From St. Barth to Art Basel: Inside Karolina Karlsson’s Muted Gemini Series and Work Wives

From St. Barth to Art Basel: Inside Karolina Karlsson's Muted Gemini Series and Work Wives

Q: Where does your original artistic inspiration come from?

Karolina: Artistic inspiration started early on for me as my grandfather was a Swedish folk artist, woodcarver and painter. As a child he would carve me small wooden sailboats and I would look on as he carved wooden seascapes and painted over the wood to add color. The creativity extended to my mother who is an acclaimed concert pianist. Combine my artistic family upbringing with the beauty of St. Barth and – voila! – inspiration took hold during the pandemic when I put brush to canvas and started my own journey in earnest.

As long as I can remember I’ve been spending time on the beautiful island of St. Barth, and I draw inspiration from the weather and women, as I distill down the afternoon lunches and meetups with friends into two dimensional forms. Scenes at Tropical Hotel and at Eden Rock, my go-to spots, where well-dressed ladies lunch and wintering New Yorkers revel in the sun and sand are the moments in time I capture in my paintings.

Q: Any inspiration from other artists, either contemporaries or from the past?

Karolina: Botero, Picasso and Matisse inspire me for different reasons. At the outset I thought realistic characterization through portraits or seascapes was what defined an artist. However, discovering Picasso and his abstract faces and forms rewrote the definition of what an artist is for me. The playfulness and outside-the-box thinking resonated with me as I developed my style. Fernando Botero, the Colombian sculptor and painter, has iconic figures with amplified volume and exaggerated lines. Botero’s embrace of exaggeration is intuitive and flaunts the rules of “normal” art. I can make my own rules and shapes that speak to me.

Q: I’d like to know more about “Work Wives”, one of the Gemini series and a piece you showed at Adam & Eve. Is there an inspiration behind it?

Karolina: All my paintings revolve around women in some way. This one in particular is inspired by my business and studio-partner Eve B, aka my “work wife”! We met through mutual friends and when we discovered our timelines in moving to New York matched up, the stars aligned for us to share a studio space and collaborate on projects together. My female friendships are important for many reasons, as we share experiences, motivate each other, inspire one another and also help each other in our careers. Eve and I met at similar places in our artistic careers and have covered much ground as a team! We exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery during Focus Art Fair London this fall and Eve introduced me to gallery in Connecticut where I have a show lined up for May 2025.

I am a Gemini – so this series captures my duality and that part of my journey! The colors in this piece show the balances in our relationships as well. The light and dark tones are the yin and yang we bring to one another as friends. Where one person is weak the other is strong. With Eve there is no competition as our work is so different from each other – we are very complimentary and it’s wonderful to have found such a great friend a business partner.

Q: In “Work Wives” and ‘Green Geometric Lady” you use mostly muted tones. Being inspired on such a vibrant tropical island is there a reason you use these colors?

Karolina: My journey started during the pandemic, when serenity and calm was very important. My Swedish background contributes to my choice as well – the color palette there is mostly neutrals and white. In comparison to the Swedish palette these muted oranges and pinks are vibrant! I dim the colors with gesso to calm down the bold tones to my liking. The imagery and shapes in my work – lips and breasts – can be a bit erotic and the tone of the color adds some modesty to the otherwise playful images.

The pinks and oranges are inspired by the island, while green is my favorite color. I prefer it to blue as I find it more calming and love the combination of pink and green.

Q: Tell us about "Men-orca" and the inspiration behind this oil gem you showed at Adam & Eve.

Karolina: This past fall I took a workshop in Menorca which focused on live figure drawing and painting for 10 hours a day. The practice challenged me to push my boundaries as an artist and experiment with my style. One of the models, Alberto, was a man with the most perfect eyeliner and stunning features which pushed me to capture this elegant being in a more figurative manner. Experimenting with oil paints was also something new to me. I never want to be completely comfortable, hence this painting of Alberto as a mysterious and beautiful creature is what came out of this novel technique. Similar to my series with fruits, "Men-orca" seems to be a bit of forbidden fruit, a slightly mythical person in a relaxed repose perhaps watching the revelers in the islands whilst contemplating joining in.

Q: What is next for you in the New Year? We want to see more as your style evolves!

Karolina: I’m off to St. Barth for the winter, where I am my most creative! I can’t wait to see what will inspire me this season. The Artists of St. Barth Gallery work on display from December 28 and I plan to work on new pieces for a show in the islands and then a gallery show in Connecticut planned for May 2025. If you are in St. Barths you may find me sketching at Eden Rock.

Find more on Karolina Karlsson on her website and follow her on Instagram for more updates on this exciting talent!