The artist Zacheriah Kramer grew up in Colorado in the United States, has lived in Sweden for thirteen years, and now lives, for the past five years, in Finland. He studied art at the Florence Academy of Art and has also worked as a teacher at the school, both in Gothenburg and in Florence, Italy. Now he lives in Purmo, Pedersöre with his wife and two children. As a classical graduate in visual arts, he makes use of the toolbox that has grown up in the European studio tradition. "I have learned a lot about the materials and methods used in visual arts from the Renaissance to the end of the 1800s."
Zacheriah describes himself and his artistic style as a landscape and figure painter. His pictures can be described as figurative and illusionistic, but also painterly, where the material itself is allowed to speak. His studies of nature are usually very lifelike, while other compositions can be more lyrical, symbolic and metaphorical, as an attempt to disguise and make visible something elusive in the inner life. Recurring themes and motifs in Zacheriah's work are local landscapes, often with trees or water as the main focus. And an attempt to get a tangible sense of light in the pictures regardless of the subject.
Zacheriah's artistry is based on careful studies of the world around him. 'These studies are done from life, on site, with all the senses activated, as an exercise in mindfulness. To give weight to what I study on paper or canvas is also to give it weight in my mind.' Zacheriah's artistry is largely based on the place where he lives. As an immigrant, he would like his process to help him put down his roots here, for his contemplative observation through painting to open the soul to his surroundings and allow it to shape the interior, and to help a kind of second childhood where he and the place are interwoven. He has also begun to make images from materials he produces himself from his own plot and forest, so that even some of the material in his art is physically bound to, and sprung from, this particular physical place. Zacheriah makes paper from stinging nettles, charcoal from willow trees, white pigment from ash from moose bones, binder from moose collagen, and pigment and binder from clay. "It's an interesting challenge to create beautiful and moving images that can make visible what is hidden in human hearts with inconspicuous and simple material," says Zacheriah. He works a lot in oil, but also charcoal, pencil and red chalk.
Zacheriah will participate in this year's Konstrundan from his studio garden in Pedersöre. And when we asked what he hopes visitors take away from his particular studio visit, Zacheriah answered;
"Art has the ability to connect people. Maybe someone will recognise a feeling or a longing in one of my pictures, or maybe see with fresh eyes the landscape that we share and are a part of. I also hope to be able to exchange inspiration with other people who create."
There will also be the opportunity to participate in a raffle of a painting depicting a local landscape, painted "plein air". And for children to try drawing with homemade drawing materials.