Line Gulsett

Line Gulsett`s work is a reference to both pollution and a perilous path. One could say that Gulsett’s method of combining the figurative and the abstract on one canvas is a dangerous path itself. Especially when none of her pieces seem to offer a satisfying answer to the questions of either representation of reality, or the loss thereof. But the title primarily refers to a bigger threat than that of a representational artistic practice. Many works are an investiga¬tion into the erosion of social cohesion. Gulsett feels that from childhood on human contact gradually diminishes, inherently damaged by the com-fortable distances of modern communication. This entropic process is generated by illusions of closeness already de¬scribed by Marcel Proust in relation tot the rise of the telephone. The late nineteenth century seems to be the birthplace of a fundamental disconnect, described by many but stopped by none. The figures in Proust’s novels are amazed by being able to order from shops without leaving the door, now we can live most of our adult lives without ever having to speak with anyone. Gulsett’s work is a poetic investigation of this process. She is interested in the spontaneously arising forms of contact during childhood. Free from most processes of discrimination and with a unparallelled devotion to play, children are more inclined to exist in physical presence of real danger. Danger, be it social or physical, can be the fuel of vivid memories. Memories in Gulsett’s work are not static representations of past happenings but rather represent a constant dynamic of collective emotions. In fleeting motions and with expressive brushstrokes she captures this dynamic in all of its grim beauty. Her pieces describe possible collective memories. Through these suggestions she hopes to show what is lost during this period of disconnect in the West. Line Gulsett is a very young representative,indeed a precursor of the New-Nordic Malerei, a powerfull movement in the art