Lars Strandh

The Swedish artist Lars Strandh creates paintings of consistent reduction and clarity, which are entirely dedicated to the examination of color. Color is the most important element of his painting, a theme and motif at the same time, because he detaches it from the service of form and brings it to the fore as an autonomous value. Seen from a distance, the paintings first appear almost monochrome, yet the artist builds up his paintings surfaces from many fine, exclusively horizontal lines that are always dedicated to one color. The almost tone-on-tone, freehand yet precise brushstrokes make the viewer's eye oscillate. It is a repetitive, slow, almost meditative process in which the paintings emerge line by line. The concentration and precision of his painting technique becomes apparent on closer inspection, when the many different colors, pigments and hues around the one main color, as well as a multitude of matt and glossy surfaces, become apparent. The artist himself describes his paintings as "polychromatic monochromes".
Sometimes very calm, sometimes vibrating color spaces are created, which draw depth and tension from the light-dark contrasts. A look at the paintings created more recently shows that they have gained in complexity. The application of color and line appears more condensed, but the alternation of glossy and matt surfaces is also more prominent.

Lars Strandh was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1961. He lives and works in Oslo, Norway, where he graduated from the National Academy of Fine Art in 1997.

Born 1961 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Lives and works in Oslo, Norway.

1992-96

Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo, Norway

1995

Ecole Superieur d´Art, Bourges, France

1996-97

Master-Student at The National Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo

Scholarships and Grants 

1995

Erasmus Scholarship for Studies at Ecole Superieur D´Art, Bourges

1996

The Foundation of Thv. Eriksen

2002-05

The Norwegian working-grant for 3 years

2006/01/00 & 1997/99

Artists’ Consideration Foundation

2007,-02 & 1997

The Department of Cultural Affairs Exhibition-grant

2012,-11,-07,-05

OCA International Support

2014

The Artists Association’s Blom Grant

2016, -12, -10, -06 & 1999

The Foundation of Ingrid Lindbäck Langaard


Bibliography

2016

Fifty shades of red, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich

2014

Faszination Farbe, monochrom minimal konkret internationale Positionen, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich

Behind the Horizon, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils

2013

International Plein Air Mark Rothko, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils

2012

Zwischen Konstruktion und Reduktion 2, Sammlung Hupertz

Lars Strandh, Galerie Renatae Bender

It’s all about the sea, Galerie Provence

2009

Lars Strandh: New Works on Linen, Nashville Scene

Lars Strandh, New works on linen

Galeri Provence

Galleri Semmingsen 10-år, catalogue

2008

Lars Strandh 

Nord Art 2008

Ausdruck, Position, Spuren

2007

Open Studios, Artefact Pardo Gallery, Lake Worth

2006

Konstruktiv Tendens, 25 år

Farger og speilinger, Dagbladet

2005

Paint it black now on exhibit, Asbury Park press

2004

A show where light is very heavy, New York Times

2003

Lars Strandh


Collections and Public Commissioned Arts 

The National Center for Contemporary Arts, Minsk

Gemeinde Järfälla Arts Committee, Järfälla

Sammlung der Universität Oslo, Oslo

Mark Rothko Art Center, Daugavpils

Sammlung der Gemeinde Gothenburg, Gothenburg

Sammlung der Gemeinde Värnamo

Ministerium für auswärtige Angelegenheiten von Norwegen, Oslo

Sammlung des Straßenverkehrsamtes, Oslo

Der Schwedische Kunstrat, Stockholm

Der Norwegische Kulturrat, Oslo

Sammlung der nationalen Stiftung der öffentlich in Auftrag gegebenen Kunst, Oslo

Sammlung des Landes Östergötland, Östergötland

H.M. Queen Sonja’s Jubiläumssammlung, Oslo

Sammlung der TELENOR Group, Oslo

Sammlung Maximilian und Agathe Weishaupt, München

Sammlung Hupertz, Hamburg

Museum Haugesunds Billedgalleri, Haugesund

Forum Konkrete Kunst, Erfurt

Sammlung des Unternehmens Statoil, Stavanger

Solo exhibitions (selection)

