Like to get to know you well took place at Galleri 54 in Göteborg from September to December 2008. Thirty people came to the gallery to pose according to a predetermined and published schedule.
A 32 page book including photos from each sitting and texts about the conversations that took place is available through the gallery. I include the introduction to the book and the images it contains below, and the (Swedish) press release for the project here.
To see the finished portraits click here.
The portrait project in talkshow format.
I was 9 years old the first time I posed for a formal portrait. I sat a few times, and my art teacher made a large oil painting of me and my electric guitar. The finished work has been on my parents’ wall for 17 years. As I’ve grown up, portrait painting has been more or less a social habit for me, and its ability to intensely and directly engage its audience has set a precedent for my work. The desire to exhibit this special kind of engagement led me to formulate ”the portrait project in talkshow format” -- for which I invited about 30 people to meet me in Gallery 54 for publicly scheduled portrait painting sessions.
Using the gallery as a studio proved a unique opportunity to attract public figures we see in the newspaper or on tv but don’t usually get to meet in person. Most of these local stars accepted my invitation to be part of a collection of portraits of Famous townspeople. I saw myself as a facilitator of special meetings with celebrities whose fans might like to get to know them a little better. To compile a list of guests, I surveyed friends and acquaintances including a television fee collector who knocked on my door, about who they’d like to see in conversation in a gallery. I left some drop-in times open, and I made some wholly independent choices. The mayor has referred to the collection as a ”handpicked” group of Gothenburgers.
Making a portrait requires mutual effort by the painter and the sitter, and this cooperative mood relieves the anxieties we might otherwise feel when forced to sit facing a stranger for an hour and a half. I began by asking each sitter to select an image to put on the wall as a point of reference (and often a point of departure for the conversation). Many guests remarked that the time seemed to pass quickly, and that it was very pleasant to focus on something completely foreign to their daily routines. Sometimes, many visitors strolled in and out of the gallery, joining the conversation and having coffee with us. Other times, it was just the gallery attendant, the sitter, and myself sharing each other’s company.
As this book goes to press, the future of the paintings produced during these sessions is yet unknown. The collection will remain intact as one work that reflects part of the social history of the town and my experience of it. I hope the paintings will find a permanent home here and continue to be of interest for future residents of Gothenburg.