Artist, Kristiana Pärn, Puts Contrasts in Perspective
Joyfulness, freedom, laughter, and thoughtfulness are intrinsic to the art of Kristiana Pärn. Her “edgy naïve” style is anything but simple.
Image Courtesy of Kristiana Pärn.
Image Courtesy of Kristiana Pärn
“Composition with colors – things I find in the studio” 
The Wood Gallery 
Wood Scraps 
“Inspiration is everywhere – Doorways are mysterious“ 
“Just playing aroudn in the studio”
What makes Kristiana Pärn’s art exceptional? It is the blend of boundless boldness with an introspective calm that brings endless opportunities for the imagination. She combines the organic elements of wood panels with acrylic paint and graphite. She explained that she discovered wood panels in 2004, “It is always interesting to draw on wood. The pigment gets absorbed in the grain of the wood and what we see is the reflection of the color. The paint accentuates or obscures different marks in the wood to create surprising effects. The wood grain resembles air, wind, water, and patterns in the sky. There is so much more than it seems. The wood creates an atmosphere that is only partly my doing.”
Top Left: Let it Come and Let it Go; Right: Look Closely Bottom:The Daydreamers – Original Paintings on Wood Blocks. Image Courtesy of Kristiana Pärn.
“I have a handful of characters that I keep going back to,” says Kristiana. She told me, “The recent events have evoked a sort of melancholy and the blue-clad elephant sketch was intended to be a series. He is to bring pleasure. He is a clumsy creature but so calm, foxes are playful, sly, and adventurous. Bunnies are comfortable, warm, and soft. They are really brave little creatures. Bears are entertaining. The characters come from my intuition – my emotional intelligence. Often, a character springs out when I am trying to figure something out.”
Art Prints: Top L-R – Unhurried Journey, Solitude, Rowan Tree Image Courtesy of Kristiana Pärn.
Her subjects are charming creatures (often woodland animals of the northern European forests of her youth) engaging in the unexpected. Bunnies swinging in the atmosphere, foxes in a row boat, polar bears floating on hot air balloons, raccoons as the bases of toadstools, an elephant taking a bubble bath, a bunny hugging the neck of a giraffe, bunnies napping atop marshmallow tree branches – of course! Why not? It all seem perfectly natural and harmonious. Is it the colors? Is it the calmness in their nature? Is it the environmental forces depicted? The image that captivated me most recently was a sketch of an elephant in blue shorts dipping blue paint from a paint can.
Elephant Sketches Images courtesy of Kristiana Pärn
While viewing many of Kristian’s pieces, it became clear to me that Kristiana uses a very sophisticated “voice” of contrasts. She says, “I try to find harmony between two to three colors. The colors are sharp muted tones that I use to create a feeling.” Like her characters who are bold but unexpected, the colors echo the unexpected as well, “Sharp, yet muted.” It is the contrasts presented with whimsey that create the atmosphere for the experience.
Top L-R: Nothing is Ordinary, The Sweetest Slumber, The Bunny and Dracula
Bottom: Rendevous
Images Courtesy of Kristiana Pärn
“Do you have names for your characters?” I asked. “No names. They are not stories. They make the invitation to tell your story. I want to create the space for your creativity to tell the story,” Kristiana explained. While the characters are unnamed, the names of some of her paintings include, Nothing is Ordinary, Fearless, Dreamers Move Mountains, Any Dream Will Do, Unhurried journey, Not to Worry, Such a Daydream.
Kristiana’s life is rich in adventure, imagination, and romance. Pictured with husband, Sebastian and their bunny, Whisky. Images Courtesy of Kristiana Pärn
She is matter of fact yet whimsical. She is intuitive and inquisitive and like her bunnies, is willing to go out on a limb. Last autumn, she and her husband, Sebastian, traveled to his native Argentina for a visit, “With just a suitcase,” says Kristiana, “ and we are still here and plan to remain for the rest of the year.”
Kristiana has exhibited in galleries, won awards, and displayed on pop-up tables on the streets of New York. “I love to see the people and their reactions. I get feedback from the people rushing by – they suddenly stop, they can look quietly, or they might speak to me, they don’t have to say anything. It was a nice way to connect with people. I loved to talk to the them.”
Images Courtesy of Kristiana Pärn
Who are Kristian’s favorite artists? “I love New York’s street art. I want to know what they are doing and get to know them. I want to support them. There is a feeling of family,” she said. Matisse is her favorite famous artist, “His force and personality are incredible. The shape and look of his Cutouts inspire me. I love his collages,” she elaborated.
Kristiana said of their future plans, “Since we moved to Argentina we left behind ‘baggage,’ we are ‘surfing the waves’ a little. We are taking some space to react to our new opportunities. I am using social media and pop-up shop to communicate. I am working with my on-line store,” she shared. Glad to know that we can still acquire her lovely pieces.
Images Courtesy of Kristiana Pärn
There is an authenticity about Kristiana. Soft-spoken with very clear and deliberate expression, she is a student of her environment; linguistically, spatially, and esthetically. Her choice of words is like her choice of colors. She has a keen sense of humor, a twinkle in her eye, and a great respect for her listener. Like the creatures of her paintings, she wants to experience life, people, and the atmosphere.
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