2023

Bettina Bürkle - Objects/Installation - Lars Strandh - Painting, Galerie Kautsch, Michelstadt

2022Recollection, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg 
as light transforming color - Kristin Lindberg and Lars Strandh, Drammen Art Museum, Norway
Jus Juchtmans - Lars Strandh - Two European Positions in Minimalist Paintings, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
Timeless Lines - Infinies vibration, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg, France
2020

Selected Poems - New Drawings, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo, Norway

2019

Sisyphus - a one week drawing performance and exhibition, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma (MACRO), Rome
Ewerdt Hilgemann, Sculpture - Lars Strandh, Paintings, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg

2018

Joe Barnes - Lars Strandh - The Presence of the Monochrome, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg

2017

Lars Strandh Malerei + Sabine Staub Plastic, Galerie Kautsch, Michelsstadt
Selected Poems - Works on Paper, Zeitgeist Gallery,  Nashville

2016

Et le ciel etait bleu, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
Paintings, Flaménska Galleriet, Borås

2015

Im Kabinett, Galerie Wenger, Zurich
Listen to your Eyes, Nordland Music Festival Exhibitor, Bodø Kunstforening
Recollections from the North, Factory 49, Sydney
Recollections from the South West, Galleri Gann, Sandnes
Lars Strandh à l´honneur chez radial, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
Behind the Horizon, Museum of Modern Fine Art, Minsk

2014

Behind the Horizon, Vitebsk Art Museum, Vitebsk
Behind the Horizon, Siauliai Art Gallery, Siauliai
Behind the Horizon, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Latvia
Night Visions, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
Trace Elements, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee
Exsisto, Akerus Kunstsenter, Lillestrøm

2012

Being there, Galleri Dag Andersson, Norrköping
Kind of blue, Galleri Åkern, Kongsberg
Simpicité Complexe, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
It’s all about the sea, Galerie Provence, Vadum
Side by side, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich

2011

Galerie Oijens, Gothenburg

2010

Hidden Places, Buderup Ødekirke

2009

Galleri LNM, Oslo
Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville
Galerie Schlegl, Zurich

2008

Galleri Semmingsen, Oslo
Haugesund Billedgalleri, Haugesund

2007

Konstruktiv Tendens, Stockholm

2006

Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo

2004

Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo
Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen

2003

Gothenburg Art-association, Gothenburg


Group exhibitions (selection)

2023

Found in the Collection, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Center, Daugavpils, Latvia

2022Norrköping Non-Figuration 2022, Galleri Sander/NP33, Norrköping, Sweden
The Spring Show, Galerie Pugliese Levy, Berlin
2021

The Annual Christmas Exhibition, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo, Norway
Summer in the City, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg
Covimetry, Ely Center of Contemporary Arts, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Found in the Collection, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Center, Daugavpils, Latvia
Coast to Coast - works on paper by Zeitgeist artists, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Alle - Grand Finale, Galerie Wenger, Zurich

2020The Christman Exhibition, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo
Summer time, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg
Bonanza-za-za, Akershus Kunstsenter, Lillestrøm
Bien chez soi avec Radial, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
Group Show, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Punkt und Linie zur Fläche frei nach Kandinsky, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
2019

Winter Show - L'hiver à la galerie Radial, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
small matters - Kunst im kleinen Format, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg
Blue matters, Galerie Nanna Preußners, Hamburg
Similarities and differences - 4 positions (curated by Lars Strandh), Galerie Wenger, Zurich
Big Circle - Into a happy mood, M17 Art Center, Kiev, Ukraine
Xanadu - Zeitgeist 25 years, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
How white is only the wise know, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich

