Den svenska och internationella konstkritikern Stig Åke Stålnacke har skrivit om mig och min konst. Det är så fint skrivit att jag nästan svimmar.
Pictures that opened windows
Anna Engebrethsen is the artist who opens windows for me.
It was a God of pleasant act.
It was a God of pleasant act.
It was a necessity.
If one longs for fresh air, clean water and tender and vigorous weekday, it is occasionally necessary with this change of scenery.
And in these very paintings, these vital and beautiful works of art by Anna Engebrethsen, I met these strokes of a spirit’s explosive force and the warm pulse of a heart. Her art contains the ultimately vivid symbols for human life and yearning. Occasionally I see her beautiful works as the master of the simple line. She lets the pencil or the drawing-pencil search its way over the image area and it leaves a trace behind as though they were drawn directly from her heart.
It is, in fact, about traces of love.
Because that is how great painting can be, it pierces directly into our emotions and it holds on with barbs. It does not leave us alone.
For many years, for a long time, I have felt this bare language (which she is working with) as being one of the key tasks of art.
It is never about the outwork or only decor.
No, never the cheap and purposeless.
No, never the cheap and purposeless.
But all the more of fervour and as greetings from an inner life. From the domains of the heart. Not seldom there are reasons to wonder how this meaningful art comes into life?
And no other answers are given than that Anna Engebrethsen has created a direct connection between her talent and the secrets of her soul.
Despite the simplicity in her works, the pictures tell of a dream of an inner world. The artist is energised with strength and is also filled with a never ending desire to tell us spectators about the inner world, the secrets of the inner life and tremulous poetry.
As a precious letter from heart to heart, her pictures have reached me and made indelible marks.
It is letters of rare beauty. Letters to keep by your heart.
Stig Åke Stålnacke
Swedish and international art critic
2013