Saara Forsell
Basic information
b. 1955, Kuopio
Visual Artist
Residence: Tampere
Contact information
Phone number: 040-7530490
Email: saaraforsell@gmail.com
Artist’s Statement
I am a painter and a drawer. I work with oil and acrylic colours, watercolours and with combinations of different techniques.
My artworks are unadorned. I often use geometric forms in constructing my paintings. I play with different combinations of triangles, squares and circles. I use compass and ruler, but the geometry of my works is more or less softened and they do not represent the actual Concretism. I rather aim for personal moods and symbols.
I am interested in illusions of space and distance in sceneries. I use elements that are plain: mountains and water as well as buildings, bridges and towers. I quite often use the window-motif, because it combines and separates spaces, and it has also a symbolic aspect in itself. One can look outside of the window, but on the other hand the window and the spectator can also be observed from outside.
I have used pointillist technique in my painting. It is a technique that is based on the method created in the 19th century by Neo-Impressionists, especially by Georges Seurat. It involves small dots of bright colours painted side by side, which, seen from a distance, come together to create forms and surfaces. The significance of colour is essential. I have used coloured priming paint in order to make the complementary colours painted on top of it stand out. This technique involves a lot of handiwork – it also offers a chance to build up, little by little, a unified surface of colours. To me this is a timeless basic technique.
In art I am interested in the basics as well as the current, changing phenomena. My attitude towards making art is both subjective and analytic. I do a lot of sketches and return to them even years after. I make new versions of my old motifs. I search for little insights and combine them in my works.
My artworks are unadorned. I often use geometric forms in constructing my paintings. I play with different combinations of triangles, squares and circles. I use compass and ruler, but the geometry of my works is more or less softened and they do not represent the actual Concretism. I rather aim for personal moods and symbols.
I am interested in illusions of space and distance in sceneries. I use elements that are plain: mountains and water as well as buildings, bridges and towers. I quite often use the window-motif, because it combines and separates spaces, and it has also a symbolic aspect in itself. One can look outside of the window, but on the other hand the window and the spectator can also be observed from outside.
I have used pointillist technique in my painting. It is a technique that is based on the method created in the 19th century by Neo-Impressionists, especially by Georges Seurat. It involves small dots of bright colours painted side by side, which, seen from a distance, come together to create forms and surfaces. The significance of colour is essential. I have used coloured priming paint in order to make the complementary colours painted on top of it stand out. This technique involves a lot of handiwork – it also offers a chance to build up, little by little, a unified surface of colours. To me this is a timeless basic technique.
In art I am interested in the basics as well as the current, changing phenomena. My attitude towards making art is both subjective and analytic. I do a lot of sketches and return to them even years after. I make new versions of my old motifs. I search for little insights and combine them in my works.
