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Peter
Land
"The
First Day at School"
From May 5th to June 18th 2006
It is a great pleasure for Galleri Nicolai Wallner to present the
exhibition "The First Day at School" with new drawings
by the Danish artist Peter Land.
Peter Land, internationally recognized for his important video works
from the early the nineties, has recently worked with large scale
sculptures, drawings and watercolors. Artistically Land takes as
starting point the artist's body and mind, revealing a vulnerable
reflexion of the self and alienation. In his works he centers on
fundamental feeling of being different and alone, using humor to
draw attention to these serious problems of the modern human existence.
The exhibition "The First Day at School" consists of a
series of ten drawings with awkward and gawky children. The drawings
present well-known figures; a boy with braces on his teeth, a child
with snotty nose and a nervous squint-eyed girl. The works evoke
memories of traumatic experiences from the schoolyard. Most people
recognize the feeling of sometimes being insecure and maladjusted,
but for these children it's a more or less a permanent state of
mind.
Though on the surface grotesque or humorous, Peter Land's work contain
a melancholic pondering over basic existence. Rather than functioning
as caricatures the drawings invoke a great deal of empathy for the
children.
"At the Lake" is a large-scale black and white watercolour,
which presents a boy sitting at the shore of a small forest lake.
At the other shore a strange human figure, with almost dissolved
outlines, is situated. The two are spatially divided by the lake,
but might also represent different stages in life. The work explores
the forming of identity and consciousness in adolescence. The lake
acts both as a reflection pool and a metaphor for the unknown.
Last year Peter Land was one of the five artists who were chosen
to represent Denmark at the Venice Biennale. Land has exhibited
widely at galleries and museums in Europe. He has had solo shows
at various prestigious institutions including Fundación Miró
(Barcelona), Musée d'art moderne et contemporain (Geneve)
and The National Gallery of Denmark (Copenhagen). In June he will
present a new installation project at Art Unlimited, Art Basel.
We are happy to welcome you in the gallery.
With kind regards,
Galleri Nicolai Wallner
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