Kenneth Blom

We continue the exhibition season with a strong voice in Norwegian contemporary art: Kenneth Blom opens an exhibition in KHÅK Kunsthall on Thursday, October 16 at 6:00 PM. With his distinctive and evocative paintings, he invites the audience into a universe that is both recognizable and disturbingly open.

Blom's visual world is located in the tension between the abstract and the figurative. The motifs are often tightly composed, with simple figures and architectural backdrops. The colors suggest a drama that lies beneath the surface, while the human figures – often taken from everyday and random encounters – remain as symbols of something universal. Many have described his paintings as scenographies or tableaux: frozen moments where something has happened, and where something new will soon unfold.
The paintings contain both melancholy and closeness, often expressed as small and large interpersonal dramas. At the same time, the works point towards something more universal: fundamental experiences that we all share, across time and culture. The rooms and forms seem to have a function, but remain open and unclear – a world that is both present and absent, where silence finds a place and the moment is frozen. As an artist, Blom describes himself: “I never describe what I want to convey with my pictures. I rather rely on what others see and think about what I do.”
Kenneth Blom (b. 1967) belongs to the generation that was educated at the Oslo Academy of Fine Arts in the early 1990s – a time characterized by tension between figurative tradition and conceptual contemporary art. In the middle of these extremes, he developed his own expression, with a clear painterly voice that has since made him a prominent figure on the international art scene. Blom is represented by, among others, Jason McCoy Gallery in New York, Luisa Catucci Gallery in Berlin, Galleri Birch in Copenhagen, Pékin Fine Arts in Beijing/Hong Kong, Von Fraunberg Gallery in Düsseldorf and Kamil Gallery in Monaco.