LOOKING AWRY - Thorbjørn Bechmann
Simard Bilodeau Contemporary is thrilled to present Looking Awry, the first solo exhibition in the United States for artist Thorbjørn Bechmann. Opening April 6th 2024, from 6PM to 8.30PM. On view until May 11th, 2024.
Based in Copenhagen, Bechmann works daily in his studio laboring over expansive color saturated paintings that unfold layer by layer. His process is methodical, pouring paint over an angled canvas and responding to the way it flows, judging how and when to continue layering as a direct response to how it has moved and shaped itself. This accomplishes a depth that chronicles the passage of long hours with each coating. The paintings come to completion when adding to them would mar the wholeness of their character.
The absence of obvious objects--or subjects--portrays a refinement and distillation of art. In its purest form, it is a state of becoming rather than being, and invites an emotional response instead of a concrete interpretation. Bechmann is in a state of discovery with his work, and delivers this to his audience without seeking to conjure a specific reaction but to show the result of a long meditation.
Bechmann's paintings envelop the viewer, a raw experience of color as the focus of the work instead of a feature of it. His use of vast, breathing color fields rejects the necessity of explicit figures and forms. By removing the crutch of guiding the viewer to a discrete conclusion, Bechmann proposes more of a processing and interaction with his paintings; the mysticism of each painting remains undisturbed.
The title of the show, Looking Awry, is synonymous with a book by famed contemporary philosopher Slavoj Zizek. His writing explores the theories of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, who posited three different human "registers"; imaginary, symbolic, and real. Bechmann speaks of his paintings as a blurring of abstraction and reality, much like our vision blends in our periphery. A rich unconscious world lies just at the edge of our conscious thought; where these meet and melt into a sublime experience is captured in the melding layers of Bechmann's colors.
Each work is a pure natural state, yet one we don't experience in our day to day life. The deceptive simplicity is what makes any viewer able to experience each piece without requiring a proposed framework, allowing one to become engrossed in opulent pigments.
Thorbjørn Bechmann (b. 1966) is a Copenhagen-based artist whose creative journey is characterized by a profound exploration of non-representational painting. Drawing upon his experiences and studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Bechmann's work transcends traditional boundaries, delving into the intricacies of process and language within abstract art.
Through his practice, Bechmann challenges conventional notions of meaning-making in visual language, opting to eschew symbols and pictorial representation. Instead, his canvases serve as conduits for temporal transcendence, inviting viewers into immersive sensory experiences that blur the lines between past and present, physical space and memory.
Over the years, solo, duo and group exhibitions featuring Thorbjorn Bechmann have graced galleries and institutions across Denmark, Australia, the USA, Germany, Istanbul, Belgium, the UK, Japan and others. He participated in art fairs such as Karlsruhe Art Fair, Karlsruhe, Germany; Milano Unfair, Milan, Italy; Rotterdam Art Fair, Rotterdam, Holland; Berlin Gallery Weekend, Berlin, Germany; San Francisco Art Market, SF, USA, ; to name a few. His work is proudly displayed in public and private collections, including the esteemed Danish Arts Foundation. In addition to his own artistic pursuits, from 1997 to 2018, Bechmann boasts an extensive curatorial background, further enriching his creative practice.
Notably, Bechmann's exhibition, Constant Negotiation (2019), earned acclaim from the Danish Arts Foundation for its daring exploration of gesture-based painting. In this continuous journey of becoming, his paintings serve as propositions for the formation of identity, embodying a perpetual metamorphosis that evolves alongside our experiences and perceptions. In Bechmann's fluid world, nothing is ever truly finalized, inviting viewers to embark on an ever-unfolding odyssey of self-discovery and introspection. This year we can anticipate engaging with Bechmann's upcoming exhibitions, including Inner Rhythm at APT Gallery in London, UK, Still to Be Tiled at Orange Gallery in Elsinore, DK, and Looking Awry at Simard Bilodeau Contemporary in LA, California - his debut solo exhibition in the USA - each promising to offer further insight into Bechmann's evolving artistic vision.
