Good Mother Gallery is proud to present Zoom, a solo exhibition of paintings by Swedish artist David Von Bahr. His inaugural presentation in the United States will feature new abstract works and runs from March 4th to March 23rd.
Von Bahr’s work is bold, intuitive, and full of movement. His physical and confrontational style has a metered sense of boundary and restraint to make work that lets go just enough, riding the line between being in control and being uninhibited. Each work is carefully crafted in the artists studio in southern Stockholm, inspired by hyper magnified interpretations of everyday objects and figurations. Occasionally taking a quasi-abstracted butterfly, flower or face and creating a world within each painting. To that end, Von Bahr’s works are mostly large in scale to encourage more direct engagement with the painting. Giving himself the ability to move around during the creating process, imbuing them with a human-like quality for the viewer.
The intensity and vibrancy in his work has a musical quality to it. An avid listener while working, Von Bahr’s work seems to erupt intuitively from his environment and capture whatever choreographed energy he brings into the studio. He describes a certain freedom in the finality of painting, creating decisive marks that slowly refine each piece to its final form. These allow for him to exist as both creator and collaborator in a kind of dance with the work, expressed in their color, composition, and sense of movement. From gestural motions, meditative patterns and micro-compositions, the process of creating his more abstract works is methodical; soaking the canvas in water, sketching the design with dry pastel, pencil or paint and then developing the the final illustrious composition.
The present exhibition consists of 10 paintings in conversation with each other that are a stunning melange of Von Bahr’s eminent designs. Four large works engulf the viewer in methodical abstraction, each painting similar but created in different color variations. Medium works compliment each other as purely abstracted figures, muted color tones transition to mostly oil paint and pastels. The smaller works in monochromatic gray and black, consist of systematic charcoal etchings and flamelike patterns, creating a meticulous order that each viewer can encounter differently upon engagement.
David Von Bahr work has been exhibited in numerous group and solo shows all around Europe. Most recently, he’s had solo exhibitions at Ojiri Gallery in London, Contemporary Cluster in Rome, and Galerie Slika in Lyon, as well as participation in group shows at Ruttkowski;68 in Cologne, Public Gallery in London, and Galleri Thomassen in Gothenburg. He attended Gothenburg School of Art and received his BFA from Konstfack - University of Arts Crafts and Design in Stockholm.
An opening reception will be held on Saturday, March 4th from 5-8pm at 1212 S. Santa Fe Ave in Los Angeles. The exhibition will then be on view during regular gallery hours through March 23rd.
To receive a preview catalog of available works from David von Bahr’s exhibition, simply email info@goodmothergallery.com
