Charlotte Bernstrom

My World Within

2017

Charlotte Bernström creates acrylic paintings that are poetic explorations depicting nature and humanity’s place within it. Taking cues 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 the landscape and lean toward abstraction. Bernström’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, Bernström 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. Bernström was influenced and inspired by an environment filled with art. In her early 20s, she 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. Her contemporary paintings explore feelings about nature, and our place within it, where the work visually embodies the emotional realm.