Morten Slettemeås

JO-HS presents Apples and Frostbites by Morten Slettemeås. On the opening day, there will be an edible landscape by Queremos Pastel.

There are only two places where apples grow in Norway. Morten Slettemeas, hailing from the picturesque village of Gvarv in Norway, brings a deep connection to the land, its rhythms, and its harvests into his evocative body of work. Gvarv, nestled in an agricultural region renowned for its fruit cultivation, especially apples, forms the backdrop of his artistic exploration.

Apples and Frostbites explores Slettemeås’ unique ability to convey the contrasts and fragility of the natural world through painting, alternating between figurative and abstract. The exhibition explores the tension between the allure of the apple and the destructive power of frostbite, symbolizing how beauty (like the apple) often carries an inherent danger (like the frostbite), creating a narrative of the fragility of life in the natural world.

A simple apple—indicative of a change of seasons—potentiates a radical shift in Gvarv’s atmosphere. An element that Slettemeås’ integrates deeply in his works. The prescient red, green, and yellow frequencies wake all of Midt Telemark (Norwegian region) to an emotional harvest where community and joy upend the dark months of winter where temperatures reach at least -25°. It is in the contrasting summer months that the heat brings back the textures and colors unseen for at least 8 months. It is interesting to notice how an apple can become a relevant token for the community and for Slettemeås himself. For people that have not experienced a stark seasonal transition it may be hard to understand how much the “mood” or “atmosphere” of weather patterns can change human comportment. However, for Slettemeås it is evident that the world acquires a new bloom accentuating the apple harvest as the ascent from the underworld. That is to say, the contrast between apples and frostbites is a homage to Slettemeås’ worldview.

The candid works hypnotize the observer to the foreground of a figuration that cannot be traced to a particular timeline. His work seeks the eternal form of expression although its timelessness transmutes the background at ease and takes us on a journey that incorporates the landscape of his beloved Gvarv. There is a gentle playfulness at core with Slettemeås’ intent and the audience’s pattern recognition. Both visibility and traceability are elemental to Cezanne’s early influence on Slettemeås and his homage to the fruit his far-fetched teacher adored. He too appreciates the meta-contextual essence of how a fruit is able to bring back the aromas of the fields, of the sun that garnished it, of the rains that nurtured it, and of the melancholy it triggers when the season has passed its summit. Moreover, the clear affective landscapes Slettemeås encompasses in his brushstrokes are remnants of a Norwegian lineage. He is indeed walking in the shoes of Norwegian giants—and we don’t mean the Jötnar (the mythological Norse giants); rather, with Norwegian masters like Ludvig Karsten’s colors and layering of pigments, Halfdan Egedius’ young career and melancholic forms, the late Edvard Munch and his emotional work, and a bit of Harald Sohlberg—whose works were deeply linked to affective experiences manifested in landscape—are clearly in Slettemeås technique and vision.

Nevertheless, their process was radically different, working with timely precision hardly letting speed or luck play a role in their overall work, and others with brushstrokes reflecting often that rush and anxiety to create something that could transfer emotions throughout the work. In this sense, Slettemeås has taken into conversation a plethora of elements to work the parts of each painting. Like Jarle Strømodden writes in his previous exhibitions on the background of his landscape “[He] do[es] not take a dominant or centering position. They seem to be only appearing, rather than standing out.”

Slettemeås’ work breathes new aromas like when we experience the first bite of a freshly harvested apple, reminding us of the first experiences we have lived when we were newly born.

–JO-HS