Contemporary Fine Arts

Contemporary Fine Arts is pleased to announce a solo show with TAL R. The Danish artist, who was born in 1967 as Tal Rosenzweig in Tel Aviv, is showing ten new works on canvas.

The new group of works marks a radical break with Tal R’s previous technique. Whereas before, he often applied his oil paints in a pastose manner, he now mixes animal glue and pigments and applies this mixture directly to an unprimed canvas. This creates the effect of a slightly dull surface, reminiscent of a fresco. On some works, the artist then draws with wax crayons on the painted surface.

According to the artist, his painting is like a hot pot into which he throws "all kinds of material". His colourful paintings thus do not just reflect subcultural influences as well as images from everyday that surround us all, such as films, music, graffiti, or, for example, a fresco of a Berlin bar from the 1920s, like in We are the elephants, but they combine these with elements from high culture and art history.

The paintings usually are structured rather schematically. The scenes and narratives rest on a broad horizontal underground which is a constant in Tal R’s oeuvre. Through the layered structure the narrative content is presented as if on a kind of stage. This effect is emphasized by the spatial composition reminiscent of a theatre, such as in Night Tingel Tangel and a suspension contraption for a backdrop, such as in Blind Date, or the circus scenery in Elephant behind clown through keyhole. The beholder and the artist himself take on the role of the audience, which enables them to gain insights into a different world, be that the view of a stage, through a window with a parapet, or a keyhole.

This is the seventh solo show of works by Tal R, who is exclusively represented by Contemporary Fine Arts. Tal R lives and works in Copenhagen.