Afterglow
Bathurst Regional Gallery
1 April - 11 June 2023
For Danelle Bergstrom, painting is an investigation into ‘human emotions, experiences and choices’ where the artist doesn’t paint what she sees, rather what she feels. In her works, Bergstrom replaces ‘the conscious mark by the subconscious reaction’, allowing the painting to determine the direction. While not automatic in nature, it is an intuitive process, allowing the psychological plain to inform the physical terrain of both place and face in her subjects. For the artist, ‘nature’ moves beyond geographic location, title and position, becoming the internal coordinates of transformative human experience.
Held at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery in 2023, Afterglow was the artist’s first career survey, presenting key works from the last 25 years of her practice. From major Australian and international sites and figures to the intimate terrain of drawings and sketches, the exhibition included works from Åland, a pivotal location in Bergstrom’s personal and professional career, and Hill End where the artist has held both home and studio since 1997.
Install Photography: David Roma
Install Photography: David Roma
Alexarndra's Lullaby, 2003, oil on linen, 46 x 137 cm
Approach I, 2013, oil on linen, 92 x 366 cm
Approach II, 2013, oil on linen, 92 x 366 cm
Arctic Shadows, 2013, oil on linen, 152 x 182 cm
Awakened Dream, 2021, oil on linen, 92 x 245 cm
Beckoning, 2020, oil on linen, 153 x 183 cm
Afterglow, 2007, oil on linen, 75 x 200 cm
Betide, 2013, oil on linen, 153 x 183 cm
Between Two Worlds, 2020, oil on linen, 183 x 153 cm
Burning Heart I, 2015, oil on linen, 92 x 92 cm
Burning Heart II, 2015, oil on linen, 92 x 92 cm
Burning Heart III, 2015, oil on linen, 92 x 92 cm
Cadence of Time, 2013, oil on linen, 100 x 300 cm
Calling, 2020, oil on linen, 122 x 366 cm
Dawning III, 2010, oil on linen, 152 x 183 cm
Driftwood I, 2012, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Deception I, 2011, oil on linen, 152 x 183 cm
Deception II, 2011, oil on linen, 152 x 183 cm
Deception III, 2011, oil on linen, 152 x 183 cm
Ensemble, 2017, oil on linen, 36 x 152 cm
Entwined I, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined II, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined III, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined IV, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined V, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined VI, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined VII, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined VIII, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined IX, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined X, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined XI, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined XII, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined XIII, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined XIV, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Entwined XV, 2020, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Forever, 2015, oil on linen, 92 x 198 cm
Ann Thompson, Independent Spirit, 2010, oil on linen, 152 x 121 cm
Fortitude I, 2017, oil on linen, 122 x 122 cm
Fortitude II, 2017, oil on linen, 122 x 122 cm
Kenneth Holmstrom, Emelia Master Ship Builder, 2022, oil on linen, 62.5 x 62.5 cm
Half Light, 2005, oil on linen, 46 x 46 cm
Heartfelt, 2010, oil on linen, 152 x 183 cm
Jack Thompson, Take Two, 2007, oil on linen, 182 x 182 cm (diptych)
Imprint, 2015, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Conversation With Margaret Olley, 2003, oil on linen, 152.5 x 274.5 cm (triptych)
Mud Pool, Lake of Dreams, 2007, oil on linen, 92 x 183 cm
Kevin Connor, Back to Front, 2006, oil on linen, 183 x 213 cm
Late Summer IV, 2005, oil on linen, 30 x 30 cm
Franco Belgiorno-Nettis, Larger Than Life, 2004, oil on linen, 152 x 274 cm (triptych)
Lure, 2011, oil on linen, 152 x 183 cm
Sir Tim Smit, Dream Creator, 2019, oil on linen, 183 x 152 cm
Nature's Child I, 2004, charcoal & ink on paper, 83 x 100 cm
