Jesper Kristiansen brings the non-objective world to our attention

Written by David Knoll

01/08/2023

'Inner and outer life of abstraction' by curator Jesper Kristiansen

The winner of the Superioritas award in 2021 in curatorial practices, Jesper Kristiansen, has become known to the public as a deep researcher of Danish contemporary pictorial art. The public's attention is focused on Jesper's new project, the exhibition 'Inner and outer life of abstraction', which speaks to the viewer in the language of various media, but with similar expressive means. This is a unique curatorial statement, presenting a cross-section of the non-figurative art of artists from Europe from the 20th century to the present day.

In his project, Jesper explores the difference between abstract and non-objective and their manifestations in the digital art of new media. He traces the path of abstraction after Malevich, starting with his students, Vladimir Sterligov and Tatyana Glebova. They continued to study their teacher’s theory and discovered, for example, that the ‘main difference between abstraction and non-objectivity is emotions. Non-objective constructions are a cold mind when a person is freed from momentary emotions and perceives the world in a state of deep meditation.’ Momentary emotions help as the artist draws an abstraction. Jesper Kristiansen builds the exposition, developing the thesis of Sterligov and Glebova, and divides the exhibition into two blocks: 'Meditation' and 'Expression'. At the same time, the curator does not isolate the works of both blocks from each other but makes them complement, shade and enhance each other, rhyming and creating parallels from different eras, manners, techniques and materials. With this risky but fully justified curatorial move, Jesper emphasises that the works of the creators under the sign of expression are not devoid of an element of meditation and works defined as meditative are not devoid of expression. He pays equally close attention to both artists, whose works require the viewer to concentrate, reflect, and contemplate the work and its ideas. The creators view their art as disagreement with the reality of the existing world, reflecting the experience of wars, concentration camps, cruelty and violence. Jesper also raises the crucial question of the role of the art historian and his place in the biographies of artists.

Jesper Kristiansen masterfully connects history with modernity, presenting at the exhibition, along with painting, graphics and sculpture, video art, digital art and even performances. This became possible because of the digital and visual revolution at the end of the 20th century. Modern man has changed the picture of the world. Life is accelerating, and we have become faster at perceiving, processing and producing information. Jesper Kristiansen’s message is: with the development of technology, a person can get into such a state of abstraction that they have a new perception of the world and can create completely unusual things using all available means, be it video, photography or theatre.

'Inner and outer life of abstraction' by Jesper Kristiansen is at the Fondazione 107 (Via Andrea Sansovino, 234, 10151 Torino, Italia) until June 16, 2021.

David Knoll has published widely on international modernism and in 2011 was a Center for Curatorial Leadership Fellow. From 2017-21, in addition to his role in the department, he served as Curator in Charge of the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art and now sits on the Advisory Committee. David holds a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen.