It is with great pleasure that we inaugurate the fall with new works by the Swedish artist Kristoffer Nilson. The exhibition mainly comprises two series, FLAG and THRESHOLD, which both are pointing out new directions in an artistry largely characterized by its minimalist consequence.
The works of Kristoffer Nilson are about how deep rooted structures change into new meanings through minor changes and displacements. For a long period of time he has for instance explored the patterns of forms from public authorities by carefully transposing the overall totality into a painterly expression. This time his work is pursued in a new direction, explicitly breaking through the predetermined and constant formula in order to unbalance a dominating structure.
Different perspectives coincide both in a series of twenty paintings as well as in two large horizontal photographs of a threshold, reflecting the world in detail and at large. In the paintings, we can follow how a row of square color codes are challenged in new formations by black lines and squares. In the near and extremely detailed photograph of a threshold, a rich and complex interaction emerges in the traces of lines, dashes and dirt after decades of wear. The abstract “scars” on the threshold follow sequences reminding of a film narrative, creating a sense of a macro cosmos based on small scratches.
The exhibition also includes a large textile work, which is inspired by the same idea, accuracy and precision as the paintings. Also in this work we see how new sentences take shape in the differences of materiality, format and execution. Kristoffer Nilson’s work revolves around how vision and meaning change when perspectives and boundaries are shifted. Our way of responding can differ, either we want to see how settled boundaries become even more clear or we seize the opportunity to critically reflect on the hegemony of the constant structures