Centenary of Grace-Eileen Kramer, 2015, oil & charcoal on linen, 122 x 182 cm (diptych)
Drawing on Life I, 2005, Hill End natural pigments on wax paper, 76 x 56 cm
Near and Far I, 2006, oil on linen, 30 x 30 cm
Chief Justice John Doyle, 2011, oil on linen, 121 x 92 cm
Near and Far II, 2006, oil on linen, 30 x 30 cm
Near and Far III, 2006, oil on linen, 30 x 30 cm
Paradise I, 2019, oil on linen, 91.5 x 91.5 cm
Consequence, 2010, oil on linen, 91 x 183 cm
Kim Oates I, 2007, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Kim Oates II, 2007, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Kim Oates III, 2007, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Paradise III, 2019, oil on linen, 91.5 x 91.5 cm
Rebirth, 2009, oil on linen, 78 x 214 cm
Rekindle, 2015, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Guy Warren, 2016, oil on linen, 182 x 152 cm
Return II, 2015, oil on linen, 92 X 274 cm
Returning I, 2011, oil on linen, 107 x 214 cm
Returning II, 2014, charcoal, ink & shellac on paper, 80 x 115 cm
Revive, 2017, oil on linen, 148 x 148 cm
Secrets, 2012, oil on linen, 30 x 100 cm
Shannan, Reflections of a Misty Mourn, 2001, charcoal on paper, 152 x 183 cm
Nancy Borlase, 2006, oil on linen, 121 x 182 cm
Shannan's Gully II & III, 2015, oil on linen, 153 x 275 cm (diptych)
Silver II, 2015, oil on linen, 107 x 214 cm
Silver III, 2015, oil on linen, 107 x 214 cm
Spirit of Place, 2005, oil on linen, 91 x 274 cm
Symphony, 2010, oil on linen, 122 x 366 cm
Unfolding II, 2010, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Unfolding III, 2010, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Unfolding IV, 2010, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Peter Sculthorpe, Sun Music, 2009, oil on linen, 198 x 198 cm
Våga I, 2017, oil on linen, 198 x 198 cm
Våga II, 2017, oil on linen, 198 x 198 cm
Våga III, 2017, oil on linen, 198 x 198 cm
Graeme Murphy AO & Janet Vernon AM, You and I, 2013, oil on linen, 152 x 229 cm
Wandering, 2003, oil on linen, 75 x 200 cm
Water Candles I, 2010, oil on linen, 91 x 244 cm
Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, 2021, oil on linen, 91 x 91 cm
Water Spirit I, 2010, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm
Whispering Gums, 2002, oil on linen, 91 x 244 cm
Eternal I, 2017, oil on linen, 122 x 62 cm
Valhalla, 2012, oil on linen, 183 x 153 cm
David Williamson, The Vivisector, 2017, oil on linen, 150 x 180 cm
Danelle Bergstrom & Zelko Dejanovic (digital compositor), Deception, 2023, single channel HD video, 1 min 18 secs looped
This video was created specifically for the Afterglow survey exhibition more than a decade after the three ‘Deception’ paintings were created in 2011. The three significant works were inspired by a residency in Darwin and act as a symbolic metaphor for that particular time in the artist’s life.
‘What appears to be perfect on the surface is often deceptive and reflects an underlying struggle.’ Life is not all as it seems.
The hauntingly beautiful video moves across and around the surface of the paintings into a journey from the peaceful and serene to an uneasy sensation.
Danelle Bergstrom & Zelko Dejanovic (digital compositor), Våga, 2019, single channel HD video, sound, 19 seconds looped
The three paintings that formed the basis of this video, Våga I, II & III (Våga meaning dare in Swedish) were first exhibited in Sydney in 2017 and this film created for a subsequent exhibition at the Önningeby Museum in the Åland Islands in 2019.
“The move into video was borne out of a need to express an idea that was obvious to me in the paintings themselves, but perhaps not so to others. It reflected the heartbeat of the ocean and the perpetual rhythm of nature, luring us in like a moth to a flame. The scale could be increased in video form to engulf the viewer which I liked. Symbolically the swirling water around the rocks, characterises elements of our existence. The mesmerising moment of the waves dareing you to take a step forward, to face challenges and make bold decisions.”
Danelle Bergstrom, 2019