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Christian
Schmidt-Rasmussen: The Message
New paintings
From January 19th to February 24th 2007.
It is a great pleasure for Galleri Nicolai Wallner to present The
Message, an exhibition with new paintings by Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen.
Schmidt-Rasmussen bases his work on his immediate surroundings,
the post-industrial, suburban part of Copenhagen known as 'Sydhavnen'
and the people who inhabit it. With a keen eye for the inherent
surreal and humorous qualities of the landscape Schmidt-Rasmussen
presents a view that oscillates between the mundane and the poetic.
As images of perfection they only seem to exist in few minutes of
clarity before hazing out, the artist capturing their presence in
the actual moment or even in the seconds before they happen. In
this way the artist is able to paint the local power plant radiating
with a sublime light worthy of a Casper David Friedrich or depict
a young man standing in a forest with the pose of a Romantic hero
decked out in immaculate white sneakers and a zip jacket.
Like the proverbial trip down the rabbit's hole Schmidt-Rasmussen
invites us to a world where nothing is as it seems. The transformation
of an otherwise bleak landscape into a place of imagination tells
about a significant surplus of creative energy and in a way also
testify about the artist's own place within the collective space.
Schmidt-Rasmussen plays the role of observer but in a game of subjective
documentation. The protagonists of his paintings are inscribed in
surroundings that both seem familiar and strangely foreign, the
landscape slightly altered to bring it nearer the ideal.
As testified throughout the exhibition Schmidt-Rasmussen's paintings
merge different styles and artistic strategies. As such it is apparent
that the artist's aim is not so much presenting a formalised aesthetic
but more expressing a content, tell a story and perhaps draw a line
in an otherwise fluctuating world.
Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen (born 1963) has during the last decade
been an important figure on the Copenhagen art scene. He has played
an instrumental part in the development of Danish contemporary painting
and is recognized for his personal approach.
We are happy to welcome you in the gallery.
With kind regards,
Galleri Nicolai Wallner
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