Text by Macha Roesink , 2005, curator of the exhibition THE PAINTER OF MODERN LIFE in Museum De Paviljoens, published in brochure of the exhibition ©Macha Roesink, 2005
When you look at the paintings of Ina Bierstedt, you may experience a 3-D effect. In spite of their small size, these works offer a multitude of perspectives. To the viewer, it sometimes seems as if the background of the landscape has been drawn closer through binoculars, while the foreground is in sharp focus. The most eye-catching elements of Bierstedt´s paintings, which are usually highly detailed, are the recognisable architectonic elements. These houses, factories, stadiums and other buildings are located in a no-man´s land, that sometimes reminds us of mountains and forests, and at other times is a decidedly urban environment, with a railway or a motorway running through it. In Bierstedt´s work, there is never a single unambiguous perspective in one painting. Sometimes, parts of the painting consist of abstract areas with a composition of paint splatters and painted blotches that are blended into each other
Bierstedt continually plays with proportions in her compositions, creating tension between foreground and background. This play is enhanced by the alternation of abstract and figurative elements, which Bierstedt applies somewhat in the manner of a collage. Bierstedt also builds up her paintings out of superimposed, transparent layers, so that fragments of earlier compositions show through. This is another element that contributes to the heightened ambiguity between foreground and background. The elusive environment of the figures, objects and modern buildings in Bierstedt´s works is a labyrinthine landscape whose topography is unknown, but that invites the spectator to explore it.
Macha RoesinkMacha Roesink is Director of Museum Depaviljoens in Almere , Netherlands
Macha Roesink