Ole Aakjær | The Pink Soul
ON VIEW
December 12 - February 29, 2020
RECEPTION
Thursday, December 12, 6-8pm
LOCATION
521 W 23rd St
New York, NY
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Ole Aakjær (b. 1962) is a Copenhagen-based, internationally-renowned watercolor and ink artist best known for large-format, highly symbolic works that celebrate the power of women. His distinct figurative paintings rely on bold colors and symbols to convey deep psychological empathy, while exploring the complexity and strength of their subjects. Ornate ink work comes into play with tattoos often sprawled across the face, neck, shoulders, and upper body. Text and characters, inspired by music, literature, poetry, film, religion, psychology, and cartoons are painstakingly applied with ink.
Influenced by comic book writers and artists Milo Manara, Enki Bilal, and Jean Giraud (pseudonym Moebius), Aakjær in the mid-1980s published an album at Carlsen, Denmark's main comic book publisher at the time, fulfilling his childhood dream. He operated an illustration studio since 1992. After 25 years as CEO of his own advertising and design agency, Aakjær was burnt out creatively. Reclaiming his childhood fascination and playfulness, he turned to watercolor painting in 2014. With a brazen nod to his previous career in his use of oversized keywords, Aakjaer’s large scale watercolors and techniques are unparalleled. The combination of ink and watercolor require great mastery as there is no room for error or corrections. The desired result must be achieved on the first application. This is in many ways the poetry of the watercolour – and of Ole Aakjær’s work.
International success came quickly, when Aakjær’s first solo exhibition sold out. Many subsequent shows in Montreal, Oslo, Paris, and London, sold out, leading to an international breakthrough and permanent gallery representation in New York, Montreal and Düsseldorf. He has already had two museum exhibitions – at Vejle Kunstmuseum, Denmark in 2021 and at Diocesan Museum, Andria, Italy in 2022. Upcoming is the museum exhibition at the Chinese Contemporary Art Museum, Chongqing, China in 2024. Aakjær has participated in more than 75 solo and group exhibitions since 2014. At the moment the artist lives and works in New York.
Chase Contemporary is pleased to announce its upcoming solo exhibition with leading Danish watercolor artist Ole Aakjær. Inspired by female heroines, The Pink Soul grapples with the complexity surrounding what it means to be a woman. This will be the gallery’s second solo exhibition with the artist. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, December 12, from 6-8 pm at the gallery’s 521 W. 23rd st. location.
Pink, a color typically associated with the image of a gentle, fragile woman, has been reappropriated and reclaimed by women to also symbolise strength and resilience. Instead of shying away from the color’s association with femininity, it has been embraced and used in women’s activism, most recently in the pussyhats from the 2017 Women’s March and the Gulabi Gang in North India. In describing his piece Queen on a Throne, Aakjær says, “times are changing. A new kind of feminist is taking over the world. She conquers the throne, looks around, and begins to redefine the rules.”
This exhibition features new works from 2019, in the artist’s signature style of watercolor and ink on paper. Aakjær’s mesmerizing female portraits, with their intense gaze and layers of symbolism, each depict an imaginary character with a world of their own. Central to Aakjær’s work is his ability to draw in the viewer; his work invites interpretation. Aakjær has said, “you will find that the works are full of clues. You can follow these threads that might lead you to exciting new places and understandings.”
Aakjaer’s intricate portraits are highly symbolic. For example, the recurring motif of the skull is not something dark or scary, but rather a symbol of life and birth, “a necessary framing of life.” Aakjaer’s contemporary portraits aim not only to explore the complexity and strength of women, but represent, through intricate patterns and symbols, the shadows and echoes of the self, the multiple sides and stories in one’s life.
“The underlying theme of this exhibition is existentialism - a statement about realizing oneself. Expressed through the female mind.” - Ole Aakjær
