LINKÖPING, Sweden—The well-known Swedish artist, Mr. Hoffsten, came to see the final show of Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour in Linköping, on Saturday evening, March 21.
Mr. Hoffsten who has been painting for 25 years, was born in Linköping and has a Masters of Fine Arts from the Academy of Arts in Warszawa. He holds exhibitions regularly and teaches arts in Lunnnevads High School, not far from Linköping. Mr. Hoffsten’s arts is connected to rhythm, light, and movement. The improvisation from jazz music, the heavenly light from Rembrandt and Jean Tinguely that he connects to movement, are his source of his inspiration.
Mr. Hoffsten comes from an artistic family of singers and musicians. His father is a well-known musician, and his sister, Ms. Hoffsten, is a famous singer of rock and blues in Sweden and has also started an artistic career in the United States.
This year’s Shen Yun performance deepened Mr. Hoffsten’s understanding of Chinese traditional arts.
“The program has a lot of energy,” said Mr. Hoffsten.
“It is very valuable that the presenters of the program explain about the different acts and dances so we can be familiarized with the history. It´s fascinating. We know very little about [traditional] Chinese culture and how rich and extensive it is. We learn something new all the time.
“The colors are fantastic. Some of these costumes had an unexpected combinations of colors. There were some features that felt quite audacious, but absolutely right. ... I have noticed how incredibly beautiful the slow movements of the female dancers are.”
As an artist himself, could Mr. Hoffsten draw inspiration from Shen Yun´s performance?
“Absolutely, one of my keywords is movement. I am a painter, an artist of the visual arts, that is movement, and there is a lot of it here. Nothing in the universe is really immovable. Everything is in constant motion, and here we can see body language and movements that are different from our own, and that is fascinating,” he said.
Mr. Hoffsten liked the music, the piano, and the orchestra that combines both classical Chinese and Western instruments in a unique way. He commented on the artists’ skillfulness and power of insight.
“It [the orchestra] sounds fabulous. Chinese people are very competent. When they do something, they do it with an incredible professionalism, feeling, and also great hummility. That is tremendously fascinating,” concluded Mr. Hoffsten.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
