Nina Sten-Knudsen
New Paintings
18.11.04 - 15.01.05
For her solo-exhibition at Galleri Faurschou, Nina Sten-Knudsen has painted a number of new paintings along with an impressive large format painting (290 x 472 cm).
'The Painter and the Model' is the title of this monumental painting - both the title and the work's composition contain several references to art history and displays Nina Sten-Knudsen's great knowledge of the artistic effects of painting.
As in her previous work, we are introduced to a modern interpretation of the Romantic landscape painting, composed by accumulations of elements and fragments, containing layer upon layer of meaning. The extensive layers of meaning mixed with the generosity of motives gives the viewer a sense of looking at a painting without one single narrative, but more of looking at a painting consisting of a number of different tableaux, and smaller landscapes, within the large nature scenery. What we encounter is a painterly meta-narrative.
In the center of the large painting are two figures: The painter, a naked woman in the process of painting a model whilst sitting and the model - the male figure visible in the center. In his hand the male model has a miniature painting of a landscape, arguably the starting point for the landscape motive of the large painting. Onto his chest a drawing on paper (supposedly a drawing of him), made by the female painter is stuck. The female painter is naked, an indication that she herself is also a model and thus equally subjected to our gaze. This composition opens up to the interpretation of who really is the subject of our gaze when encountering Nina Sten-Knudsen's painting.
Additional compositions within the painting refer to Nina Sten-Knudsen's own practice as a painter. Both the unfinished face of the model, the miniature landscape painting held in the hand of the male model and, finally, the paper sketch painted onto the canvas, are elements that all refer to the artistic process of painting.
Nina Sten-Knudsen's paintings are comparable to a Pandora's box because of the multitude of meanings, enigmatic allegories and ambiguous readings that her work usually contains. This also characterises the smaller paintings included in the exhibition. We are presented with paintings by a painter who is not afraid of exploring important subjects and deep emotions in her observations and reflections about our time and existence. Of equal importance is Nina Sten-Knudsen's intense work with the paintings' colour and their texture.