Kirsten Vikingstad Hermansson & Peter Hermansson

Crystal Maps

4 May - 25 June 2023

“There is a desert on the moon where the dreamer sinks so deeply into the ground that she reaches hell.” ― C.G. Jung, ”Man and his symbols”
Taking their point of departure from the unknown "white spots" on the map - the Terra Incognita - Peter Hermansson and Kirsten Vikingstad Hermansson explore cultural symbols and images to create crystal maps depicting man's internal and external struggles.
 
Peter Hermansson's narrative glass is based on the iconic, historical Swedish Graal technique, which was developed in 1916 by Orrefors glassblower Knut Bergqvist in collaboration with painters Simon Gate and Edward Hald. This method involves working with various layers. The design is carved, engraved, or etched on a parison of colored glass, which is then reheated and cased in a layer of transparent glass of a different color, and inflated. The technique allows the artist to work with sketches, images, and narrative scenes.
 
Like a psychoanalyst, Peter Hermansson maps and explores man's inner chaos: his fears, anxieties, desires, lusts, angers, aggressions, and disgusts. He uses archetypal symbols that furnish dream scenarios or rather, nightmarish distortions of reality. Atlas, in constant agony, carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. Unstable, slipping, sliding, losing his grip. He is forced down on his knees and onto the ground at the bottom of the stairs by the weight of the monstrous claws and gigantic eyes hovering above him. The eternal wheel rotates in an everlasting pace, moving round and round and never forward, rendering mankind forever doomed. A crystal, surreal map of the human mind, indeed!
 
Kirsten Vikingstad Hermansson examines the archetype of the explorer by mapping the language of communicating territorial power and manifesting ownership. Using architectural references and symbols of conquest like the tower, the lens, the ring, and the portal, she draws a crystal map of man's aspiration for territorial exploration and conquest. Famous explorers in search of conquering the "white spots" of the map used these symbols as statements to visualize their discoveries and sometimes claim ownership. After Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas, he built the first Spanish fortress in the New World from the remains of his ship. The fortress was called La Navidad and consisted of fortified towers and portals. La Isla Española became the Spanish Kingdom's first colony in the New World, and Columbus its governor and viceroy.
 
Even today, the practice of exploring territories and sometimes manifesting conquest with symbols is still very much alive, and the topic is most relevant. The maps are being rewritten as we speak. Kirsten draws a sculptural, crystal map of man's ambition for exploring and the power of territory. Some of her massive, tower-like sculptures are constructed of broken pieces and fragments. Some sculptures even have the surface pattern of a hand grenade. A crystal map, depicting the endless, restless hunt of man to discover, explore, and conquer the no longer "white spots".
 
Maja Heuer
Independent Curator


Peter Hermansson (b. 1975) is an artist based in Nybro, Sweden. He works within the Swedish narrative glass tradition and, with his background in graffiti, he brings a graphically expressive style to glass with the aim of revitalizing Swedish art glass. After studying at Orrefors National Glass School, Hermansson completed a 4-year apprenticeship to deepen and master his craft. Over the past 15 years, he has focused on and developed two Swedish glass techniques, Graal and Ariel. These techniques make it possible to transfer illustrations into the glass mass and tell stories through glass. Storytelling is a central part of Hermansson's work and is closely linked to his advanced craftsmanship. Hermansson debuted in 2009 with the exhibition "DARK TIMES" at the Glassery gallery in Stockholm, and has since exhibited in around 70 shows both in Sweden, Scandinavia, and internationally in countries such as France, the USA, England, Holland, China, and Turkey.

Kirsten Vikingstad Hermansson (b. 1988) is a Norwegian artist based in Småland, Sweden. She has studied glass art at the Glass School in Orrefors, Sweden, the Royal Danish Academy - Design School Bornholm, and the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design - Glass Studio of Rony Plesl. In her artwork, Kirsten examines the archetype of the explorer by mapping the language of communicating territorial power and manifesting ownership, using symbols such as the tower, the lens, and the ring. In recent years, her artistic practice has expanded to include larger site-specific public art installations. Kirsten has exhibited her works primarily in group exhibitions in Norway, Scandinavia, Great Britain, Germany, and Canada. Her work has been acquired by collections such as KODE in Bergen. Hermansson is a co-founder of Formbar Glassverksted in Haugesund, Norway.