With the Human in Focus

Galleri Stalke, Vesterbrogade 15 A, Copenhagen. Mon-Fri 9-17, Sat 9-12. Until May 21

Galleri Stalke's mezzanine gallery currently houses a small but concentrated display of the works of painter Michael Petersen.

As the press release points out, his painting builds on a traditional expressionist, coloristic foundation. However, when the same announcement also emphasizes that this is combined with an element of distance, there is good reason to attribute this judgment to the contemporary trend of cultivating detachment.

Michael Petersen’s paintings are neither created in a fit of superhuman creativity nor marked by speculative distance. Rhymes and a state somewhere between these extremes, one could say, the artist inscribes in his images. The effort is marked and evident. The works are brushed, stroked, stripped, and subtly scratched. This may sound harsh, but the effect is rather one of variation, and irregular shapes are interwoven. Here, "localities" with distinct character emerge, and they are neither "overexposed" nor blurred.

Art historically, Michael Petersen connects with European postwar expressionism, especially Asger Jorn. But the results are original, and this is tied to the quality of the images—that any narration or artistic problem is gathered in a form that points back to a shared origin. For example, the "up" and "down" in Michael Petersen’s artistic universe are literal. Through the pictorial space, where the center is bright and the edges near the frame are increasingly dark, the artist works within an eternal tradition: the human being at the center, surrounded by infinite space.

The exhibition’s point is thus that we are presented with an original expression, and that despite traditional style, an unknown formula is explored. Michael Petersen moves behind the strokes.

By Anders Kold

STALKE GALLERI - ENGLERUPVEJ 62 - 4060 - KIRKE SAABY - DENMARK - PHONE: +45 2926 - 7433

CONTACT:  STALKE@STALKE.DK

OPEN BY APPOINTMENT