Hermann Talvik – An open conversation with Jenny Sjögreen

‘What do you see?’ he asked. Often.

The question was directed at our innermost being. Because what do we see? What do you see, and what do I see? Who are we? Do we truly know who we are? You and I?

In the series An open conversation with … I talk to people who, in various ways, have been affected by my father Hermann Talvik’s highly personal and sensitive compositions. My hope is that, as a reader, you will feel invited to mentally take part in this conversation. That you will permit yourself to reflect, question and accept your own thoughts as well as my own – and ours. In this book, I meet priest Jenny Sjögreen for a long conversation about the Bible’s influence on Hermann Talvik’s art.

Hermann Talvik (1906–1984) was a versatile artist, both in terms of techniques and subject matter. His painting runs from lyrical landscapes to spiritual compositions. His prints span the range from woodcuts and linocuts to drypoints and etchings. He was also the master of the monotype – a technique in which a single copy was made from a painting on a flat surface.

Much of his art has its origins in experiences from a world beyond the physical one. The compositions are loaded with a complex symbolic language – sometimes the depiction of a violent event, sometimes an encounter in dazzling light – while others illustrate Biblical stories.

He was reluctant to talk about his own vision and what lay behind his works. He preferred not even to name his artworks, as he felt this would get in the way of our personal interpretations. Interpretations that can be coloured by our unique experiences and which are linked to our own spiritual presence.

What do you see?