S,M,L,XL

June 29 - August 11 2012

It is a great pleasure for Galleri Nicolai Wallner to present S,M,L,XL an all-paintings exhibition with works by Alexander Tovborg, Chris Johanson, Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen, David Shrigley, Jonathan Monk, Glenn Sorensen and Varda Caivano.

The title of the exhibition refers to the magnum opus S,M,L,XL, by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. A 1376-page tome combining essays, manifestos, diaries, fiction, travelogues, and mediations on the contemporary city. The exhibition’s title is also its framework: works selected and arranged according to scale – small, medium, large and extra-large. Work and exhibtion also shares the common ground that all exhibited pieces in one way or another reflects on modern life, the city, nature, as well as challenging composition, style, scale, proportion and level of detail.

Alexander Tovborg (b. 1983) has fast become one of Denmark’s most promising young painters. He channels his interest in religion into his paintings that presents an investigation of the question of religion and spirituality in the contemporary world. He also works with his own visual interpretations of well-known religious stories.

Chris Johanson (b. 1968) often works figuratively but also with a recurring abstract imagery. Known for his cunning sense of humour, Johanson presents art in a non-formal artistic practice mixed with commentaries on the self-concept of contemporary America.

Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen (b. 1963) is presented with one of the biggest works in the exhibition. Here Schmidt-Rasmussen presents a kaleidoscopic view on an old painterly tradition: the landscape painting, which Schmidt-Rasmussen tranforms and turns into his own.

David Shrigley (b. 1968) is especially known for his simple yet intensely humours and melancholic artistic style. Shrigley has the ability to get his message across using only a minimum of aeasthetic means. The strange and the hidden are brought forth as the artist presents us with a mirror that shows society behaving outside of rules and conventions, but with an undeniable humour.

Jonathan Monk (b. 1969) has the ability to see the artistic potential in otherwise mondane everyday objects and while drawing on references to the aporaches of 60’s Concept based art, Monk’s work is often very grounded towards his own existence, personal history and past.

Glenn Sorensen (b. 1968) concentrates on a few, carefully selected objects, taken from his close surrounding: flowers, cigarettes, sometimes toiletry. The objects stand out from a characteristic inky, black-blue background in light turquoise and purple colors making the paintings resemble night photographs shot with a strong flash that gives most of his paintings a still-life quality.

Lastly Galleri Nicolai Wallner is proud to present, for the first time in Denmark, Varda Caivano (b. 1971). A young Argentinian painter, who with her dense style of painting presents a new and individual approach to the tradition of abstract painting.

carrie emberlyn