Tom Anholt’s new paintings all share a certain sombre atmosphere, like half dreams or nostalgic reminiscences, and a rich blue palette evocative of fantastic nights or mystic fairy tales. The works, however, are not concerned with mysticism, but rather the poetic truth of real life. The imagery in these paintings emerge from an amalgamation of different elements: Fears and desires. Influences and histories. Tom Anholt says:

“There is a feeling of looking into the past that I am interested in. As a painter we are dealing with thousands of years of history. I think of this as a backpack of influences and tools that can be used and referenced, rather than a weight around my neck. I am often conscious of the viewers eye; often in the paintings the protagonist looks into the image. … We look into the image with the central character.”

Many of the works in BLUE use cinematic devices: crops and zoom-ins create ‘broken’ spaces, combining multiple scenes in one image, merging tableaux and panoramas, playing different chronologies alongside each other; figures are connected but occupy different perspectives in Anholt’s paintings.

Even the largest works in the exhibition feel deeply intimate. The figuration and stories invite the viewer into the painting, but slowly the colour, composition, texture, and mood overtake a need to directly understand the narrative.

Installation photos: Jan Søndergaard