Sissel Kardel

Press
From This Earthly World You'll Soon Depart
April 8- May 8
From This Earthly World We Shall Soon Depart, an exhibition of new paintings and drawings, will be Sissel Kardel's second solo show in New York. Kardel paints images of a solitary figure traversing through remote landscapes made up of dense forests and lush valleys. Her pictures are inspired by real California locations that the artist grew up visiting and still returns to for inspiration. This instinctual relationship to return again and again to nature is echoed in the nakedness of the single figure that appears in each work. Of course, nakedness is the most natural of states and one in which we all are born into this world. Thus the path that Kardel's nude subject takes can be read as a return to what we came from and what we will ultimately become. In this sense the figure, which is both a self-portrait of the artist and not (Kardel refers to the figure as 'she'), can be seen as a universal entity, humbled before nature but also enjoying moments of sheer freedom and pleasure.

In the most celebratory sense, each painting or drawing can be read as a stop along the road to our ultimate destination (or final return to nature), with each work representing a moment of struggle, temporary diversion or choice. In this sense it is important to see the figure as solitary rather than lonesome. Her surroundings offer the information she needs to pick up and move on to the next path. Kardel also recognizes this as a metaphor for the artist toiling in their studio—alone with one's self and doubts. Landscape here can be seen as a metaphor for the imagination and immersing oneself in the studio can therefore be interpreted as a reflection of her experience in nature.

Similarly, the forest setting of Kardel's works can also be read as a metaphor for our need to sustain ourselves. The forest thrives because it has received what it needs, rain, sun, etc. This is why it is so satiating to look at a mountain, for instance, because it has endured so many tests of time and has received what it needs for so long. However Kardel smartly avoids attempting to duplicate or reproduce the exactness of nature and instead channels a more personal version through many diverse sources from Chinese landscape traditions to 19th century Romanticism. Her palate is mostly blue and green with dovelike splashes of pink, white and rose that delivers an evanescent and sometimes mysterious reality. Part prayer, part secret message, part love letter, Kardel's paintings are both physically and emotionally layered and reflect how life is like 'one night's dream'.