October 2023
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Fundamental to my painting is the square and two color surfaces.
When I began my work with a painting where the format is a square and the motif is vegetation; the two colors I used were clear, strong and pure, such as cadmium red and cobalt blue.
Over time, I have gradually and consciously toned down my color choices to the point where today I only use two shades of gray.
Why choose a certain format?
A square is, a mathematical calculation, an even number, 1 x 1 meter, neutral and distinct, neither portrait nor landscape format.
Against this surface I place a painting that is spontaneous, randomly growing, an unforeseen vegetation. Two flat surfaces without depth effect like shadows – volume. The Square – Civilization versus Nature.
I still set some rules – delimiting with a few parameters.
Two shades of gray that are close to each other; no blue background – no green vegetation. Individual trees, vegetation that has character.
Why two colors? The simple is the difficult.
I want to make pictures that don't make much noise.
Björn Olsén in July 2023
Björn Olsén can be said to be a fundamental painter, who with his usual cautious, not to say shy, painting, investigates the fundamental aspects of painting. Björn Olsén previously worked with a painting that had its origins in nature. In his contemporary painting, there are still traces of nature's configurations, but no longer as pronounced as before. The radical shift between his earlier painting and his current one, however, is that he has increasingly come to tone down the expressive power of the colors in favor of an almost neutral gray color.
Excerpt from text Björn Olsén – a shy colorist
written by Bo Nilsson / Director of Artipelag Art Gallery