About Me
biophilia (bī-ō-ˈfi-lē-ə) n.
1 The human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature. 2 An instinctive bond of human beings with nature. 3 The desire or tendency to commune with nature. 4 The love of life and living systems.
The Heart of All - watercolor and graphite on paper
In my work, nature and organic forms become symbols and codes, and the stories they tell are written in a visual shorthand like a long-forgotten ancient alphabet. Visual metaphors of birth, growth, death, and renewal are all present, interplaying with our human emotional states of being. Using birds, roots, shells, seeds, eggs and fruit, these works explore the dual themes in the natural world and ours with a biophilic sensibility. Macro and micro worlds are used, from star fields to microscopic sea life.
Oil painting is my first love, but I work in a variety of media including watercolor, acrylic, encaustic, collage, graphite, and resin.
Angela Kallsen is a visual artist and illustrator living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. A lifelong artist, the business of Kallsen Studio has been going since 2007. She works primarily in oil and mixed media, including watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and charcoal. Her work has been exhibited in numerous venues around the area including the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, the Nash Gallery at the University of Minnesota, The Edina Art Center, the Hopkins Center for the Arts, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts.
A graduate from the University of Minnesota, Angela took the path least traveled and designed her own degree majoring in studio arts, biological science, and Native American studies. This unique collaboration of coursework developed within her a deep understanding and respect for our natural world, other cultures, ecology, and the diversity of all living things.
Some of the biggest influences for my art have been the works of Toulouse-Lautrec, Georgia O’Keeffe, Egon Schiele, and Jasper Johns, all for different reasons. I love Lautrec’s raw, unfinished style and sense of movement and composition, O’Keeffe’s beautifully focused and pared-down viewpoint, soft color and subject matter, Schiele’s mastery of line and drawing with Klimt-like influences, and Johns’s thick layering and intricate storytelling.
-Angela Kallsen