Invisibles. an exhibition of recent paintings and works on paper. Her works capture fleeting moments. We, the viewer, are involved in the paintings as covert onlookers. A tense relationship occurs between the actions represented in the painting and our inclusion as a spectator.
Galerie Gabriel Rolt is proud to present
INVISIBLES, an exhibition of recent paintings and works on paper by
Swedish artist Anna Bjerger. This will be Bjerger’s first solo
exhibition in The Netherlands.
The paintings of Anna Bjerger capture fleeting moments. We, the
viewer, are involved in the paintings as covert onlookers. A tense
relationship occurs between the actions represented in the painting
and our inclusion as a spectator.
Bjerger works from found photographs, mostly collected from out of
date reference books and travel manuals. She is utilizing the
photograph's ability to capture short-lived moments and actions. By
painting these images, she salvages what would otherwise be lost
moments - recreating them as painting, the most permanent of mediums.
In her technique, Bjerger does not approach the photograph in a cold,
distant manner - her painting is rich and loose, removing the image
from its origins and injecting an emotive, atmospheric flavour into
the scenes.
The images Bjerger chooses often have a generic quality. The original
meaning is private and unknown and can therefore be translated into
paintings of people and places that hold no direct associations for
the viewer. The who, when and where of these paintings always remains
ambiguous, unspecified. There is an outdated, almost nostalgic quality
in her choice of images - innocent childhoods, tentative romance,
glorious scenery - and subsequently there is a romantic yet also
sinister flavour to these too-perfect scenes.
The events are often idyllic and beautiful - children playing in a
field, a couple taking a walk through a forest - yet also very
mundane. Bjerger involves the viewer, positioning us as an actual
spectator in the scene. This is directly acknowledged in ‘Snap’, in
which a woman focuses a camera towards the viewer. In many of the
works, however, there is a feeling of intrusion, voyeurism, at bearing
witness to these intimate, private moments. This role is most
explicitly addressed in ‘Jumper’, which portrays the classic image of
peeping tomism: a woman undressing. Framed by a window, she has a
perfect figure, her sight temporarily obscured as she pulls her
clothes over her head. It is a charged as well as ridiculous image -
the ultimate adolescent fantasy - and Bjerger emphasises our
exploitative, predatory gaze with her seductive handling of paint and
the graceful, careful composition of the image.
In her oil paintings, Bjerger works with confident, uncluttered marks.
The paint is rapidly applied, her colours simple and essential. This
controlled, forceful quality captures the spontaneity of the moments
whilst also successfully describing the details and nuances of the
landscapes, foliage and expressions. There are occasional turpentine
streaks, offering the picture a sense of disintegration and frailty.
In the watercolours, Bjerger shows us only the figures, dislocated
from their action and environments, floating in the white of the paper.
Nature plays a prominent role in Bjerger's work. It is a nature of
escape, wonder, love, play - one that reflects the honesty and
integrity of the experiences depicted. It is also wild, untamed -
enveloping and dwarfing the people. In all her works, there is uneasy
presence or subversion, such as this, that unbalances the otherwise
beautiful moment.
It is Bjerger's understanding of each image's essence and control of
the medium, that creates works of spontaneity, simplicity and
directness of expression, each with its own intensity and character.
Anna Bjerger (1973 Skallsjo, Sweden) studied at the Royal College of
Art and Central St Martins College in London. Recent solo shows
include David Risley Gallery (London), ALP Gallery (Stockholm) and
Bucket Rider Gallery (Chicago). Bjerger's work is included in the
collections of Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Glaspaleis Heerlen, Gävle
Landsting, Sweden, Larsen Collection, Stockholm, Zabludowicz
Collection, London, alongside many private collections.
Opening may 23th 2009
Galerie Gabriel Rolt
Elandsgracht 34 - Amsterdam
Free admission