to represent Nordiska Akvarellsällskapet (“The Nordic Watercolour Painter Society”) at the Biennial and happy to also get a review in their magazine. At the time I worked with references to Japanese art. Sweden had at that moment a trend in Japanese art. And I was quite “into" this, using ink on rice paper as a new medium

With your extensive use of varied techniques—from stone prints to Chinese ink and resin-covered paintings—what do you find to be the most challenging aspect of mastering and integrating new methods into your artistic practice?

It´s interesting and challenging to find new ways of telling a story. For me, I try to express the image I have in mind. Of course sometimes it´s frustrating because it takes a lot of effort and time. But when you get the results you look for it´s also very joyful.

As someone who has lived and worked across Europe, from Spain to Sweden, and now France, in what ways do these cultural shifts surface in your artworks, particularly in your thematic choices and stylistic decisions?

Well I have with me the art history of these different countries, and of course references to the great masters. From the classics French “Nature morte”, the contemporary Spanish artists and the Swedish artists who studied the French schools at end of 19th century, it all comes together. But my choice is very personal and I have painted what was actually in my own everyday work as an artist.

Given your history of constant evolution and experimentation, what new techniques or artistic mediums are you currently exploring, and what do you aim to achieve with them in the next phase of your career?

Now I am doing ceramic and raku sculptures. The South of France have a lot of ceramics tradition which inspires.  My series is about the gardens you find here, very lush and earthy. One subject I haven´t tried yet is the sea and of course it will be about colours so blue. It is perhaps the next project.

How do you hope your approach to continuously exploring new artistic methods will influence younger artists and the art scene in general? Do you see this as a form of legacy?

I don´t see that as a legacy, it´s more like a way of living. The series I have done are points and dates in my life which marked me. You have to find your own path. Travelling like I did allowed me to see things that I otherwise would not have done if I had stayed in the same place. So if I have an advice to give a young artist it would be to find your own way and seek new impressions.

Was there a specific project or exhibition that you felt truly solidified your voice and vision as an artist within the contemporary art scene? How did this project represent a culmination or a departure from your previous works? Considering the diverse range of media and techniques you have embraced throughout your career, what do you consider to be the most challenging aspect of creating art? How do you confront and overcome these challenges, especially when experimenting with new forms of expression?

I am participating in a group exhibition in Monaco in December and it´s the first time I am going to show my series “Total greenery” including paintings and ceramics. I am very glad to be able to show multimedia. You are going to see my representation of the flora and imaginary plants. It sure keeps my mind going. I think that is the answer to your question; as an artist you need to launch yourself into new projects and have them seen and appreciated by audiences. That is the real challenge, trying to evolve and dare show what you accomplish and have it judged by others. And now I just continue. I suppose it´s the way I work, trying to move forward and hopefully refine my art.

Looking back at your prolific career, if you could revisit any phase of your artistic journey with the knowledge and experience you have now, which period would it be and what would you explore differently?

I couldn´t change the way it is because it’s the pattern of my life, marriage, kids, moving and painting. It´s what and where I am now.

https://www.clindahl.com