Johs Bech-Jensen is 66 years old, grew up on a farm with his family, he has painted since 2000. Johs is self-taught artist.

Travels to The Faroe Islands over more than 40 years, has made him well acquainted with the islands in the North Atlantic. His enthusiasm and passion for nature is being conveyed through his pictures.

 Faroes in the heart

Johs Bech-Jensen paints The Faroe Islands in a way that spurs recognition from those that have visited the islands. This is not only because of his naturalistic painting style, but also because of the atmosphere or mood in the pictures that this Danish artist conveys, he manages to 'catch' the Faroese soul. What I mean is: The Faroe Islands are placed geographically amid the fury elements in a literal sense, the sudden storm, the smell of green grass, even the ever changing light, cannot help but have a physical effect on a person, at least on me. There is no time for sentimentality or futile daydreaming. It is here and now, at the same time rough and grandiose, it is as if one is brought back to planet earth's prehistoric time, stripped from everything but the will to survive.

Johs Bech-Jensen paints all this. Vertical cliffs, gorges, fiords, the roaring see, the aminous sky, but also tiny delicate flowers, evening twilight and the many coloured houses that are so characteristic. Majestic landscapes where man's existance seems small and insignificant, or poetic studies of 'the quiet hour' before a heavy storm again takes over. Even the seemingly insignificant motif with rows of houses, fishing boats or just a rock. All of this Johs Bech-Jensen paints with an almost native instinct for the very 'breath' of Faroe Islands. An instinct that allows the artist to be empathetic without sentimentality. - Some of Johs Bech-Jensens paintings are done on wooden board and hung in a string by 2 wedges, something that adds a certain roughness to the impression. It suits the rest of the artists production well.

Johs Bech-Jensen can be called a landscape painter because of his outstanding sense of the special Faroese atmosphere, but he is more than that. Even though people are absent on his pictures, one senses their presence unseen. The brightly painted houses pressed in between rocks, fishermen's boats, lamp-posts and flagstaffs, shows how man with equal amount of frugality, stubbornness and spark of life inhabit even the less hospitable parts of the earth. Johs Bech-Jensens paintings are an ovation to exceedingly harsh nature and to the robust people that live there. It is an ovation to a world that without any wavering manages on its own. It is a world totally different from that painted by the golden age renowed Danish artists, showing soft landscapes with forrests from the 1800-years. This artist leaves one with on impression of how these people have made a living in environments less hospitable.

One perceives how he holds back his breath in awe, his huge respect and utter enthusiasm when it comes to everything about The Faroes Islands in The North Atlantic. The enthusiasm of this artist is contagious! When you view Johs Bech-Jensen's pictures, it gives you both a feeling of sturdy calmness and at the same time a full perception experience.

Art critic Tom Jørgensen, January 2007 (in part)