Happy Depression

The second exhibition of the year presents Daniel Jensen and Mark Posey, who were both originally chosen by the jury for ‘Contemporary Visions 8’, instead exhibiting them together for the first time. Both artists use painting and sculpture to present a tongue­ in ­cheek commentary on domesticity, materiality, and the banal.

Jensen’s drawings and paintings are an absurdist re­evaluation of the world around him: socks, leaves, smiley faces, and squiggles are all flattened with a dry, sardonic wit that carries over into his sculptural identity. Cast from cardboard, plastic cups, and whatever detritus lies around his studio, the young Swedish artist elevates such irreverent media into totem ­like relics. Choosing to celebrate the banality of his media and subject matter rather than hide behind it, the artist’s works inhabit a sort of celebratory low-browness, coming across like a sort of plastic­ party ­hat revelry turned serious art ­practice.

The connection to Posey’s subject matter is evident: still­ life’s of constant slippage, like a collapsed party table in which the contents are in a perennial state of collapse. Posey’s choices mimic Jensen’s too, where silly materials like bricks, bananas, candles, and cups are painted with the same sort of passing reverence Cezanne or Van Gogh gave to the passing of clouds. Further, these artists seem to poke fun at our constantly moving tendencies, as though a contemporary counterpart to the Dutch still life paintings, and here the rather fluid, appropriately light­hearted attention to detail that one would expect from a modern ­day still­ life painter. There is a suggestion toward a post­ analog life ­ where elements have been flattened and cheapened, but hereby reinterpreted and propped ­back up through the artist’s prowess: re­evaluated and cherished, however tangible and silly these modern day apparatuses appear: a flattened beer can salvaged from the frat­ party propped up on its side, ready for arrangement within the still­ life.

DANIEL JENSEN

Daniel Jensen ́s paintings, sculptures and drawings often explore issues surrounding contemporary society, pop culture, film, literature and nature in decline. His work is filled with abstract and figurative elements not related in any narrative sense. A patchwork of references and techniques gives life to a series of characters and a personal universe where humour and deep sincerity are entwined and unconstrained.

DANIEL JENSEN [b. 1972, Malmo] graduated from The National Academy of Fine Art, Oslo and Valand School of Fine Art in Gothenburg. Solo exhibitions include: ‘Evidence of Absence’, Bjorkholmen Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden (2015), ‘Before The Beginning’, Galleri Konstepidemin, Gothenburg, Sweden, (2014).Group exhibitions include: ‘He Fell Through So We Came Looking For You’, Gallery Steinsland Berliner, Stockholm, Sweden, (2017), ‘Micro Salon #7’, Galerie Linlassable, Paris, France, (2017), ‘HyperMagic’, Mountain Gallery, New York, USA, (2017), ‘When The Darkness Comes, It’s All Good’, Varbergs Konsthall, Varberg, Sweden, (2016). Jensen lives and works in Stockholm.

MARK POSEY

Mark Posey paints everyday objects that have seemingly human qualities, often incorporating the imperfections and unique characteristics that help shape personality. The subjects in his work recur in his work and often contain nuanced differences, giving them a sentimental history that reveals nostalgia and varying identity. The surfaces of his paintings are made as a result of pouring fluid acrylics and spraying various homemade spray paints. The use of fluid acrylic makes his process part strategic and part reactionary, which often leads to unintended outcomes.

MARK POSEY (b. 1985, Los Angeles) graduated with an MFA from the Academy of Art in in San Francisco (2012). Notable solo exhibitions include Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica (2016); Broadfoot & Broadfoot, New York (2014) and The 155 Project, New York (2014). Group Exhibitions include: ‘Fake News’, CES Gallery, LA (2017); ‘White on White’, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica (2016) and; Copenhagen Art Fair, Wolfsen Gallery, Denmark (2015). Posey currently lives and works in Los Angeles.