The paintings and drawings by Jessica Skowroneck are inner landscapes. They show spaces that stand at the crossroads of the conscious and unconscious, between imagination and reality.
Skowroneck grew up in Sweden, and nature has always been very important to her. She uses the landscape as a self-portrait, as a metaphor for body and soul, in which the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ spaces come together. This creates a meeting of two worlds that influence and blend into each other.
Her longing for a child, processing of old trauma and regaining a sense of safety in a turbulent world are recurring themes that are subtly incorporated into her titles and images. Skowroneck's relationship with nature, her love life, her cats and her garden serve as support for these themes.
The painting process must allow for spontaneous brushstrokes, colors and forms to occur. By working fast, Skowroneck lets her intuition lead the way in the studio. As a result, some paintings become more figurative, others less so.
She often uses the vertical format because she likes the association with a door or a gate. The viewer is invited to step over an imaginary threshold into a painted realm where nothing is quite what it seems: The ground may shift, mountains might move. Rocks, rivers and trees are beings with a mind of their own – the characters in these paintings with their own mysterious purpose.