Paul Fägerskiöld (051)

Andersen’s is enormously pleased to host the first exhibition of Paul Fägerskiöld in Denmark. Fägerskiöld (b. 1982, Sweden) completed his studies at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm in 2010, following an exchange period at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 2007-2009. Fägerskiöld’s accomplishment as a skillful young painter has already been acknowledged with several awards, including most recently the Frederik Roos Art Grant in 2013. While semiotics can be said to play a significant role in Fägerskiöld’s practice to date, exploration of the connotations generated by means of the use and materiality of color, can be said to entertain as equally an influential importance in his work of recent years. Manifestations of seemingly monochromatic canvases, differing in scale, are hung throughout the gallery. The paintings are uniformly framed with sublime walnut trim, but the format is rather inconsequential. Seen together, the works create a series of closely related works, each with it's own character and atmosphere. It is the simple physicality of the works that translates the essence of each, defining Fägerskiöld’s practice as a whole. 
Upon close inspection, approaching each canvas individually, a complex myriad of contrasting hues and tonalities buzzes about one’s field of vision. Keenly exemplified in each of the nine canvases on view, Fägerskiöld’s gradually applies layer upon layer of densely splattered acrylic on canvas. Stepping back and pulling away from the surface, swarms of pigment merge into an indefinably unique representation of a singular color. These are slow paintings, they make demands for an actively attentive viewer.