Journey of the Soul

Bertil Vallien.

photo Göran Örtegren

The Boat,an apt metaphor for the journey through and beyond life. Vallien says “I like fantasies and stories and the boat, of course, is a wonderful archetype that everybody can relate to. The hull is the only thing that protects what is inside from the lethal waters.”

Yet, Vallien’s boats really have no hull at all. Inside and outside merge into one as the marine blue and earthy brown shape seems made from water itself, stilled into canoe-like form.

The petrified objects encased within serve as clues about whomever sought safe passage within her. Human figures, crosses, and circle symbols lend a spiritual undercurrent to these works, which Vallien has called “dreams of an eternal life.”

Vallien's Map.

Vallien’s work is transcendental in nature — imagined journeys which take us into the realm of the subconscious. His metaphysical Boats transport universal images, and these archetypal symbols speak on a primal level. The results are almost alchemical transformations, spanning from the primary material of sand, to the ethereal qualities of light transference through glass, to that of stone and metal.

Visit our gallery in Stockbridge Massachusetts to see more work by Bertil Vallien, from the Crystal Kingdom in Sweden. www.schantzgalleries.com