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Kunsthallen Brandts opens Nils Erik Gjerdevik New works. Paintings, sculptures and drawings

Kunsthallen Brandts presents Nils Erik Gjerdevik New works. Paintings, sculptures and drawings, on view 12 October 2012–27 January 2013.


Nils Erik Gjerdevik, Untitled, 2012

Nils Erik Gjerdevik holds a unique position in the Danish art world. He makes paintings, sculptures and drawings – and he constantly challenges these media. For almost three decades, Gjerdevik has been the personification of innovation and that is one of the reasons why his art, among other things, has been a source of inspiration for a lot of contemporary artists.

His body of work is both extensive and multi-faceted. It contains elements from several “-isms”, like the abstract formal, but also from architectural form language. Cartoon-like elements meet science fiction, and ornaments and arabesques exist side by side with whirling spirals and tortuous patterns. The result is varied, colourful and brilliant.

The exhibition at Kunsthallen Brandts presents a number of new works by Nils Erik Gjerdevik: paintings, sculptures and drawings made especially for the 800-square-metre gallery. Gjerdevik´s large paintings (2.5 x 4.8 m) unfold themselves and turn into outstanding statements. The concepts of sculpture are examined and reinvented with materials like epoxy, steel and fimo clay. They hang monumentally under the ceiling, where they constitute weightless, colourful manifestations of urban structures.

Nils Erik Gjerdevik was born in Oslo in 1962. He lives and works in Copenhagen. Gjerdevik attended H.C. Høier´s School of Painting (1982–83) and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1984). Over the years, Gjerdevik has been commissioned by institutions like the University of Copenhagen, Amager (2002) and the Opera House in Copenhagen (2004). In 2001, he became a member of Den Frie Center for Contemporary Art, and he was awarded the Eckersberg Medal in 2002. In 2011, Gjerdevik won the competition “Our Art” initiated by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. The artwork—luminous, coloured electricity poles—is expected to be constructed in the autumn of 2012.
The exhibition is supported by The Danish Arts Council, the Augustinus Foundation and Kunsthallen Brandts’ Sponsor Club.

Kunsthallen Brandts
Brandts Torv 1
5000 Odense, Denmark
www.brandts.dk