Tallahassie Bare
Knud Odde exhibits at DCA Gallery
In April DCA Gallery's exhibition will feature Danish artist
Knud Odde's latest paintings. Knud Odde is a self-taught exceptional
musician and painter. He never went to art school, but absorbed
on his own the ideas of the creative art scene of Copenhagen
in the late 70's - early 80's, when punk rock, poetry and
painting fused together. The poet Søren Ulrik Thomsen
has referred to this melting pot of art, music and literature
as "the blue room" - a time full of energy and melancholy.
As a bassplayer and songwriter, Knud Odde took part in the
forming of "Sods", an experimental rock band, which
later changed its name to "Sort Sol" ("Black
Sun") and is now one of the most respected rock bands
in Denmark.
During the 80's Odde exhibited his works with many artists
of his generation. This group became known as the "Young
Wild" painters. The movement consisted of artists with
individual ideas, who shared a need for creating a new and
dynamic figurative language that accepted no limitations
in use of materials and stylistic elements. It reacted against
the way museums and galleries staged art, and ignored the
ruling paradigms of minimalism and conceptual art in its
attempt to reawaken the art of painting. The members of
the movement did not believe in the creation of "unique
masterpieces". They rather worked from the premise
that artwork is only the continuous testing of artistic
expressions in a series of free creative displays.
Gloria Swanson and Stroheim 1992 Odde insists on painting
human faces and figures of either fictional or historical
background in his own neo-expressionistic manner. His first
breakthrough came about with his historical portraits of
Erich von Stroheim, the excentric filmdirector and actor
of the 1920's Hollywood, who became famous for his depiction
of decadence and European aristocracy on the silver screen.
By painting icons of the Stroheim myth, Odde was able to
confront the viewer with his own fascination of Stroheim's
self-staging.
Although Knud Oddes historical paintings hardly can be called
idealistic in a classical or romantic sense, they still
reflect hero worship and an interest in cult figures or
literary characters, who are no less real than the Greek
and Roman gods and heroes were to classicistic painters.
By introducing fictive characters or cult figures from the
world of film, music or literature, Odde is pointing to
names and references, which can be decoded by the modern
viewer familiar with the artist's heroes of popular culture.
Knud Odde's figures are painted with aggressive colors,
powerful black outlines and illuminated by a stark yellow
lighting, which only leaves sharp shadows. The strong colors
and the melancholic expressions of the posing icons ensure
an immediate effect, not far from Toulouse-L'Autrec's fin-de-siËcle
posters. The faces appear unreal, like illusions or remains
of old dreams. The New Danish History of Art has interpreted
his paintings as "tableaus from the European culture's
midnight show."
From Tallahassie BareThe title of the current exhibition,
"Tallahassie Bare", is inspired by a Florida-based
Nudist Organization, which has been described in a guide
book as follows: "The Tallahassee Bare-Devils know
of some wonderful spots: springfed wilderness rivers for
canuding, gin-clear springs for skinnydipping, and forest
trails for nude hiking,- but all are difficult to find without
a guide" (World Beaches and Resorts). This description
may shed some light on the exhibition... take a look for
yourself!
"Tallahassie Bare" from April 24 to May 29, at
DCA Gallery, 525 West 22nd Street, NYC - please call the
gallery for further information: (212) 255-5511
Paintings from The Danish Golden Age | Dogma Movie | Knud
Odde Exhibits | Ellington's Sacred Concert
Knud Odde. Photo: Kennet Havgaard
Copyright © 1999 Consulate General of Denmark in New
York. All rights reserved.
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 Photo:
Kennet Havgaard
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