Norwegian artist Martine Poppe has opened a new solo exhibition titled "East of the Sun West of the Moon" at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery in London. The show draws on a classic Nordic fairytale as a conceptual starting point, blending memory, nature, and landscape painting. Poppe uses photographs taken over the past decade as source material, transforming them into atmospheric compositions that blur the line between reality and fiction. The exhibition explores themes of freedom, distance, and the mystical wildness of the natural world, inspired by both her childhood experiences and influences from Japanese woodblock prints and 19th- and 20th-century Western artists.
The exhibition matters because it highlights how contemporary artists continue to reinterpret traditional narratives—like fairytales—to address universal themes of memory, place, and imagination. Poppe's work also reflects a growing trend in landscape painting that merges personal history with broader cultural and artistic influences, offering viewers a meditative escape into otherworldly environments. The show underscores the enduring relevance of storytelling in visual art and the role of galleries like Kristin Hjellegjerde in supporting emerging and mid-career artists.