Fra dette mørke maler Balslev nu lyset i køkkenet i hjemmet i Lundtoftegade, der ligger få kilometer fra atelieret. Frem for at sidde foran lejlighedens motiver maner han dem frem. Han ser indad, udøver hukommelse. Det er åbne og prøvende billeder, en slags kortlægning af en indre geografi, uden fabulerende hittepåsomhed, motiverne findes allerede som lysende indre aftryk, som ukendte selvfølgeligheder.
Vi ser hans kæreste med en række skulpturer, sønnen der lusekæmmes og en amorf dyne, der ligger over en stol som et dyr. Vi ser, hvordan stænglerne på nogle hvide liljer danner et kryds i en glasvase, og hvordan en krukke på et bord i forgrunden gentages svævende på et billede af et ufærdigt maleri som ses i bagrunden. Former gentages, forskydes og varieres over fladen. I et centralt billede på udstillingen ses et gult gardin med en psykisk ladet rødbrun ornamentik, som giver mindelser om asemisk skrift. Forestiller vi os, at gardinet blev trukket for, ville billedet være informelt og abstrakt, men vi ser ud igennem dannebrogsvinduets kors, hvor der hænger en gadelampe som en kokon i sine tråde. Vi aner en rest af himmel over facaden på KTAS’ telefoncentral fra 1950’erne kaldet Telefontårnet. Maleriet har en slående lighed med barbermaleren John Christensen’s (1896-1940) malerier fra kvistlejligheden på Fyensgade med udsigt over Assistens Kirkegård, ligeledes på Nørrebro.”
(Christian Vind, November 2018)
Marie Kirkegaard is proud to present Lundtoftegade by Zven Balslev. This is Balslev’s third solo show at the gallery, and this time he invites us into his most immediate, most intimate surroundings in a new series of paintings all set at his home in Lundtoftegade at Nørrebro in Copenhagen.
We mostly know Zven Balslev from his strong characteristic drawings and graphic art, as he among else has shown us in his previous exhibition at the gallery, where he draws from a wide range of references to underground comics, psychedelic horror and literary as well as biblical quotes. Unlike these works, that often tends to stress the macabre and the violent in a fictitious dystopian world, the new series from Lundtoftegade reveal a new side of Balslev. They are wonderful paintings contemplating on the nature of time, perception, and memory in a way that somehow pay attention to the subtle, quite moments in life. It’s about the origin of artistic ideas, especially finding inspiration in the things that are closest to you: your home, your family in your everyday life.
Zven Balslev’s Lundtoftegade series are interior paintings mixed with abstract pastos-like colored elements. As such, Balslev are also commenting on the ways and means of painting, while reviewing the glories of Modernist masters as Munch and John Christensen, as it is clear that Balslev’s interest lies more in the impression and metaphors of the interior of home, than the actual appearance of it.
Zven Balslev graduated from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2006. He has since then actively exhibited nationally as well as internationally, latest with his solo show, Rotten Ropes at Mograg Gallery in Tokyo. He is among else represented at The Royal Collection of Graphic Art at The National Gallery of Denmark. Furthermore Balslev has produced a wide variety of graphic publications, which he transforms to art books, fanzines, vinyl records and posters. His work is risky, surprising and goes beyond the predetermined. Between 1998 and 2010 Balslev was behind Smittekilde Publishing, and today he runs Cult Pump Publishing.
