Gunnel Wåhlstrand

Gunnel Wåhlstrand is currently presenting a solo exhibition at Gallery Andréhn-Schiptjenko, 28 September - 12 November 2023. Ever since her graduation exhibition at Gallery Mejan (Royal Institute of Art), she has immersed herself in black and white photographs taken by her father. Through her careful study of the subject, Wåhlstrand succeeds in penetrating the images both physically and psychologically. Based on her studies of the composition, colours and context of the image, she transfers the photograph to an enlarged ink wash. "Lindholmen" was included in the aforementioned 2003 degree exhibition. Wåhlstrand's degree project consisted of six works that she had worked on daily for two years. Three of these works are now part of the collection at Magasin 3, Stockholm. Wåhlstrand is also represented at Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Malmö Art Museum and Uppsala Art Museum.

"Lindholmen" is the second or third work in a production that today, 20 years later, consists of only 50 works. The painting is executed in black ink and sepia on watercolour paper in a time-consuming process in which the ink is applied in thin layers and the motif is controlled with the help of ink in different intensities and different pressures in the brushwork. The bright areas must be protected and saved. One small mistake and the work must be discarded and started again.
The model for 'Lindholmen' is a photograph probably taken by the artist's father in the 1960s. Wåhlstrand says that this particular photograph has always been in the family, it was in the box she had as a child. She remembers that during the process of creating the work, she accidentally tipped the ink bottle all over the sky and that she thought long and hard about whether or not chance should be involved in the final result. She eventually decided to try to stay as close to the original photograph as possible, adding nothing deliberate or random. She started again.