artist statement:
Art is my way to give form to the whispers from my soul. It means to search for truth and what lies beyond, to explore different levels of reality and then step outside of the box and recreate it over and over.
I build, carve, weld and mold my way to a finished sculpture driven by the urge to communicate. Inspired by love for nature and sailing my forms are figurative, organic or vessel- like. Gesture and form give me endless possibilities to symbolically express my visceral experience of life where words cannot reach.
Art-making demands time and silence, to listen inward for what needs to happen, and to recognize the unexpected, revealed in a form or a pattern. When art works it touches the core.
biography
Ninni Baeckstrom grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, immersed by various crafts. After moving to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1988 she studied sculpture at the University of Virginia and started exhibiting her work. Her sculptures can be found in public places and private residences around the country.
Baeckstrom is a long term member of the McGufffey Art Center in Charlottesville, VA. Over the years she has received numerous grants from the Virginia Commission of the Arts to facilitate sculpture gardens for the Albemarle County school system.
In 2008 Baeckstrom collaborated with the Enrichment Alliance of Virginia to found “Monumental Collaboration,” a program designed to bring art to underserved children in the Charlottesville area. They received a BAMA grant in 2009 and Baeckstrom designed, built and installed a monument with the help of students at William Monroe Middle School in Green County, VA. In 2010 Baeckstrom was selected to be one of 10 exhibiting artists of Art in Place in Charlottesville.
Baeckstrom works out of Serpentine Studio in Charlottesville, VA. She teaches art to children and adults and is the co-founder of “Pathfinders,” a summer art camp that integrates art and nature.
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