CHART Art Fair: Audar Kantun

Golsa is proud to present new works by Norwegian artist Audar Kantun (b. 1985). On display are two large scale paintings, made for his solo presentation at CHART. Working within a figurative tradition, with references to painters such as Edvard Munch (1863-1944) and Frans Hals(1582/83-1666), Kantun allows clear colours and fluid shapes to fill the canvases. His now characteristic ro- mantic-but-contemporary aesthetic hints at the historical paintings of earlier periods, while utilizing the fragmentary strategies of modern times. Although narrative seemsto be central to the work, it is often unclear exactly what stories are being told. With quick and energetic brush strokes and an often purposely thin layer of paint, Kantun emphasizes the paintings materiality.

Syklus Sammensurium (Sesong 1) (2019) and Syklus Sam- mensurium (Sesong 2) (2019) depict two different seasons unfolding in the same farmyard, set in the same landsca- pe. The tall mountains rising up from the open sea evoke the north of Norway, where the artist himself is native. The scenery comes across as an open air theatre with the bar- nyard as a stage, making the viewer question what kind of play we are about to witness. The atmosphere is cheerful and energetic, despite the fact that something dramatic seems to have occurred just previous the depicted scene. This creates a feeling of absurdness.

In Syklus Sammensurium (Sesong 2), the central, female figure has harvested the wheat, hanging it to dry in the warm summer sun. In the process an unfortunate badger has been decapitated, to the amusement of one of the ot- her figures. All the while the left side of the painting seems unaware of the spectacle, the men slouching by the shore, calmly expressing the melancholy of the season. In Syklus Sammensurium (Sesong 1)most of the people have taken shelter from the cold temperature inside the small cabins. A warm light shine through the windows, a contrast to the darkness of the outside. Mid-center however, Kantun has placed a woeful vagabond on his muskox, passing through with his victims and stolen gods in tow. The figure embodies the dull but desperate feeling of January in the never-ending Norwegian winter, the darkest and coldest time of the year. 

We would like to thank OCA (Office of Contemporary Art), Norway for generous support.