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A mood - but which?

A large, empty house and a woman. Clear, green grass against a bright blue sky. The house reflects both the green and the blue. Black, narrow trees are reflected in the windows, meandering ominously. Some areas are sharply, almost photographically painted (Kenneth Blom tends to use a photography as a model), while other parts of the picture are more diffuse. In places we can see the traces of runny paint.

Flukt
© Kenneth Blom / BONO.
Photo:
Alf E. Andresen

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The woman is dressed in beige, she is the least colorful element in the painting. Yet our eyes are drawn to her. She is so clearly human, in contrast to the cool geometry of the building. Why is she there, all by herself? Is she angry, sad or afraid? The atmosphere is disturbing rather than melancholy, as it often is in Blom's pictures. The title Flukt (Escape) emphasizes the feeling of something frightening in the painting interior, it radiates from the winding trees that are mirrored in the glass wall of the house.

Kenneth Blom (1967-) often paints people in front of grandiose, modern architecture. The architectural elements are often used as a basis for a geometric structure in his paintings. In 2007 Blom became the first contemporary Nordic artist to have a solo exhibition at Sotheby’s venerable auction house in London, and since then he has attracted international attention.

NORA SØRENSEN VAAGE