Artist of the Month is an interview series where each month Tegnerforbundet introduces a member who is represented by artwork in our Sales department. With the initiative, we want to give readers an insight into the members' artistic work and raise the importance of drawing in their work.
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Gillian Carson (1960) is a multidisciplinary artist who works with a variety of media and techniques, including drawing, painting, sculpture, performance and installation. Her drawings are characterized by tactile and repetitive qualities. They are built up through layers upon layers of lines, where the repetitive gesture is the very foundation of the composition. Some areas are densely saturated with lines, almost as if the paper absorbs the movement, while others are lightly shaded, allowing for air and space. This varied approach creates a fascinating depth and texture, where structure dominates the picture surface.
Carson's work evokes a rhythmic and physical process, which is reflected in the monochrome palette of the drawings. With a limited use of colour, she achieves a subtle richness of nuance that ranges from the delicate to the rich and deeply intense. The contrast between robust, powerful lines and more discreet, delicate lines gives the works an emotional depth. Carson has his art education from Bergen Academy of Art and Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. She lives in Bergen.
TF: Gillian, can you tell us a little about your artistic work?
GC: I have a BA in drawing and painting from Edinburgh College of Art and an MA from KMD in performance/sculpture and installation. For several years I worked on a project called 'State of Grace' (2006-2012) - this project used performance, sculpture and installation and was shown in Kunsthall Bergen, Kode Bergen and Art Today Museum in Beijing in the exhibition 'Post Nora'. My current working title 'Roasted Heart' describes my approach, process and expression. In drawing, it is my intention to suggest the physical process, and the time frame. Several of my earlier works were usually the result of a repetitive, rhythmic process. My drawings/paintings show lines, and are the result of the same rhythmic, repetitive process.
TF: Why do you draw? Tell us a little about your work process.
GC: December 2017, at The Venice International Performance workshop with leader Marilyn Arsem, the topic was "Time". When I was doing my 6 hour public performance, I wondered what would happen if I applied the same time principle to drawing. I draw lines. Lines mark time. Lines in several layers increase the intensity of the work. - I choose materials/colours based on what I want to express and which materials allow multiple layers. I carry with me the awareness of how a repetitive physical action builds a work. The works are a result of emotional response to events, both personal and from the wider sphere. I draw because the process is intimate, private and balances my exposure to external influences. It's something I have to do alone.
TF: What or who inspires you? Can you name any artists who inspire you?
GC: The work of Willian Turner (JMW Turner 1775-1851) – the intensity of his works – of depth and from dark to light. I am also fascinated by water - running water - I live in Bergen where there is a lot of running water!
TF: What themes concern you as an artist?
GC: Technically, the drawings are the result of exploring how the repetitively drawn line achieves an expression. I understand this as a work topic I call "processed line". A more intimate theme is "Roasted Heart". When events disturbed my Irish grandmother, she said that "her heart was roasted". I find that this working title aptly describes both my emotional response, my work process and my expression – a kind of feverish nervousness.
TF: What does it mean to draw for you in your work?
GC: Drawing gives me an element of control - a balance that makes life bearable. I like to explore the potential of different materials and how the expression varies according to how the material determines a certain level of a work's character.
TF: Tell us a little about your work in Tegnerforbundet's sales department!
GC: These works were two of the first early drawings (early 2023) that led to the development of my newer works from 2023/24. They show the beginning - how repeated line and varying pencil pressure create an expression of restlessness.
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See available works by Gillian Carson in the online store.
