Interview
Kalervo Karlsson
Kalervo was a Haute Couture designer in Paris Helsinki from 2000 until 2010. He has been a photographer since 2010, and specifically started photographing art since 2019. He has had two art photography exhibitions in France 2022 and 2023. He is a part of Lesjourneesbleues.org Art for the Oceans project in France with Painter of The Horizons, northern light concept.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I am a Finnish photographer and a creative director in fashion, I was the first Finnish to have presented Haute Couture in Paris in 2000. I have felt, ever since I was a child, that I am a dreamer. I took a trip to the deep archipelago in mid February 2021. The light in the icefields of Jurmo Islands gave me some sort of a "religious" experience about the northern light. And this idea of the DayDreamer came to me. I came home. In Finnish language we have a saying that a person is a Taivaanrannan Maalari. The Painter of Horizons. Meaning a person spends their life daydreaming life away.”
What inspires you?
“Northern Light, South-West archipelago of Finland, the life on the Sea, contemporary art and modern art, cosmology, existential philosophy, interesting people, great movies, art music from classical to progressive rock, sadness and joy.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“The Northern emotional fields of colors based on Northern horizons. “If you stare long enough into the horizon, the horizon stares back at you” (Transformation of a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche.) This emotion, I hope to achieve in the awareness of human minds. The Uplifting experience. The Horizon turns into a Vertical Emotion and Experience.”
“I was the first Finnish to have presented Haute Couture in Paris in 2000. I have felt, ever since I was a child, that I am a dreamer.”
How would you describe your work?
“Painting-like art photography, dreamscapes of Northern Horizons.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Rothko, Cezanne, Monet, Gauguin and Chaplin.”
What is your creative process like?
“I take a boat out to the sea with a friend on a super weather evening and I melt into the light.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“''Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given us to understand.'' - Picasso
In the global crisis that we are facing as human beings, art should take an active role in society. Blending technology, science and art we should be able to solve the problems of mankind as we become more conscious beings.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I have exhibited my work in Veules-les-Roses in 2023 and in Paris in 2022, at the 15martel art photography gallery.”
