Collection:
Kristina Søbstad
Kristina Søbstad
Kristina Elise Øvrevoll Søbstad is a Canadian-Norwegian visual artist currently based in Nova Scotia, Canada. Søbstad earned a BFA from NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2010.
Since 2007, Søbstad has participated in over 200 international group and solo exhibitions. Most recently, Søbstad completed a residency and exhibition with the Museum of Modern Art in Chiloe, Chile of which was funded by ArtsNL. In 2019, her piece Unbound IV was purchased by the Canada Council Art Bank for their permanent collection in Ottawa. Prior to this, her dynamic piece, They Must Be Wild, was purchased by the Provincial Art Bank of Newfoundland and Labrador and is available for viewing at The Rooms in St. John’s NL. In 2015, while exhibiting in Paris, Sobstad’s work was purchase by the Paris Francophilie Art Bank. Søbstad is currently based on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia and works at her studio on Martinique Beach.
Søbstad’s work involves abstracted landscape paintings on canvas “I seek to embody movement in my work by synthesizing sound, form, and color, resulting in unexpected juxtapositions. My process is intuitive and involves a full immersion into the natural environment: documenting, sketching, exploring, engaging, experiencing. These aren't little dates, an afternoon with my easel overlooking a pretty vista. These are full-blown, love affairs that last weeks if not months, where I get close and intimate: going deep on the trails and getting covered in mud, burrs and swamp; wading the tidal pools and palpating mussels to find pearls; seeking out the hidden through patience and quiet respect, like the bioluminescent algae on Middle Cove Beach (Newfoundland) where thousands of people have spent time and very few have seen. I translate memory--sensory, autobiographical, emotional, muscle--into physical form on canvas using expressive brush strokes and gestural, but thoughtful and deliberate, mark making”.
“My environmental interests are the underpinnings of my practice, in which I investigate how people who live in rural and remote regions reflect their natural environments and how those natural environments affect them. My interest and focus on remote or isolated communities arose from experiencing and interrogating/exploring/learning distinct ways of being in these places compared to urban settings”.
Since 2007, Søbstad has participated in over 200 international group and solo exhibitions. Most recently, Søbstad completed a residency and exhibition with the Museum of Modern Art in Chiloe, Chile of which was funded by ArtsNL. In 2019, her piece Unbound IV was purchased by the Canada Council Art Bank for their permanent collection in Ottawa. Prior to this, her dynamic piece, They Must Be Wild, was purchased by the Provincial Art Bank of Newfoundland and Labrador and is available for viewing at The Rooms in St. John’s NL. In 2015, while exhibiting in Paris, Sobstad’s work was purchase by the Paris Francophilie Art Bank. Søbstad is currently based on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia and works at her studio on Martinique Beach.
Søbstad’s work involves abstracted landscape paintings on canvas “I seek to embody movement in my work by synthesizing sound, form, and color, resulting in unexpected juxtapositions. My process is intuitive and involves a full immersion into the natural environment: documenting, sketching, exploring, engaging, experiencing. These aren't little dates, an afternoon with my easel overlooking a pretty vista. These are full-blown, love affairs that last weeks if not months, where I get close and intimate: going deep on the trails and getting covered in mud, burrs and swamp; wading the tidal pools and palpating mussels to find pearls; seeking out the hidden through patience and quiet respect, like the bioluminescent algae on Middle Cove Beach (Newfoundland) where thousands of people have spent time and very few have seen. I translate memory--sensory, autobiographical, emotional, muscle--into physical form on canvas using expressive brush strokes and gestural, but thoughtful and deliberate, mark making”.
“My environmental interests are the underpinnings of my practice, in which I investigate how people who live in rural and remote regions reflect their natural environments and how those natural environments affect them. My interest and focus on remote or isolated communities arose from experiencing and interrogating/exploring/learning distinct ways of being in these places compared to urban settings”.