Hvilende hode

Galleri Brandstrup proudly presents the exhibition “Hvilende hode” by Sverre Bjertnæs. The title, which translates to “resting head”, both referring to a recurring subject throughout the exhibition, but also the artists approach to the process of painting. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue with a text written by author Dag Solstad.

For the first time in years the artist invites the audience to experience an exhibition of which solely display works on canvas. In recent years Bjertnæs has experimented with a series of artistic media, mostly focusing on painting and sculpture, but also larger installations, printmaking, video and theatre. For the exhibition “Hvilende hode”, he has returned to the canvas and the process of painting.

In the exhibition, which consists of 21 works, one can recognize a number of reoccurring subjects in Bjertnæs’ artistic universe; Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, contemplating portraits of his wife Hanna-Maria, and in this exhibition, the resting head. The resting heads appears in different shapes and colors throughout the exhibition, some are more obvious, some are morphed into landscapes while others disappear into an abstract play of patterns.

The title “Hvilende hode” studies the idea of rejecting a pre-produced narrative in the starting of a painting process, and instead embracing the act of painting as an intuitive process. Not declining the narrative all together, but letting it accumulate as one color after another are applied to the surface. Intending to be more present in the act of painting itself, Bjertnæs has created an exhibition which follows his ever-exploring artistry.