A glimpse into the mind and work of Rasmus Styrmer in relation to his new exhibition “Obsidian” at Galleri Jacob Bjørn, february 16 – march 12 2018.
Everything is from sincere interest. If it is to dissect an 18th-century painting or my relationship to dementia, it is sincere interest that makes me paint. I want to grasp something, acquire knowledge, gather elements that don’t necessarily have a clear direction. I’m in love with the formal decision, but my painterly practice is simultaneously driven by expressivity. Everything that I see points at something, that points at something, that points back where I started. If it is the third or the twelfth, it is all connected in an ambivalent web where everything is both clear, unclear or faint.
The dogma here being materials, tools and methods. Researching these and their qualities is an essential part of Styrmer’s practice. He may use the airbrush solely for its unique quality of being an airbrush or he may use the chemical reaction of oil and oil-drying agent to compose his expressionistic shapes. While he works without a narrative figuration, he works with an expressive and materialistic narrative. This narrative points back to both the physical and emotional process of making the paintings. His is an experiment in making different timelines, sensations and references that come to coexist on the canvas.
