Artist: Olga Pedan
Exhibition title: Reflexivity
Venue: Sundy, London, UK
Date: April 24 – May 30, 2021
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Sundy, London
Sundy is happy to present Reflexivity, a solo show by Swedish artist Olga Pedan. Pedan’s practice revolves around processes and systems underlying human communication and their increasing abstraction. Her paintings are populated by symbols, words, icons that form chains of information often within a spatiality reminiscent of digital environments.
The paintings in Reflexivity are densely populated by plants and mysterious figures giving the impression of snippets of dreams or of outpourings of a rich inner life.
There is a rebus-like quality to the works that seems to suggest they can be solved by trying to decode their floating sequences of words, symbols and goofy characters.
At the centre of the show are two tall paintings of dogs in heraldic postures mirroring each other while also towering over the viewer. They are breaking with the otherwise dreamy and ambiguous atmosphere of the show quite resolutely. Traditionally meant to be the supporters of a coat of arms or a battle cry, there is a feeling of misplacement in their vigouressness and focussed attention within the calm domestic setting. A contrast that feels humorous and perhaps familiar after a year spent in a bubble of reduced activity and introspection.
Olga Pedan, Reflexivity, 2021, exhibition view, Sundy, London
Olga Pedan, Reflexivity, 2021, exhibition view, Sundy, London
Olga Pedan, Reflexivity, 2021, exhibition view, Sundy, London
Olga Pedan, Rampant Supporter, 2021, Distemper, Pencil, Chalk Gesso on MDF with Oak Frame, 80 x 200 x 4.5 cm
Olga Pedan, Rampant Supporter, 2021, Distemper, Pencil, Chalk Gesso on MDF with Oak Frame, 80 x 200 x 4.5 cm
Olga Pedan, In, 2021, Distemper, Chalk Gesso, Nylon Fabric on Plywood with Beech Frame, 47 x 82 x 2 cm
Olga Pedan, Familial, 2021, Distemper, Pencil, Chalk Gesso, Nylon Fabric on Plywood with Beech Frame, 47 x 82 x 2 cm
Olga Pedan, Attitude, 2021, Distemper, Pencil, Chalk Gesso on Plywood with Beech Frame, 47 x 82 x 2 cm
Olga Pedan, Reflexivity, 2021, Distemper, Pencil, Chalk Gesso on Plywood with Beech Frame, 47 x 82 x 2 cm