Beneath the Surface 

Featuring Abstract Landscapes by Ted Olson and Mixed Media Paintings + Ceramics by Liisa Rahkonen 

Have you ever felt an unexplainable connection between you and a landscape and its animals? A feeling of a soulful connection? Beneath the Surface, a show currently available to view here at Art Elements, is a contemplation on that unexplainable feeling. Keep ready to take a deep dive into why we have a soulful connection to the land and its animals. 

Art Elements Gallery presents “Beneath the Surface”, an exhibition featuring two Pacific Northwest artists, Liisa Rahkonen and Ted Olson. Through abstraction, Ted’s landscapes aim to reveal the subtle beauty that lies beneath the fierce climates of the Pacific Northwest, suggesting a quiet contemplation that awaits beneath the surface of its untamed wilderness. Expertly paired with Liisa’s playful depictions of birds, her work explores the physical differences between us and our winged companions, while simultaneously highlighting the soulful similarities that connect us. With a masterful use of materials, both artists offer a refreshing perspective on the connection between humanity and the biosphere. Please visit Art Elements Gallery to experience “Beneath the Surface” today and consider the connections that you have forged with the land and animals of the Pacific Northwest.

When it comes to landscapes, painters can capture not only what a scene looked like, but also what it felt like to experience. Each artist has their own mode of mark making that they use to achieve this kind of image. Inspired by the raw, untamed wilderness that surrounds him, Ted channels this ever-changing landscape through a deeply intuitive artistic process. Like nature itself, his work is in constant motion; he lets the terrain guide his hand, never quite certain when a piece is complete, but trusting the painting to tell him when to stop.
Here is Ted's Artist Statement in regards to Beneath the Surface:

“TED OLSON’S paintings offer impressions of the fierce, rugged landscape across the prairies and mountains of the American West. Open grassland, fields of wildflowers, broken buttes of basalt and sandstone and, of course, the sky. Formed by the insistent forces of flood, wind, ice, and brutal heat, the landscapes of the West stand in testimony to the ravages faced by a biosphere locked in battle with both man and nature. But for all of the raw intensity, there is beauty to be found. Olson brings his impressions of these landscapes to life in oil paintings on panel and, in the process, distills an almost ethereal quiet. Elegant presentations of luminous color, engaging texture and surfaces, and subtle references to landforms come together to create a rich exposition of these landscapes. The paintings call on a long tradition in landscape painting as well as more modern trends in impressionism and abstract expressionism. Olson resides in White Salmon, Washington, a small town in the Columbia River Gorge that straddles the line between the Cascade Mountains and the high deserts to the east.”

Liisa Rahkonen is able to tap into a similar connection, but instead of landscapes her connection is tied to pacific northwest birds. Living on the Oregon Coast, Liisa has access to observe such a wide variety of Audubon life and lets their playful lives speak for themselves through her paintings and ceramic work. Every cock of the head or twitch of a feather, Liisa is able to let the birds speak through her as she recreates them letting their personalities shine through her brush strokes and clay making. 

Here is a Liisa's Artist statement in regards to this show. 

“I am in awe of birds. It’s not just the variety of colors, silhouettes and patterned feathers that engages me as an artist, but something illusive about them is compelling. They tilt their heads as if listening to something mysterious, and I can only aspire to hear as they do but cannot. The sound of a loon calling, or the raspy voice of the Great Blue Heron instantly transports me from my world into theirs. Their songs may tell stories of grassy marshes, deep water, reeds, nectar, and air currents, and this inspires me to paint and sculpt, hoping I can capture a sense of a bird’s essence. 

I often see a Kingfisher sitting on a telephone wire above the Schooner Creek Bridge. With laser-like focus and a punk haircut she dives with intention, seeing something beneath the murky surface. She folds her wings, flattens her head-crest transforming into a streamline bullet and plunges.  Like the Kingfisher, I too have intention. But as it turns out, my path and destination is less clear then that of my laser focused sister-bird. In fact, I’ve discovered that painting a specific bird is less important than exploring the mysterious, murky emotional layer beneath. Painting bird-forms allows for endless exploration of a vital connection and relationship between we humans and our winged sisters and brothers."

 We hope that you will enjoy this special collection of original Oregon artwork!