See available works by Erik A. Frandsen

It is with great pleasure that we present Erik A. Frandsen’s new exhibition “Flat Hierarchies” at Charlotte Fogh Gallery. The exhibition presents a number of new paintings and is Erik A. Frandsen’s first solo exhibition in the gallery.In “Flat Hierarchies” Frandsen continues his ongoing exploration of surfaces, lines and perspective, which are central to his artistic expression. A constant investigation of the painting’s space and motif world; what do objects and symbols represent and what values ​​do we attach to them?

A characteristic of Frandsen’s artistic practice is his reuse of motifs and the use of these in various media. In various series of works, Erik A. Frandsen has repeated specific motifs such as still life, interiors, family scenes of intimate, everyday situations and flower arrangements, which are painted in acrylic on aluminum, in Venetian mosaics or drilled into steel plates, which are then reused in the paintings. The motifs thus draw references back in time and to Frandsen’s own work, but at the same time a new trace emerges that reaches into the present.

In most works, the picture plane is built up from a multitude of seemingly independent impressions, perspectives and widely branched references and color explosions. Patterned surfaces and objects such as a cut watermelon, an old armchair, the remains of a colored mosaic pane, a giant bookshelf, dick pics, Greek vases, real oriental carpets, fascist symbols, fragments of space and interior, a naked woman and flowers in many shapes and sizes and in various stages of decay – everything appears unhierarchically painted layer upon layer, where nothing is above the other. Fransen’s paintings appear as a semiotic play with signs and symbols on the canvas and an anti-authoritarian approach to the representation of things. What meaning do we attach to these motifs and symbols? What do we hide in the home and the intimate sphere?

Erik A. Frandsen is among the most recognized artists in Denmark and has exhibited widely abroad as well as in Denmark. Alongside the exhibition at Charlotte Fogh Gallery, his works can also be experienced at Randers Kunstmuseum until January 2024.Erik A. Frandsen is represented at, among others, ARoS, New Carlsberg Glyptotek, Arken, Statens Museum for Kunst and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.