Artist: Alfred Boman
Exhibition title: Splinter of Neglect
Venue: Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark
Date: April 16 – May 22, 2020
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
In Alfred Boman’s second solo exhibition, Splinter of Neglect, at Gether Contemporary Boman once again unfolds his intense surreal pictorial universe, which moves forth and back between a recognizable reality and an uncon-scious dream world. The new line of works consist of wild constructions of paint, geometric figures, and raw canvas, whose subject lays in the intersection of figuration and abstraction. The paintings mark an experimental and rebellious artistic practice, where the outcome of the process is something new. Untamed and rebellious imagery that cannot be categorized, but draws back to the portrayal of fantasy, dreams, madness, and absurdi-ties of Surrealism.
In line with German painters such as Sigmar Polke, Charline Von Heyl, and Albert Oehlens’ quest to break free from a categorization of the traditional painting, Boman seeks to reinvent the concept of painting in an investiga-tion of compositional layers and spatial ambiguities. The construction of the paintings varies, but common is an order of layers and geometric spaces, where rhythmic abstract repetitions and figurative motifs are portrayed in an expressive color universe. Through historical references, such as Byzantine church mosaics, harlequin pat-terns occupied by large impenetrable walls, medieval interpretations, and amorphous creatures, Boman seeks to create new imagery that simultaneously points to the present and the future by looking into the past.
I don’t believe in re-doing anything from art history. We need to make images for this time for its own reasons – not for nostalgia. – Alfred Boman
The new line of paintings repeats a semi-abstract motif. A motif that originates from one of Boman’s old digital sketches, which for Boman himself is reminiscent of a group of amorphous ghost-like figures with pointed bodies and round tops. The works represent a subconscious stream of thoughts, where the fusion of recognizable sym-bols and wild abstractions creates new imagery that exists between the physical, the spiritual, the conscious, and the subconscious.
Alfred Boman (b. 1981, Luleå, Sweden) lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden. Boman received his MFA at HFBK Städelschule in Frankfurt, Germany, and studied Art History and Fine Arts at the University of Gothenburg, Swe-den. He has exhibited at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; Prism, Los Angeles, USA; Johan Berggren Gallery, Malmö, Sweden; Fluxia, Milan, Italy; Union Pacific, London, UK; and Ibid Projects/Gallery Exit, Hong Kong. Alfred Boman’s works can be seen in the collection of Nordic Contemporary Art Collection amongst others.
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Mural, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 145 x 190 cm
Alfred Boman, Cipher sub class, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 145 x 190 cm
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Robin Hood and his men captured to finally face justice, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 150 x 110 cm
Alfred Boman, In the belly of the beast, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 150 x 110 cm
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Antiphathetic field, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 150 x 190 cm
Alfred Boman, Pillars of eternity, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 80 x 100 cm
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Hormone, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 90 x 110 cm
Alfred Boman, Tenuous grasp, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 90 x 110 cm
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Biting whip, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 130 x 190 cm
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, The landing, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 110 x 130 cm
Alfred Boman, Blood dork, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 80 x 100 cm
Alfred Boman, Mule, 2021, Oil, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 110 x 130 cm
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, Splinter of Neglect, 2021, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen