MUNTHE ART MONDAY: LINE STRAMER

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

I have a degree from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design, followed by a year at Parque Lage, Visual Art School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I grew up in a creative home in the 1980s, where there was always a sketchpad by the landline telephone. I loved drawing and talking on the phone because it was free and intuitive. Today, I often produce my best work when I'm with others. The urge to create has always been intact, whether it was drawing on a foggy window in my parents' car as a child.

I come from a family of teachers—my mother is very creative and always wanted to be an artist, but she never pursued it. Times were different, so she chose the safer path of becoming a teacher and a mother of three. She laid the groundwork for my creative abilities and taught me art after school. My parents have played a significant role in my development, and whenever they booked a vacation, it was always based on where the best art museums were located. I remember Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul de Vence and Musée Picasso in Antibes the most. I also recall holidays in Greece and the South of France, where it was customary to pack art supplies in the suitcase so we could paint stones on the beach or postcards by the pool.

I first got my hands on clay in 2020, and it made me feel like I had finally found my material and form of expression. Clay has its own will, and I see it as a collaboration between me and the clay. I have always been inspired by the world beneath the ocean's surface and the inner life of the female body. In my work, I explore themes of life's transience, the primal feminine, and the origin of life. In my work, the sculptures find their own forms, and with their almost otherworldly silhouettes, they open up the unconscious in the viewer.

Line is wearing Sumatra pants and Sussima blazer.

Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?

I could choose many. However, I want to highlight a contemporary woman, the Serbian artist Ivana Bašic. Bašic's sculptures, which incorporate various materials—wax, glass, bronze, stainless steel, and alabaster—create a unique symbolic material language. I admire her visual universe, which sparks my imagination and challenges my way of thinking about the combination of materials.

I've been in contact with a gallery that focuses only on "young" artists, which I find extremely closed-off and exclusionary. Art should be the focus, not the artist's age. This made me think of Ursula Reuter Christiansen, who is finally receiving the recognition she has worked so hard for, despite her age. I admire her determination, story, and perspective.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?

I often experience being judged based on my appearance and age, which I don't think men experience in the same way. It can be a challenge when you want to be evaluated for your art and not your gender, age, or appearance. But in many ways, it has also been fuel for my fire. It gives me the energy to think, "Absolutely not."

Could you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

I feel that it has been both positive but also a challenge. Historically, the field isn't considered a "woman's field," and unfortunately, that is still felt today. It's still "the big boys" who come forward and earn the most. However, I believe times are changing, and I think there's more openness toward female artists.

I've also encountered a lot of skepticism around the idea that it's not "the safe path" to choose. When I got accepted into the program on my first application, it gave me the determination to continue.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

The common thread in my works, and that you can always tell they come from my hand. And I also hope that they touch something within the viewer.

Line is wearing Sumatra pants and Sussima blazer.