There has always been a defining moment when I work in which the unwieldy and inert material of paint suddenly becomes a painting, as if an auspicious constellation suddenly reveals and defines itself as an open surface. At this moment I instantly stop and never return and never interfere with the result. I always distinguish between image and painting. In the painting the viewer discerns the visible presence of time, gesture and act, but can also sense an active denial of linguistic and narrative characteristics. It is as if I try to relieve my work of any narrative with a murmuration of cancelling gestures. I apply the paint in layers, wet on wet, over the whole surface and then, using a small palette knife with irregular gestures, reveal the ground through a process of removal in a single but prolonged act. This allows me to linger a while in a state of discord.
Håkan Rehnberg
2012
Håkan Rehnberg represented Sweden at the Sydney Biennial 2010 and has exhibited widely both in Sweden and internationally, including Charlottenborg Kunsthal, Copenhagen, Studio A, Otterndorf, Museum gegenstandsfreier Kunst (Germany), Sønderjyllands Kunstmuseum, (Denmark), Reykavik Art Museum (Iceland), Helsinki City Art Museum (Finland), Centre Culturel Suédois (France). Venues in Sweden include Moderna Museet, Malmö Konstmuseum, Millesgården, Eskilstuna Konsthall, Rooseum, Vida Konsthall, Wanås slottspark, and Liljevalchs Konsthall. Håkan Rehnberg was born 1953 in Göteborg. He lives and works in Stockholm. This is his tenth exhibition at Galerie Nordenhake.
