Astrid Kajsa Nylander
Reverb
Galleri Utkiken, Ekerö Kulturhus
March 1 – April 5, 2025
Opening Saturday, March 1, 1-3 PM
Artist talk Tuesday, March 4, 7 PM
Astrid Kajsa Nylander's practice encompasses installation and performance in works that can be described as painting in the expanded field. In compositions of everyday objects such as windows, buttons and instruments, a personal, local microcosm is reflected in a broader, global and political macrocosm where the different states of objects are put in connection with the painterly process. The colors she uses bring to mind the questioning of perspective in Optical Art painting, which aimed to transcend “good taste” in favor of the accessibility of playful colors and strong contrasts that communicate directly with the viewer through processes in the eye that we are normally unaware of. But also to historical painting colleagues at Skagen, who 150 years ago were fascinated by the almost supernatural light that the setting sun created over the beach and sea, at once frightening and alluring. A contemporary parallel is of course found in the screen's bright images, lit from behind – and with irresistible appeal. Nylander describes in her own words that the color functions as an exploration of how the inseparable layers and incompleteness of time can appear in the image. In the series minijobs, Astrid Kajsa Nylander connects to the textile qualities of the canvas and its strong connection to tapestries, weaving and sewing; artistic methods that have always been present in her painting. Inspired by childhood memories of her grandmother's button collection, the button is the starting point—ordinary and functional, at the same time a technical miracle that attaches one part to another and holds them together.
