calendario eventi  :: 

X

11/1/2002

Christian Schmidt Rasmussen

Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen

It is a great pleasure to present an exhibition with paintings by Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen.

Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen's new paintings are inspired by signs and advertisements from popular culture.
Their vivid colour surfaces have a brash directness that stems from his unique and expressive arrangement of colour and form.

One by one the paintings represent a statement. At first glance one will recognise an inspiration from 70's iconography, as well as Robert Indiana's well-known 60's work LOVE. Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen use completely different texts which in capsule the complexity of contemporary emotional life.

His paintings are based on biographical materiel and combined with the colourful and iconographic nature of the works they become fragments of the artist's thoughts and ideas and momentarily self-portraits. The paintings are all very complex, and they question more than they actually offer any answers.

"L'amour toujours" can be seen as the frame of the exhibition. The French title is a bit affected but expresses a (naive) hope for the future.

"Jeg er fri" (I Am Free) and "Vi lever det ud" (We Are Carrying It out) and "Frihed" (Freedom) can be seen as an excited exclamation while flinging one's arms about in a very expensive porcelain boutique.

Transparency is often seen as something positive but in connection to the future, "Transparent Future" , an element of dissolution, uncertainty, and death is added, something that most of us likes to not be reminded of, but at the same time a thought that we have to get used to.

"Sex" is by far the less complex painting, The painting is an individual, expressing his/her desire. Like on the invitation card for the exhibition, the painting is sharp, and centred and the artist is out of focus for a moment, distracted from the activities that he has left behind in his bed.

"Equal Rights" is a cheery painting that reminds us of the earlier paintings of Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen. The painting contains an uneven number of genitals (two male and one female), but it is to be seen only as an aesthetic choice, rather than gender political comment by the artist.

"I'm not Like You" and "Its a Sin" are both titles of pop songs, but as the artist has a bad hearing on his left ear, they are not related to the actual contents of the songs, as he could not hear the lyrics. Instead the paintings are momentarily self-portraits or representations of state of mind at the time the songs were played on his radio.

"Nogne Voksne" ("Nude Adults") is a "scantily dressed" painting but without the expected image of nudity. As nudity often involves a sudden awkwardness, the artist has chosen to let this awkwardness be represented by the clumsy words on the canvas.

Maybe we inscribe a lot of meaning in the paintings and even more than actually is intended. We tend to let us seduce by statements and take their saying for face value and should perhaps simply enjoy the aesthetic experience of the colours and shapes. Maybe the texts are more the artist's attempt to disorientate us rather than offer us interpretations. Or he is perhaps cheating us to believe that there is a meaning to be found in order make us generate a meaning ourselves.

Image: Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen Frihed (freedom) 2001 Acrylic on canvas 160x130 cm

If you have any questions please contact us and we will be please to assist you.
Galleri Nicolai Wallner
Njalsgade 21, building 15 2300 Copenhagen Denmark
phone: +4532570970 fax: +4532570971

stampa

permanent link