Kenneth Blom

This i cant forget

18/3 - 30/4  2023

FRANKFURTER NEUE PRESSE
Hannah Von Prosch

Bad Nauheim (hms). With the current exhibition by the Norwegian artist Kenneth Blom, the Kunstverein Bad Nauheim has again achieved a great success. In addition to the Berlin gallery owner Luisa Catucci and the artist himself, a lot of curious people came to the vernissage on Friday.
Kenneth Blom brings a Nordic serenity, jokes and laughs in conversation with Luisa Catucci. Half English, half German, they try to explain to the guests how he works and his attitude towards the 18 exhibits. The pictures actually speak for themselves: architecture and people in pastel shades and strong colors. Violence and protection, coping as an individual, space in nature and in life. A staged reality.
Just as a director places the actors on the stage so that one can see where they will be going in the next second, he formulates an eventful story in color.
The minimalist geometric design with its horizontal joints and diagonal lines in modern architecture focuses the viewer's gaze on the human drama - very distant or very direct. Blom's pictures show existential scenarios: losing your footing, falling, running, fighting, jumping, every movement is different. The origin and end of the story are left to the viewer. "This I can't forget" is the title. This was also the case for Karin Merchel, deputy chairwoman of the Kunstverein, when she discovered the paintings by Kenneth Blom at Art Karlsruhe in 2020. She immediately had the feeling that something that she remembered came out in her. First City Councilor Peter Krank was not only impressed by the great interest in the works of this internationally acclaimed artist, but also reflected on the title: »We must look at the abilities of consciousness with greater humility. What is remembered is individual.« Some visitors may have remembered the scenes of violence: one woman pulls another by the hair, tugs at the other, or pulls her back? The group watches. Or: Men in white shirts and dark suits pounce on another, while another wants to intervene. Hate and ruthlessness in high society is a reality. In contrast, Courage shows its strength in the determined movements of Blom's protective pieces.
Others may recognize situations from their own lives when they lacked support and lost their balance: a man falls backwards into the water, one falls in the soft blue, another slips in front of a pink wall: everything was just harmonious . Some scenes seem like blurry dream images. The psychological component turns the room into a prison.
Blom wants to be neither romantic nor political, but rather an artist who absorbs everything he sees and moves close to the banal in his rendering. That's why he sometimes uses a photo as a template.
He simply calls his pictures »Run«, »Unrest«, »Stumbling« or »Attention«. The title emerges while painting. In general, he is very spontaneous: "It explodes and then it's there," he says. Colors, especially blue - which probably comes from art history and is the color of hope - are important to him. "He's known for his blue," adds his gallerist.
When asked whether the paintings on display were taken from a cycle, he answers vaguely: "I work with many paintings at the same time, sometimes there is a cycle, but never according to plan."
Kenneth Blom is known worldwide. He was born in Roskilde, Denmark in 1967 and came to Norway as a child. He studied in Oslo and Düsseldorf. His works are exhibited in Northern Europe, Greece, the USA and Switzerland, sold at Sotheby's in London and the Dorotheum in Vienna, and shown in galleries in New York and Beijing. His large-format oil paintings can now also be seen in Bad Nauheim until April 30th, so that you can perhaps say »This I can’t forget.«
Opening hours of the art association in the gallery of the drinking spa are Tuesday to Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., on weekends and public holidays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.




Kenneth Blom gehört zu den Malern, die Abstraktion und Figuration verbinden. In seinen Werken bringt er die Faszination für Menschen zum Ausdruck. Seine Gemälde zeichnen sich durch eine Mischung aus architektonischen und figurativen Elementen aus. Die Figuren in seinen Bildern sind mitten in der Bewegung gefangen, doch ihre Gesichter sind verschwommen wobei ihre Abwesenheit aufdringlicher wirkt als ihre Anwesenheit. Der renommierte, zeitgenössische norwegische Künstler wird durch die LUISA CATUCCI GALLERY, Berlin vertreten.

Curator Karin Merchel

Kenneth Blom · Confidence · 2023 · 150 x 170 cm

Confidence
2023
150 x 170 cm

Kenneth Blom · Blood · 2023 · 150 x 170 cm

Blood
2023
150 x 170 cm

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim Kunsthall,Frankfurt ,soloshow 2023 · 2023

Bad Nauheim Kunsthall,Frankfurt ,soloshow 2023
2023

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim kunsthall,frankfurt,soloshow 2023 · 2023

Bad Nauheim kunsthall,frankfurt,soloshow 2023
2023

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt · 2023

Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt
2023

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt · 2023

Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt
2023

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt · 2023

Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt
2023

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt · 2023

Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt
2023

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt · 2023

Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt
2023

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt · 2023

Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt
2023

Kenneth Blom · Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt · 2023

Bad Nauheim Kunsthall Frankfurt
2023

Kenneth Blom · Untitled · 2023 · 120 x 140 cm


2023
120 x 140 cm

Kenneth Blom · Stumbling · 2023 · 170 x 190 cm

Stumbling
2023
170 x 190 cm

 
Webutvikling: Erlend Schei