IMELDA ALMQVIST ART: JOURNEYS TO INNER WORLDS, OTHER WORLDS AND AROUND THE WORLD IN PAINTINGS

About me - Artist's Statement

 IMELDA ALMQVIST  (photograph by Ulric Almqvist)

 Brief Biography

Imelda Almqvist is a Dutch artist and shamanic practitioner based in London, UK. She went to Art School in Amsterdam where she did a Fine Art and Art History degree course as well as a teaching qualification. She trained as an Art (Psycho) Therapist in the UK. Right now she is in the final stages of training as a shamanic practitioner here in the UK.

Imelda is a shamanic painter. She makes spirit-led art inspired and informed by "other worlds": the spirit world. She accepts commissions for personalised paintings and spirit-led paintings for specific people. i.e. paintings that contain a gift from the spirit guides. Too see examples of this, please visit the COMMISSIONS PAGE as well as the SPIRIT-LED ART page on www.shaman-healer-painter.com.

Imelda is married to the Swedish investment banker and sailor Ulric Almqvist. They have three sons: Quinn (2000), Elliott (2001) and Brendan (2004). Living and working in Sweden instilled a great passion for the Great North in Imelda. Over the years this has expanded to a love for Greenland, Siberia and the art and mythology of the Inuit.

Other key events in Imelda's life were working in a field hospital in Bangladesh in 1997,  working as a teacher & ceramics designer in the slums of Lima, Peru in 1998 and working in acute psychiatry as part of her art therapy training.

Before she had children Imelda ran Skylark Art Gallery on Gabriel's Wharf and an art initiative called The South Bank Group in the Oxo Tower.

In 2007 Imelda provided all the artwork for the New Cross Gate Language Festival. Her paintings appeared on posters, in a small book titled 'The Art of Language' and in the film 'There is Beauty On The Streets'.

Imelda's work can be found in galleries and private art collections all over the world. Her Nasca designs for ceramics in Lima, Peru made it into the Museo de Nacion in Lima. Most recently her paintings were in a show at the Carredor Gallery in Monaco. Imelda's paintings have recently appeared on book covers in Australia and the USA and privately commissioned paintings have travelled as far as Hong Kong and Vancouver Island in Canada,

Imelda writes a weekly column about art and spirituality for a newspaper in South Africa: the Overstrand Herald.

Imelda's paintings have been exhibited at the SOAS and London Metropolitan University where she was a guest speaker on the subject of world languages. She has an invitation from the University of Gothenburg to visit and speak on the subject of Mathematics and Art!

Let's see what amazing opportunities the coming years will bring! - And only days after writing this Imelda was appointed Soul Cafe Expert on www.soul-cafe.net !

 A portrait of Imelda Almqvist by her middle soon Elliott (aged 7)

 THREE YOUNG ARTISTS! My sons Quinn, Elliott & Brendan

More Detailed Biography

My name is Imelda Almqvist. I was born in Holland in 1967. I did my Fine Art and Art History degree course in Amsterdam, where I completed my teacher's training as well. I trained as an Art Therapist in England.

 My husband is Swedish and we lived in Sweden for a while. Scandinavia has strongly influenced my paintings: the landscapes, the midsummer sun, the northern light, the myths and legends. By now this interest has expanded to encompass The Far North as a source for paintings and ideas: Inuit (Eskimo) mythology, Siberian Aboriginal beliefs and tombs and Icelandic sagas. The dream to visit Greenland came true in August 2008! (To read more about that please visit the SHAMANISM page!)

 WALKING A LABYRINTH ON THE SWEDISH WEST COAST!

(Click here to visit the page about labyrinths and spiritual journeys)

Other subjects that fascinate me and are recurrent themes in my work are: myths and languages from all over the world (please see the LANGUAGE page and the ART OF LANGUAGE page), childhood and the way children view the world, the raw energy of (so called!) 'primitive' art and exploring emotions and states of mind. Often this takes the form of landscapes. Though these are 'inner landscapes' or 'dreamscapes' rather than landscapes in the sense of photographic realism.

Training as an Art Therapist introduced me to acute psychiatry. It was 'mindboggling' at times and had a lasting impact on my own artwork.

