Glenn Sorensen
10 Jun - 01 Aug 2010
GLENN SORENSEN
"The Sugar Cane Allegory"
10 June - 1 August 2010
Known for his intimate, small-scale paintings of flowers, domestic objects and people in his life Glenn Sorensen’s exhibition will be the first solo presentation of his work in a UK public gallery.
Over a two year period Sorensen has produced a series of melancholic paintings that meditate on the transient nature of existence, drawing parallels between the ephemeral life of the flowers and the people that he paints. In some works the artist has selected a flower from his garden faithfully capturing in exquisite detail the process of entropy - altering, erasing and over-painting the canvas as the flower wilts and decays, sometimes producing a subsequent painting of the flower in its further deteriorated state.
With waning petals rendered like crumpled handkerchiefs brushed in luminescent tones and the stark contrast of the dark, inky backgrounds, Sorensen has given his subjects a peculiar phosphorescent quality despite their proximity to final decomposition. The enigmatic title for this series of works comes from Sorensen’s childhood memories in Australia of being surrounded by sugar cane, and observing the yearly life cycle of growth, burning and harvest. Now based in Sweden, the flowers in his garden and the painting of them reminds him of this ritual.
Glenn Sorensen was born in Australia in 1968 and trained at the City Art Institute Sydney followed at the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts. For the past twenty years he has lived and worked in Sweden. He has exhibited internationally including Amsterdam, Sweden, Australia, Italy, Netherlands, USA, Israel and Spain, and has work in public collections including The Nordic Watercolour Museu
"The Sugar Cane Allegory"
10 June - 1 August 2010
Known for his intimate, small-scale paintings of flowers, domestic objects and people in his life Glenn Sorensen’s exhibition will be the first solo presentation of his work in a UK public gallery.
Over a two year period Sorensen has produced a series of melancholic paintings that meditate on the transient nature of existence, drawing parallels between the ephemeral life of the flowers and the people that he paints. In some works the artist has selected a flower from his garden faithfully capturing in exquisite detail the process of entropy - altering, erasing and over-painting the canvas as the flower wilts and decays, sometimes producing a subsequent painting of the flower in its further deteriorated state.
With waning petals rendered like crumpled handkerchiefs brushed in luminescent tones and the stark contrast of the dark, inky backgrounds, Sorensen has given his subjects a peculiar phosphorescent quality despite their proximity to final decomposition. The enigmatic title for this series of works comes from Sorensen’s childhood memories in Australia of being surrounded by sugar cane, and observing the yearly life cycle of growth, burning and harvest. Now based in Sweden, the flowers in his garden and the painting of them reminds him of this ritual.
Glenn Sorensen was born in Australia in 1968 and trained at the City Art Institute Sydney followed at the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts. For the past twenty years he has lived and worked in Sweden. He has exhibited internationally including Amsterdam, Sweden, Australia, Italy, Netherlands, USA, Israel and Spain, and has work in public collections including The Nordic Watercolour Museu