ART INSIGHTS Creating Wealth as a Successful Artist - John Dahlsen

Art Calendar: I read that a fire destroyedyour studio in 1983, taking seven yearsworth of work with it. Did this eventinfluence your transition from painting tofound objects?Dahlsen: The fire incident, although amajor occurrence at the time in 1983,didn’t directly affect my transition toworking with found objects, as that periodbegan in my work in the mid-nineties. Itdid, though, rock my very foundations asa person and brought me face to face withmy mortality, which explained, for me, myimmediate openness to the spiritual path,which had been hindered up until thatpoint. I suppose it made the transition tobe easier, though, as I became less rigidas a person in hindsight. It was this pointalso which triggered me to begin to workwith my own issues revolving around myfathers’ suicide, which took place threeweeks before I was born. Looking at theseissues helped to transform me significantlyas a person, and I’m sure helped me tobecome more open and able to make the130