GL Strand

Mads Thomsen: Curved Space

21 Sep - 17 Nov 2013

Imagine if one could travel in time and move from one dimen­sion to another through the so-called worm-holes of the universe. The winner of the EXTRACT audience prize 2011, Mads Thomsen, is making his debut with his first solo exhibition at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND. It is about curved spaces, worm-holes and transcendental journeys.

The fascination of crossing boundaries – both physical and mental – is the basis for Mads Thomsen’s first solo exhibition where the artist explores transitions, transcendence and the idea of being able to move among different stages. The exhibition involves sculptures, lino-cuts in very large formats and installational animation films, in which human dramas are staged through moods of loss, disappearance and collapse. Aesthetically, Mads Thomsen gathers his inspiration from classical science-fiction and the tradition of dark, dystopian cartoons.

Conceptually, Mads Thomsen takes his point of departure in the scientific phenomenon the Einstein-Rosen bridge (named for Albert Einstein and his assistant Nathan Rosen), which is the idea of the worm-hole, and how it functions converted to a graphic model. The worm-hole has only been proven in theory, not in practice, but is an example of the relationship of science to the level of abstrac­tion in our consciousness. A level of abstraction that is also the foundation of art and religions. This convergence is central to Mads Thomsen’s work with the alluring vision of the worm-hole.

Mads Thomsen (b. 1979) graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2011. He participated in the international group exhibi­tion of young artists at GL STRAND, EXTRACT I, where he was awar­ded the audience prize for best installation, a solo exhibition at GL STRAND.