Sonja Larsson Resonance

We are thrilled to present Sonja Larsson’s third solo exhibition at the gallery, which is also her largest gallery show to date. In the exhibition Resonance, which encompasses a series of new paintings on canvas, communication with the viewer is key. Resonance refers to the intensification or enriching of a musical tone by supplementary vibration – the way the intense colours of the paintings amplify and reverberate into the gallery space, where the wordless exchange takes place between the artwork and the beholder.

In the studio, Sonja Larsson’s process is infused with thoughts and impressions from a variety of sources: scientific lectures available online, classical music and philosophy, often linked to Larsson’s keen interest in existential issues. In essence, Larsson’s work embraces the sense of mystery and awe in the encounter with the logic of nature; from the structure of the tiniest molecule to the complexity of the universe. During her working process, time offers a necessary restraint, a resistance which provides a framework for her work. The physical and straightforward aspect of Larsson’s process is important – the interwoven lines of oil paint in clear and bright colours create a vibration on the canvas. Larsson clearly considers colour as a material in itself. A set of predefined rules, involving focal points and interconnected lines, pre-empts the risk of merely searching for aesthetic values. On the contrary, her endeavour is more of a scientific quest; Larsson approaches mathematics from a visual and practical angle, discovering new shapes and connections which slowly emerge in front of her eyes. Having considered the hexagon as already perfected at Alhambra, Larsson’s keen interest in the pentagon is apparent in her work, evoking the tesserae of ancient mosaics.

“My practice is not about me: it’s about surrendering to an idea which is much larger than myself. It’s very important to be openminded, to embrace a feeling, to nurse ideas which have prompted to be expressed on the canvas for a long time. It’s as if the ideas themselves have a DNA, a predestined way of unfolding themselves when the time is right.”

In Resonance, Sonja Larsson’s largescale paintings evoke an awe similar to admiring the perfection of a single leaf or marvelling at an elegant solution to a mathematical problem. In the fabric of her art the paintings are time capsules, capturing all that is worth recording. In that sense, Larsson’s work may be seen as a unifying intermediary between the tangible and a higher source of knowledge.