Jeg er den eneste der husker det nu by Michael á Grømma
Michael á Grømma (DK)
Jeg er den eneste der husker det nu
FEBRUARY 23
Galleri Christoffer Egelund proudly presents Jeg er den eneste der husker det nu (I’m the Only One Who Remembers Now), the artist’s first solo show at the gallery. Michael á Grømma combines vivid colors with rich detail in his deeply meaningful interior paintings. The exhibition, which consists of entirely new paintings on canvas and board and a site-specific installation, can be seen at Bredgade 75 in Copenhagen from the 23rd of April until the 22nd of March 2024.
When you look at a work of art by Michael á Grømma, you are immediately greeted by the colors: Bright, happy colors, pinks, greens, yellows, red and turquoise. These are colors that could also belong in a children’s book, but yet, they have a certain Copenhagen coolness to them that makes you think of fashionable retro décor and the color palette of the Danish artist Tal R. Here, colorful crochet plaids with granny squares mix with cartoons and vinyl covers from the 80s, lush plants and colorful classic furniture.
The style, too, is reminiscent of something warm and homely. This is a space free of straight lines made with a ruler, there is no linear perspective that subjects the space to predictable, calculated mathematical laws. Instead, what we see here is an intuitive and inclusive space where the immediate experience of the objects takes center stage. Just like Cézanne, for whom it was imperative to depict space in the way we know it from our everyday sensory experience instead of letting excess reliance on mathematical rules determine the artistic outcome, Michael á Grømma lets us step into a personal and deeply meaningful space.
His space is a human space, in which each object has an important role to play. Every detail is rendered with loving care – every pattern, every book title and every movie poster is depicted in a way that leaves no doubt as to what it is. As the title of the exhibition suggests, the art of Michael á Grømma has a darker meaning hidden away beneath its colorful surface. Michael and his family suffered the unspeakable tragedy of having to say goodbye to several family members within a short period of time. The gravity of life reared its ugly head. Serious literature joined the cartoons on his shelves, and his walls now became home to both posters and one-of-a-kind paintings. Thus, the cardboard moving box becomes a central symbol in á Grømma’s art – it is the container of the story of your life. When all you have left of a loved one is his or her possessions, these take on tremendous meaning – when something breaks, is worn out or thrown out, it is as if yet another piece of that person is irrevocably lost.
The objects in our lives hold immense power. No matter whether you are recently divorced, have moved away from home or have lost contact to a formerly dear friend, objects are carriers of memories and a little bit of the soul of the person or persons that you bought them with, who gave them to you or who you made memories around them with. Michael á Grømma’s art reminds us just how important it is to guard and cherish the objects, and not least the people, that are important to us, for neither objects nor people are forever.
Michael á Grømma (f. 1983) is among Denmark’s most promising up-and-coming artists. He is educated as a multimedia designer and works with both acrylic on canvas and lino print. His works have been exhibited at galleries and art fairs across Denmark and in Germany and The Netherlands since 2008, and his works are already to be found in several professional art collections.
Join us at the exhibition opening and meet the artist at Bredgade 75 on the 23rd of February 2024 from 16:00 to 19:00. For further information and sales requests, please contact the gallery at: hello@christofferegelund.dk or at +45 33 93 92 00. Visit us at Bredgade 75, DK-1260 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Opening hours: Wednesday-Friday 15:00-18:00, Saturday 12:00-16:00, or by appointment.