BGE welcomes Espen Kvålsvoll’s first solo exhibition in the gallery. Kvålsvoll was born in Trondheim in 1992, and currently lives and works in Oslo. In 2019 he finished his master’s degree at Kunstakademiet in Oslo. The following year his work was accepted at the prestigeous Høstutstillingen, and he has since held solo exhibitions at Kunsthall Oslo and Trondhjem Kunstforening. During a short period of time, Kvålsvoll has established a characteristic style, distinguished by continuous exploration.
Kvålsvoll calls himself a postmodern landscape painter. He gathers inspiration from different times and places, varying from a 19th century painting to motifs from Fantasy and popular culture. Kvålsvoll is fascinated by the choreography of the Romantic landscape, in addition to the Symbolists’ dream-like scenery, such as in Arnold Böcklin’s (1827-1901) painting «The Island of the Dead» from 1883. Kvålsvoll’s landscapes were long void of human figures, as they dominated the narrative and the interpretations. It is only in the last 2-3 years that he has gradually allowed them space, but in such a way that they remain open to different associations. It is especially the context that establishes a playful attitude, as well as sparking the viewer’s own imagination.
What is new in this exhibition is the introduction of mythological creatures, like the small, fickle, destructive and vindictive gnomes. Kvålsvoll explains this with a desire to dare to use low status objects that are associated with being kitsch, in addition to wanting to surprise the viewer. The Danish painter Henry Heerup (1907-1993) has inspired with his accessible art depicting playful and homely objects like the gnome. Heerup declared himself the sole member and chairman of the gnomes’ union, thus showing a humorous and sincere sympathy with the gnomes. Like Heerup, Kvålsvoll finds much motivation in the resistance found in not choosing the more heroic mythological creatures that could have been a simpler solution to a painter.
The title of this exhibition «Deux chevaux»/«Two horses» refers to details in the paintings. For instance, there are two horses, as well as two gnomes clinging on to an overtaking 2CV, which is an abbreviation of «deux chevaux-vapeur», referring to the original two horsepower of that specific car. When it comes to technique and the fresh use of colours, the Post-Impressionist Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) is a source of inspiration. Kvålsvoll prefers expressive colours. The paintings in this exhibition have been divided into three groups where three paintings have primary colours as their background. First, they have thin layers of acrylic paint, followed by thick, pasty coats of oil paint on the rough jute material. Thus, the thin and matte contrast the shiny and gestural.
Kvålsvoll makes a lot of preparations by gathering different motifs and testing various compositions on drawings. He prefers to introduce the motifs gradually to see what happens. New characters may be allowed into the picturesque universe, perhaps initiated by coincidences and parallels that he stumbles across. By opening to this freedom, it allows room for each step to influence the next step through an intuitive and exploratory approach, without taking himself too seriously. He sums up the result: «Through putting what is known into new surroundings they become unknown again, and one constructs one’s own world».