NOT FEELING MYSELF (monoprint)

Another thing that contributes to my paintings is my love of travelling and spending time in other cultures learning foreign languages. In 1997 I worked as a volunteer in a field hospital in Bangladesh, where my duties ranged from illustrating books and teaching materials to assisting with eye surgery! Time spent in Bangladesh and India resulted in a series of paintings and the discovery of the greatest writer in Bengali: Rabindranath Tagore. Back home I carried on working as the London representative of the organisation YPSA in Bangladesh.

BANGLADESHI GIRL (Bangladesh Series)

In 1998 I did an artist's residency in Zapallal, Peru, in a shanty-town in the desert just outside Lima. I worked as a teacher of art & design and designed a range of handmade ceramics. These are still in production today. They are sold at the Museo the Nacion and shops in Lima to raise funds for the school and community. Harrods in London sold the ceramics for a short while and donated the proceeds to Zapallal.

THE NASCA MONKEY

ZAPALLAL CERAMICS, PERU

In 1999 I ran Skylark Art Gallery on Gabriel's Wharf and I ran a venture called 'The South Bank Group', promoting the work of contemporary young artists, based in the Oxo Tower.

In the year 2000 our son Quinn was born. The following year another son, Elliott. And in 2004 a third son, Brendan. To be a parent as well  as a painter has added a whole new dimension to my life and work. The boys have found their way into my paintings and are keen artists themselves. At age 3 Quinn produced masterpieces such as 'Daddy as a Pregnant Spider'! I am painting my way through motherhood and we still  travel, sometimes! (The boys are designing a Time Travel Machine at the moment - I can't wait to see where it will take me!)

 UNDER MY WING

Painter & Mother

SOME  POSTERS FOR THE NEW CROSS GATE LANGUAGE FESTIVAL 2007

In 2007 I was given the opportunity to provide all artwork for the NEW CROSS GATE LANGUAGE FESTIVAL. This festival was organised by the organisation Family Learning NDC in New Cross Gate. Posters were printed featuring 40 different paintings of the Language & Mark Making series. The paintings also featured in a little book about the language of our world, titled 'The Art of Language'. (See also the Art of Language page).

THE ART OF LANGUAGE BOOKS

The paintings of the Language & Mark Making Series also appeared in the film 'There is Beauty On The Streets' about the residents of New Cross Gate and the languages they speak, made by Family Learning NDC as part of the New Cross Gate Language Festival.

 FILM

Other opportunities followed on from the Language Festival. I was invited to be the artist in residence on a Language Progression project, funded by the Aimhigher Trust, that runs at the SOAS (The School of Oriental and Asian Studies, part of the University of London) and other venues. Most recently the paintings of the Language series were on display at the Graduate Centre at the London Metropolitan University.  

 These French and Spanish language paintings were made especially for the Language Progression project

 Apart from running Art & Language workshops at the SOAS and the Metropolitan University, I did a talk at the Peckham Library as part of Adult Learners Week 2007.

Another recent development is that I was approached by a Lecturer in Motherhood studies at the University of Queensland in St Lucia, Australia. She asked for my permission to use the images of my Motherhood Series in lectures and as a backdrop for a conference on Motherhood in July 2007. In 2008 Marie published a book and I did the painting for the cover. See also the Commissions page.

 We are lucky to live in Telegraph Hill in South East London. It is a a conservation area with amazing Victorian architecture and creative people in almost every house! In March every year everyone contributes to the Telegraph Hill Festival. For a week the Hill bristles with cultural events: from classical music in the church on the Hill (St Catherine's) to Philosophy events, the annual theater performance by local people and children and last but not least the Open Studios. I open my studio for those two days in March every year but I welcome studio visits by appointment any other time of the year.

On the day of writing this page my studio was used by students from St Martins to model and take photographs of fashion designs! My studio is a 'happening space' in more ways than one!

Rabbit Hill Studio  21 Jerningham Road  LONDON SE14 5NQ

Imelda Almqvist  (Last updated August 2010)

Ring  0207 635 7125   to make an appointment for a

STUDIO VISIT, to discuss a SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT

or to make a booking for a WORKSHOP!

info@imelda-almqvist-art.com

WELCOME TO

the Rabbit Hill Studio!

IMELDA ALMQVIST ART: JOURNEYS TO INNER WORLDS, OTHER WORLDS AND AROUND THE WORLD IN PAINTINGS

IMELDA ALMQVIST ART: JOURNEYS TO INNER WORLDS, OTHER WORLDS AND AROUND THE WORLD IN PAINTINGS