Galleri Christoffer Egelund is proud to present NEW MYTHOLOGIES which is the second solo exhibition of the Danish visual artist Jonas Pihl. Known for his imaginative paintings he turns the gallery into a portal to another universe and its worlds.
The works of Jonas Pihl contain the elements of abstraction and randomness together with precise perspective shifts. On top of those, each painting is filled with adventurous components and symbols that bridge the familiar with the unknown, the random and the controlled or in larger terms – the Chaos and the Cosmos. These dualisms are always present in Pihl’s oeuvre. With the thought of the viewer they merge and form a new approach, attitude or mythology. Jonas Pihl believes we are in a need of those and through his works enables us to take on the experience.
The use of Venetian linen in all the new paintings creates a subtle background for everything that is going on in each painting. The dripping acrylic allows space for randomness when it is the gravity that decides the destination of the drop. The repetition of that action creates a pattern that becomes a decorative element of the painting and that is only the beginning. They are met by geometrical shapes of circles, triangles and squares which give a sense of something tangible by the mind, something we know, something we can hold onto. Then the colour palette adds the wildness portion – in Pihl’s universe all the hues can exist together and form exciting compositions.
Our world is built from various elements that bind everything together. The fractal systems, Fibonacci sequence or the circle are just some examples of structures that are foundational to the existence. The small connects to the large, the micro cosmos becomes the macro cosmos. There is an order that initiates the beginning and end of each particle. The mind can only comprehend so much, but the ethereal is in symbiosis with the material. The paintings of Jonas Pihl form compositions that allow for their content to elevate to a higher effect.
Jonas Pihl considers himself a spectator of the present, having in mind that it is like a curtain that offers many layers of experience, depending on any individual. This approach has paradoxically made him present – and not distanced – to the here and now, perhaps because he is not engrossed in it.
The works shown as part of the exhibition point to sci-fi-like figurations and virtual spaces that create the titled NEW MYTHOLOGIES that the viewer can step into. It is a getaway from the constantly changing contemporary world. The concentration of the works with their dualisms stems from an ideology that two seemingly contradictory poles might merge in a dialogue about something higher, rather that causing a dispute.
Jonas Pihl was born in 1978. He lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has received BFA and MFA from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art under Professor Jesper Christiansen. Together with his MFA Pihl also has a Diploma from Sisifos Centre for Psychotherapy. The artist has exhibited widely in Denmark, Europe and USA. His works are represented in private and public collections such as: Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Københavns Kommunes Kulturudvalg and Copenhagen Airport.
Galleri Christoffer Egelund invites you to the opening of the exhibition NEW MYTHOLOGIES by Jonas Pihl Friday, September 24th from 15.00 to 19.00. The artist will be present during the opening reception and we will serve cool drinks and snacks. The show will run until October 22nd. Facemasks are no longer required, but we kindly remind you to keep a safe distance to other visitors.
Opening hours: Wednesday-Friday 15-18, Saturday 12-16. For further information and sales request, please contact the gallery at: hello@nullchristofferegelund.dk or at +45 33 93 92 00. Bredgade 75, DK-1260 Copenhagen K, Denmark. For more info visit www.christofferegelund.dk