Taegan Treichel is a Danish artist whose work blurs the lines between reality, memory, and imagination. In this interview, Taegan shares how his childhood fascination with folklore and the distortion of memory inspire his whimsical and magical paintings. He talks about blending serious mythical elements with playful touches, like party decorations and treats, to create a unique and lighthearted take on storytelling. Through this conversation, we also learn about his creative journey across countries like China, Holland, and France, and how these experiences shaped his work. Taegan opens up about the role of humor, digital tools, and cultural inspiration in his creative process, giving us a deeper understanding of how he creates his enchanting, mythical worlds.

Taegan Adam Treichel is a featured artist in our book “101 Art Book: Animal Edition .” You can explore her journey and the stories of other artists by purchasing the book here: https://shop.artstoheartsproject.com/products/the-creative-process-book

Taegan Treichel, an artist who began painting at the age of 22. Shortly after venturing into painting, he secured commissioned work as an artist, eventually becoming an in-house artist at the Imagineimagine Foundation in Holland in 2017. In 2018, he traveled to China, concluding with a solo exhibition at “The Bookworm” in Beijing in 2019. His education in Paris at the LISAA animation school introduced him to digital tools, leading to freelance work in gaming. Since 2019, he has consistently exhibited and contributed paintings to galleries in Denmark and abroad, including Strandgalleriet in Vejers, 3A in Copenhagen, Adah Rose Gallery in Washington, D.C., Wasuka Art Management in Singapore and The Nanny Goat Gallery in California.

1.  Taegan, your work blends myth, memory, and folklore in fascinating ways. How did this unique approach to storytelling in your art come about?  

I am interested in how myths have developed through time and in people’s minds. Many myths have a serious aura about them, and I wonder if the mere fact that so much time has passed has given them more gravity. As if the more time has passed, the more serious they get. In my work, I like to play with the idea of turning time backwards. If we could turn time backwards, would the myth gradually lose its seriousness and become more and more silly? Has the myth only gained seriousness through the distortion of time and memory? The distortion of memories, as I like to think of it, sort of gives me the freedom to paint more magical and silly scenes, inspired by myths.

By using the lens of memory, I get the freedom to play with recollections that cannot be accurately recalled, elevating the actual real-life moment to a higher significance, evolving the original experience that was lived, as if one was part of a mythical ceremony.

Taegan Treichel

2. Your paintings evoke a sense of mysticism and humor. How do you balance the gravity of mythical elements with lighthearted, whimsical touches? 

I believe most people see mythical stories, paintings, songs, etc. as something very serious. So the gravity of the mythical elements are handed to me by default, and the challenge is bringing in the whimsical and humorous elements. It’s still a work in progress, and I don’t feel like I succeed every time. I am lucky that there have been lots of artist who painted lots of scenes from myths through history, so there is almost already an established aesthetic, which I can echo to a certain degree and then add my own whimsical elements to bring it to a more light-hearted humorous universe. I feel like humour has its place in folklore.

3.   Memory seems to play a central role in your art. Can you tell us more about how your personal memories influence the scenes you create?  

Growing up, I was quite scared and enthralled by our local folklore and myth. Thinking back to my childhood, I remember it as if folkloric elves and marsh wives were living creatures, and their presence was something I had to deal with in daily life. If I was surrounded by fog, for example, I remember thinking that I had to hurry home before the marsh wife would start “brewing the mist” (which is an old Danish expression). So, in my mind, I was leading quite a magical life. With time, my memories of these magical scenarios have grown in intensity, and I find that distortion of memory inspiring. That we remember things that aren’t necessarily true, and what these more or less accurate memories or narratives have morphed into. So, it’s more the distortion of memory itself than the actual memories that I use in my paintings.

4.    You’ve explored both traditional and digital mediums. How has your work in gaming and film impacted your painting style and creative process?  

The digital medium has helped me a lot in my process. The idea of a mood board was completely foreign to me and now I make tons, almost a new one for every new painting I create. Through different stages of the creation of a painting, I use digital tools to try out different colour schemes or compositions. My paintings usually change a lot while in the process, so I usually take lots of pictures and try out different layouts as I go along on the iPad. Before starting a painting, I work almost like a concept artist, making tons of sketches, just to get something to work with and explore.

5.   Your journey has taken you across the world, from Holland to China and beyond. How have these international experiences shaped your art?  

In China, I got super fascinated by traditional landscape paintings. Among other projects, I ended up making two large paintings inspired by the landscape paintings I saw, and they were supposed to be brought together with a third painting of the same size that I painted in the Netherlands. A Dutch inspired painting surround by two China-inspired paintings coming together in the shape of a grand triptych with the size 6×1,5 meters. The paintings were finished, but because of life getting in the way as it does, the paintings sadly never met – the final piece was never finished! Since then, I’ve also lived in France, and all three countries are very beautiful in separate ways and have distinct and interesting cultures. I think being a foreigner made me very aware my surroundings. Just going to the supermarket was a cultural experience. It’s been a few years since I returned to Denmark, but I remember being almost in a constant state of inspiration while living abroad. It was stimulating in a way that made it very easy to paint.

All my pieces inhabit a mythical world – one that has its roots in the blank spaces of memory – spaces that I fill with mysticism and folklore.

Taegan Treichel

6.  The idea of myth and ceremony seems very central to your work. What does it mean to you to paint a world that exists in a space between reality and imagination? 

Even though I see a lot of silliness and humour in ceremonies, I still find them very magical, and I enjoy that they echo back to something mystical. The same with myths which seem to explain events that we don’t understand. That magical explanation for something inexplicable happening in our reality is interesting to explore. But to be honest, there is also just an element of me enjoying painting fantastical pictures. It’s entertaining to me, and I enjoy being able to create my own universe. It’s fun!

Taegan Treichel’s art invites us to reflect on the fluid boundaries between history, memory, and myth. By blending the serious with the whimsical, he creates a world that is at once magical and deeply human, encouraging viewers to explore their own recollections and imaginations. To learn more about Taegan, click the following links to visit her profile.

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