KENNETH BLOM:
INTRUDER
On view through May 29 - July 12, 2019
Kenneth Blom, Tiger, 2019, Oil on canvas, 55 x 63 inches, 140 x 160 cm.
Jason McCoy Gallery is pleased to present INTRUDER, an installation of new paintings by Norwegian painter Kenneth Blom.
Vast landscapes, architectural framework, and human isolation loom large in Blom’s oeuvre. Shuffling these ingredients masterfully, he establishes an atmosphere that captures a key aspect of contemporary life: a sense of forlornness as humanity continues to stray away from nature. In contrast to the ideal put forth by the 19th Century Romantic movement, namely the immersion of the figure in a glorious natural environment, Blom focuses on the opposite. Frequently encapsulated and therefore defined by manmade structures, his figures manifest as intruders.
With Blom, the uncertainty between modern man’s relationship to nature also extends towards inter-human relationships. The figures seen here seem to blend into their surroundings, dissolving into thin air as the complexity of their constellations increases. Having drawn inspiration from the modern Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, for example, Blom remains interested in the human psyche, especially as it can be conveyed by human relationships. As Blom states: “It is the experience of being disconnected from each other but also from oneself that is the essence of these paintings.”
Born in 1967 in Roskilde, Denmark, Kenneth Blom moved to Norway as a child. He studied at the Statens Kunstakademi in Oslo (1990-1994), as well as at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts (1994-1995). He has shown extensively in Europe, including as a featured artist at Sotheby’s New Bond Street in London, at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Norway, and regularly at Galeri Haaken in Oslo. He is the subject of the forthcoming documentary Forventninger/Anticipation by filmmaker Tommy Normann. Blom lives and works in Oslo.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue with an essay by Stephanie Buhmann.
