Inger Dillan Antonsen: Tonal Range
All images courtesy of the artist.
Inger Dillan Antonsen’s works are abstract impressionist pieces, with a focus on lyrical abstraction and unique color composition. In her works, paint moves on the canvas as if it were dancing to music and its luminescence creates a sort of spatial, cosmic universe that is both magical and otherworldly. Antonsen utilizes various geometric shapes that play with each other and that reach beyond relational associations when put together. There is much freedom in her brushstrokes, allowing the paint to roam, as if it has a mind of its own. The end result is liberating and full of candor. Inger Dillan Antonsen is a prolific artist working at the height of her career. Her paintings are rich in sentiment and conjure up intense, sublime feelings in the viewer. Antonsen works in the vein of Arshille Gorky. In the 1940s, Gorky’s seminal work laid a foundation for abstraction, where intuition was highly regarded and color was applied in thin washes to create gleaming transparencies. A contemporary predecessor, her images are mystical and the composition and colors create a non-objective work that allows the viewers to determine their own interpretations. Antonsen employs a significant tonal range to create an image that is highly imaginative and dream-like. Works 4
like In The Blue captures Antonsen’s unique ability to create mesmerizing patterns that seem to be submerged in rich colors. Set against a deep, blue background, soft geometric shapes of yellow, red, green and purple weave in and out of each other like a tapestry. The blue background frames these shapes, which seem to fade around the edges, yet are illuminated from within. The effect is one where the overall image glows with a refulgent light. Other works like Reaching Out are imbued with a kaleidoscopic nature where the full spectrum of light seems to swirl around the canvas in a radial manner. Coalescing in the center are splotches of yellow and blue. The image feels intergalactic and organic all at once, harnessing the power of the microscopic and macroscopic. One is reminded of the internal organs of a flower or the cosmic dance of a supernova. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months. During this short interval a supernova can radiate as much energy as the Sun is expected to emit over its entire life span. Shining just as brightly, Reaching Out offers the viewer an intense wave of stimulation.