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Recent Sculptures

October 5, 2006- November 18, 2006

Pål Svensson

Jim Kempner Fine Art

501 W 23rd St

Jim Kempner Fine Art is excited to announce an exhibition of indoor and outdoor sculpture by Pål Svensson, one of the leading artists within the realm of public sculpture in Sweden. This is his first solo gallery show in New York. The show will include four large-scale outdoor sculptures and eight indoor works. Influenced by Minimalism with a nod to nature, all ten pieces are made with Diabase, a dense, high-quality, completely black Swedish stone. In these recent pieces, Svensson plays with the dualities between light and dark, often juxtaposing rough, unfinished surfaces with those that are polished to a smooth, high-gloss finish that reflects light. Svensson strives to bring air and light into the stone, giving freedom and energy to a surface that often connotes immobility and lifelessness.

Like many 20th century sculptors, Svenssson has pursued the connection with ancient megalithic cultures, the Stone Age, and past geological eras. He is constantly inspired by the forms, shapes, and surfaces found in nature itself; he is also influenced by sculptors Isamu Noguchi, Richard Long, Donald Judd, and Sol Lewitt.

Featured in the exhibition is Origin, a dark, shiny sphere that looks as if it has risen from the ground. It is surrounded by rough-hewn scraps of stone, and brings to mind an earth egg that has just been hatched. A larger version of this piece, Out Of, was first made for the Wanås Exhibitions in the south of Sweden. The Postal Office of Sweden subsequently used the image for a postage stamp and commissioned another version of the piece, measuring, 3’x 8’x 8’, from the artist.

Another large outdoor piece, Unity, is composed of two interlocking L-shaped blocks in a yin-yang concept. Water flows over the lower form, giving it a dark, glossy, animated surface. Inspired by the beauty of wet stone, Svensson decided to incorporate it into this sculpture’s dualistic contrast, bringing a sense of life and motion to the piece and the overall exhibition.

Pal Svensson is also occupied with a large-scale art project in North East England after having won a competition in 2005. The winning concept contains a giant Bowl in stainless steel, measuring 28 meters in diameter. Its horizontal form will stand out, working at a great distance as well as in close view as an observation place, reflecting the constantly changing sky. On the table now is not the external funding of the large project ccalled “Durham Sky Bowl”, which is one of a growing number of large scale work in the region, by world known artists as James Turrell, Andy Goldsworthy, Anish Kapoor and Anthony Gormley. Additional information about the project can be at www.durha,.gov.uk.

Pål Svensson, who resides in Gothenburg, Sweden, has had solo exhibitions at the Customs House Gallery in South Shields, UK, the Mons Museum in Belgium, the Centre Culturel Suedois in Paris, and throughout Sweden. He has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions throughout Europe and Scandanavia. His work is in the permanent collections of the Customs House, Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, the Kungsbacka Train Station and the Postal Office in Stockholm .

Books and DVDs related to artists in this show

Location   Gallery Jim Kempner Fine Art Address 501 W 23rd St New York (Chelsea) NY, 10011 United States Phone 212-206-6872 Fax 212-206-6873 Hours Tue-Sat 10-6

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