Join the artists, Pia Sjölin and Anders Knutsson, for the opening of our next Main Gallery exhibit. This exhibit features paintings by two contemporary Swedish artists who have immigrated to the U.S. Scandinavians have developed a particular culture to express their feelings about light (and its absence) through old and new manifestations and rituals. Knutsson and Sjölin have been influenced by contemporary American works of art, and combine their Scandinavian sensibility with American influences. Learn more about Pia Sjölin and Anders Knutsson.
Free admission.
Anders Knutsson
Anders Knutsson was born in Malmö, Sweden where he studied art and engineering. In 1967 he came to the United States to work in the aerospace industry and became a citizen in 1976. He has studied and developed his art throughout his entire life and made the decision in 1970 to become a full time artist. He has lived in Illinois, Ohio, California, Vermont, and Toronto (Canada) and, since 1976, in New York City.
Knutsson’s monochrome painting evolved from the early 1970’s when he decided to paint full time, to his move to New York City in 1976. They are presentations of a single color in different shades within different values and intensities. He decided to make his own paint to obtain the purest color - and developed a paint formula based on wax/oil and dry pigments.
In 1980, a colleague introduced him to phosphorescence. They experimented with phosphorscent chemicals and called the paint they created “Luminous Paint”. The paint is comprised of dry phosphorescent pigments mixed with a paint medium like acrylic, oil etc. Its unique feature is that it can hold light energy and then release this light energy it in the dark. Not only is the resulting work exciting as it literally glows in the dark, but this largely unknown pigment among painters is without history to draw from.
When Anders moved his studio to Brooklyn near the Botanic Garden in 1990, he started to draw the trees in this arboretum as a study of light and a practice in seeing. Eventually the sketches became drawings and then paintings. A number of public art commissions challenged Knutsson to create very large paintings of trees - portraits actually, since each tree was so individual and unique.
Anders Knutsson’s work has been exhibited in museums, art centers, galleries, universities, corporations, churches and a variety of formal and informal spaces in many countries. His Luminous paintings, costumes and objects have been featured in dance performances, theatrical productions and various happenings.
Pia Sjölin
Over the course of 40 years, Pia has produced a massive body of work, including paintings, textile, blown glass, murals and faux finishes. Pia finds inspiration from both of her home countries—America with its vitality and boldness, and Sweden with its Nordic light and long tradition of craftsmanship. In addition to creating original works, Pia has owned and operated three art galleries, a Swedish clothing boutique, and a interior design company.
Originally from Alingsås, Sweden, Pia started her artistic career in 1971 at the Orrefors School of Glass, and then became an engraver at Kosta Glass in Småland. In 1974, Pia moved to the United States to co-found a glass studio in Collinsville, Connecticut. She has lived in the Farmington River Valley since then, though she travels frequently to Sweden for art or craft shows and her design business.
With its beauty and quality, Pia’s glasswork has become sought after, and her pieces are held in many museums and private collections. She has been represented at prestigious museums such as the Smithsonian, Corning Glass Museum, American Craft Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, and the Swedish American Museum in Chicago. Numerous magazines, books, and telecasts have also featured her work.