Eric Aho & Charles Burchfield in Mystic North: Burchfield, Sibelius, & Nature

Mystic North includes artworks by Charles Burchfield that illustrate his evolving concept of winter’s power and beauty, an idealized northland, as well as audio-cryptograms—the motifs he devised to make sound visible. Because the concept of “North” as a mystical, metaphorical, and inspirational place has intrigued artists for centuries, the exhibition includes works by two other artists for comparison. They are Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931), who was Sibelius’ friend, painted his portrait, and is considered by many to be Finland’s most famous artist; and Eric Aho (born 1966), an American of Finnish descent and Burchfield admirer who traveled to his ancestral country to paint expressive landscapes.