Galleri Flach is pleased to present a series of new paintings by the Norwegian artist Thorbjørn Sørensen. This is his fourth exhibition at the gallery, and he has also been one of the participants at the Carnegie Art Award, 2008.
Thorbjørn Sørensen belongs to a group of artists in the Nordic countries who in recent decades have developed the concept of painting in new and interesting directions. Like artists such as Jens Fänge, Karin Mamma Andersson and Andreas Eriksson, he works with a constant desire to explore and develop new dimensions in an already established painting tradition.
Ever since he left the Academy in Oslo in 1991, he has sought new trails within a number of different areas. His previous ”air-brush” paintings, including a number of fascinating smoke-paintings, which created a photo-realistic illusion, made every viewer stunned.
Coils of smoke were floating around on a grey background, and only after a careful investigation the viewer can distinguish the painting from a photograph. He has also worked with seemingly abstract geometric patterns, in a number of ”striped” paintings, whose colours and patterns are inspired by close, everyday observations.
In his later works, some displayed at the Carnegie Art Award 2008 and now at display at Galleri Flach in Stockholm, there are new and more clearly psychological dramas going on. It’s about the viewer and the artist’s own gaze, which focus on both close-up perspectives, and more distant motives, such as landscapes as a backdrop for everyday scenes. In these paintings, the artist’s gaze observes from the side, considering different configurations of people, involved in an ongoing activity.
Thorbjørn Sørensen comments on his own works in connection to the metaphorical painting ”House” (2010), which despite the title represents a paper with a written text:
– I do a painting describing a house as I see it in front me. For me it’s about how the view is linked to memory and place.
