ARNE MALMEDAL
2020-04-20Since the late 1980s, Malmedal has explored the problems around figure / ground / image / frame in several large paintings that were mainly executed in earth colors with clear references to the natural world. These works were shown at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo in 1994 together with monochrome paintings on fiberglass scrim, canvases framed by a window-like grid, and paintings where a boxy frame structure was fully integrated into the painting. This exhibition manifested his position in the Norwegian art scene as a vital and experimental abstract painter with a playful look at the history of the medium.
In the paintings from the early 2000s, light became an important motif for Malmedal. He was preoccupied with portraying color as pure light, resulting in images where a monochrome field
resides in a spatial arrangement framed by a white surface, reminiscent of American artist James Turrell’s light installations. Several of these works were central to Malmedal’s
retrospective exhibition at The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, 2003, demonstrating his delicate treatment of color and its’ associations with nature and light
and its’ own materiality on the canvas.
Opposite – Installation view
Exhibition runs through to April 25th, 2020
Galleri Riis
Arbins gate 7
NO-0253 Oslo
Norway
