Charlotte Bernstrom

Kiss of Fire

2023

'Wonderment' A meditation on blue, from visual artist Charlotte Bernstrom’s paintings are inspired by the Earth and its oceans and take their cues from Abstract Expressionism and Eur...

Rothko-esque Color Field painting that delights from a distance and up close from Swedish-American visual artist Charlotte Bernstrom, who creates acrylic paintings that are poetic explorations depicting nature and humanity’s place within it. Taking queues from Abstract Expressionism and Impressionism, through juxtaposing nature-inspired fields of color over earth-like stained and textured canvas, the autobiographical works are rooted in landscape and lean toward abstraction. Bernstrom’s paintings, with their complex, earth-like surfaces, evoke an emotional response that directs viewers toward a consciousness of their place in the natural world, and perhaps also encourage better care of the Earth. Born and raised in Sweden, Charlotte was mentored by her grandfather, the painter Lennart Schultzberg. He started teaching her plein air painting when she was five years old. He came up with innovative ways of teaching a young child perspective, color theory and to use different mediums. She learned about seeing, listening, feeling and how to translate those qualities through paint. Charlotte was influenced and inspired by an environment filled with art. In her early twenties, Charlotte moved to San Francisco and studied at the Academy of Art University and the California College of the Arts. Her landscape paintings gradually became more abstract and autobiographical, with an emphasis on color and texture. 'My World...