Glenn Sorensen

Annet Gelink Gallery is proud to present its fourth solo exhibition of Australian artist Glenn Sorensen. Sorensen (*1968, Sydney) lives and works in Åhus, Sweden. His works have previously been shown in Rooseum Center for Contemporary Art in Malmö, the Nordic Watercolour Museum in Skarham and The Royal Acadamy of Arts in London.

Glenn Sorensen paints every day life objects. Nearly all of them come from within his own home: flowers in vases, a nightpalm, a Chinese figure. The subjects from outside his house are either related to friends or family or they are what the artist calls "cover versions" of works by other artists. In this exhibition the painting titled Wolfgang's Flowers refers to a photograph by Wolfgang Tillmans, the painting titled Building refers to the hospital in which the artist's wife works. Karate was inspired by a scene at the playground. And yet they give but a glimpse of the private narrative they stand for.

Although not always visible at first glance all the paintings of Glenn Sorensen are figurative. Often the surrounding space seems to move in on the things Sorensen paints. The shapes are slightly blurred as if moving in front of your eyes. This gives them a dreamy appearance. Characteristic colours are mauve, rose, turquoise, dark purplish black, sometimes applied in thick layers.

The paintings of Sorensen possess an almost irresistible intimacy and intensity. This may have something to do with their small format, their humble size. The objects in the paintings are often placed slightly off centre, half cut off by the edge of the canvas, like snapshots or a quick glance. Large parts of the canvas are monochrome background. It seems as if the painter stood still and painted what he found around him giving us an intimate account of the beauty of daily life.