Knoff largely had an insecure childhood, with an uncertain housing situation and poverty, especially during the war when his father, who worked as an engineer in the United States, could no longer send money, and with a mother who was alone with four sons. This series of works is a way of processing childhood and the war years. At the same time, the series of works becomes a portrait of the century he grew up in, and has also lived in, for most of his adult life.
In his works, he also brings in elements from modernism. During his studies under the Danish artist Richard Mortensen, he learned to add some clarity, to tighten up the chaos, to make it easier to take in. In this way, one can recognize inspiration from the minimalist Ellsworth Kelly’s brightly colored squares, but with Knoff they lie outside an otherwise expressive painting.
The exhibition starts with an early work by Johan Knoff, which was begun during his time as a student in the 60s in Copenhagen, and completed in 1975. In this way, the exhibition also points back to a long artistic career that has been constantly developing, and which is still very active . In the last year, in his 88th year, Johan Knoff has had a total of three solo exhibitions.