2018

It was one Christmas, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo
Small is beautyful, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
ALLE*, Galerie Wenger, Zurich
Hydrography V, e9a, projectspace for abstract and minimal art, Freiburg
Summer in the city, Galerie Kautsch, Michelsstadt
Feed your Soul - Le Noir et le Rouge, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
Fiction. (With Only Daylight Between Us.) v.2., Srt Academy of Cincinnati, Ohio

2017

Roter Kunstsalon, Museum Villa Rot, Burgreiden
En konstruktiv Tendens, Tomarps Kungsgård, Kvidinge
Luminous Animals, Whitespace Gallery, Atlanta

2016

Small is Beautiful, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
Fiction. (With Only Daylight Between Us.) v.2., Boecker Contemporary, Heidelberg
Fiction. (With Only Daylight Between Us). v. 2, Corridor, Dayton, Ohio
Roter Kunstsalon, Villa Rot Museum, Burgreiden
Zeitgeist Retrospective, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee
Kinder wie die Zeit Verghet, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
Fifty Shades of Red, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
En konstruktiv Tendens, NP 33, Norrköping

2015

ALLE, Galerie Wenger, Zurich
Presence - Stillness - Moment - Reflection, Trafo Kunsthall, Asker
Therely Bare Redux, Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Kentucky
En konstruktiv Tendens, Åminne Bruks Museum. Värnamo
Therely Bare Redux, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville
Radical Abstraction, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
Anual Group Show, Factory 49, Sydney
Capetillo/Tegtmeier/Strandh, Kunstbygningen i Vrå, Vrå
Mostly Monochrome, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
4th Anniversary Show, 2014, NOoSPHERE Arts, New York

2014

After St-Art, Radial Art Contemporain, Strasbourg
Faszination FARBE , KUNSTHAUS Fürstenfeldbruck
Blottr, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville
3 years + 3 days, NOoSPHERE Arts, New York

2013

The assemblance of presence, Galerie Wenger, Zurich
The Medium’s Session,  Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville
Gold – Exhibition of the Collection, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils
A house full of friends, NOoSPHERE Arts, New York

2012

Open studios, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville
Zeitgeist Open Studio, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville
Galleri Gann, Sandnes
Mark Rothko Residency 2012, Daugavpils Museum for Regional Studies and Art, Daugavpils
Non-Figurativ, Edsvik Konsthall, Stockholm
To be looked at…,Close to…, Larry Becker Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
L’été chez Radial,  Radial Art Contemprain, Strasbourg

2011

Appartement d'un collectionneur I, Galerie Gimpet et Müller, Paris
White – Hot, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York
Cheekwood nights, Cheekwood museum of art, Nashville
Northstars, White, Gallery .NO, New York
Punkt–Linie–Fläche, C.Wichtendahl Galerie, Berlin
An Exchange with Sol LeWitt, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary
Therely Bare, AVA Gallery, Chattanooga

2010

Winter, Galerie Schlegl, Zurich
Monochromes II, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
Summer Special, Galerie Schlegl, Zurich
Galerie Provence, Vadum

2009

What's out there? , Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
Von der Poesie des Geometrischen, Neue Sächsische Galerie, Chemnitz

2008

To Be Looked at… , Larry Becker Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA
Ausdruck, Position, Spuren, Kunstverein Wiligrad, Lübstorf
Dialogues, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee
Surfaces – an exhibition about monochromatic paintings, Galleri F15, Jeløy
Singular, Luxe Gallery, New York

2007

Konstruktive Tendenzen, Museum Forum Konkrete Kunst, Erfurt
Galleri Semmingsen, Oslo

2005

Paint it Black, The Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, New Jersey

2002

Concrete, Non-figurative paintings in Norway 1920-2000, Lillehammer Art Museum, Bergen Art Museum and Trondheim Art Museum, Lillehammer

2001

Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo

2000

G. Keyt Int. Artist Camp 2000", The National Gallery, Colombo